Day In Riglos

Go back to Spanish Road Trip.
Go back to Rainy Picos de Europa.

Serón-Millán

Serón-Millán.


By the afternoon we were in Riglos once again and with enough daylight to scope out the start of our route of choice. Per our friend Ferran’s recommendation, we set our sights on the moderate Serón-Millán route on the Pison: about 10 pitches long and with only a single section of 6b (6a+ otherwise). For the first time we got a room at the local Refugio de Riglos and I have say that it was pretty nice. And, more surprisingly, the cafeteria dinner was pretty good (previous Aragon food experiences have been underwhelming). We enjoyed the route and were able to climb most of it before the sun hit the west face. Quality rock – unlike the other chimney route we’ve done some 7 years ago – and we even scored some wild figs on the now well-familiar descent.

Photos

Riglos

This time we stayed at the excellent Refugio de Riglos – very nice rooms and good cafeteria cooking (what a change from previous experiences in Aragon).

Riglos

A ride in the village of Riglos (Sept. 2017).

Riglos

Unknown climber on the final pitch of the Normal Route on El Puro (Sept. 2017).

Riglos

Formations at sunset (Sept. 2017).

Riglos

Views of El Puro from our room at the Refugio (Sept. 2017).

Riglos

Pack the tobasco – we’re going to Aragon! One of the most successful American exports (from the high Atlas villages in Morocco to the rural Aragon in Spain; Sept. 2017).

Riglos

On the morning approach to El Pison and the Serón-Millán route (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Starting up the Serón-Millán route (300m or ~10 pitches, 6b) on the south face of the Pison (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Shirley on the short but traversing pitch 1 of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Starting pitch 2 (I think) of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Shirley on the steep pitch 2 of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Topping out on pitch 2…happy to be handling those unique Riglos “potatoes”.

Serón-Millán

Starting up pitch 3 of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Higher on pitch 3 (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Fixed gear on Serón-Millán – worry not, the fixed pro (most of it) has been modernized in 2010 (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Shirley topping out on pitch 3. Steep (as are all Riglos routes) but not too bad (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

A highly foreshortened view of El Puro from the belay atop pitch 5 of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Shirley topping out on pitch 5 (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Leading pitch 6 of Serón-Millán – this is where the route enters a chimney system behind El Puro (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

A section of El Puro from high on Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Leading pitch 7 of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Shirley on pitch 7 (which we combined with 6) of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Shirley topping out on pitch 7 (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Views from high on Serón-Millán. Río Gállego dominates the view (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Shirley in the chimneys of Serón-Millán on pitch 8 (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Views form the upper chimney (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Shirley on pitch 8 (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

The vultures of Riglos – quite a sight when they’re circling above the summit of one of the towers (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Almost done with pitch 8. There’s a cool belay “balcony” at the top of this pitch (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

A short traverse to the balcony belay station (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Pitch 9 of Serón-Millán…finally the sun hit us full on (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Shirley enjoying the sunny (hot!) belay “balcony” atop pitch 8 of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Shirley topping out on Serón-Millán with Río Gállego below. We kept thinking about going for a dip after the climb but once those celebratory beers were consumed…a recurring theme on the trip (Mediterranean idea suffered the same fate two days later; Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Shirley hiking the summit of El Pison to the rappel station (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Mallo Firé from the summit of El Pison. Really would like to do the classic line there…just need to grow a pair first (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

Beginning of the rap descent from the El Pison tower (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

The old village of Riglos (note the church) from high on the descent from the Pison (Sept. 2017).

Serón-Millán

The descent from the Pison is a series of rappels (some double rope) connected by sections of via ferrata. Keep an eye out for wild figs late in the summer…

Riglos

Shirley hiking back to the beer after Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).

Riglos

Riglos sights (Sept. 2017).

Riglos

Shirley enjoying our nice room at the Refugio de Riglos…man, we should’ve stayed there on our previous two trips (Sept. 2017).

Riglos

The principal formations of Riglos as seen from the patio of the Refugio – spectacular and unique. Ambar beer…not so spectacular (Sept. 2017).

Riglos

Onwards towards the Mediterranean coast (Sept. 2017).

Riglos

Village of Ayerbe a few kilometers from Riglos (Sept. 2017).

Riglos

A bakery in Ayerbe (by Riglos) though not the bakery that we enjoyed years ago (out of business that one?).

Go to Penon de Ifach.
Go to back to Spanish Road Trip.