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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
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).
A ride in the village of Riglos (Sept. 2017).
Unknown climber on the final pitch of the Normal Route on El Puro (Sept. 2017).
Formations at sunset (Sept. 2017).
Views of El Puro from our room at the Refugio (Sept. 2017).
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).
On the morning approach to El Pison and the Serón-Millán route (Sept. 2017).
Starting up the Serón-Millán route (300m or ~10 pitches, 6b) on the south face of the Pison (Sept. 2017).
Shirley on the short but traversing pitch 1 of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).
Starting pitch 2 (I think) of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).
Shirley on the steep pitch 2 of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).
Topping out on pitch 2…happy to be handling those unique Riglos “potatoes”.
Starting up pitch 3 of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).
Higher on pitch 3 (Sept. 2017).
Fixed gear on Serón-Millán – worry not, the fixed pro (most of it) has been modernized in 2010 (Sept. 2017).
Shirley topping out on pitch 3. Steep (as are all Riglos routes) but not too bad (Sept. 2017).
A highly foreshortened view of El Puro from the belay atop pitch 5 of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).
Shirley topping out on pitch 5 (Sept. 2017).
Leading pitch 6 of Serón-Millán – this is where the route enters a chimney system behind El Puro (Sept. 2017).
A section of El Puro from high on Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).
Leading pitch 7 of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).
Shirley on pitch 7 (which we combined with 6) of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).
Shirley topping out on pitch 7 (Sept. 2017).
Views from high on Serón-Millán. Río Gállego dominates the view (Sept. 2017).
Shirley in the chimneys of Serón-Millán on pitch 8 (Sept. 2017).
Views form the upper chimney (Sept. 2017).
Shirley on pitch 8 (Sept. 2017).
The vultures of Riglos – quite a sight when they’re circling above the summit of one of the towers (Sept. 2017).
Almost done with pitch 8. There’s a cool belay “balcony” at the top of this pitch (Sept. 2017).
A short traverse to the balcony belay station (Sept. 2017).
Pitch 9 of Serón-Millán…finally the sun hit us full on (Sept. 2017).
Shirley enjoying the sunny (hot!) belay “balcony” atop pitch 8 of Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).
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).
Shirley hiking the summit of El Pison to the rappel station (Sept. 2017).
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).
Beginning of the rap descent from the El Pison tower (Sept. 2017).
The old village of Riglos (note the church) from high on the descent from the Pison (Sept. 2017).
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…
Shirley hiking back to the beer after Serón-Millán (Sept. 2017).
Riglos sights (Sept. 2017).
Shirley enjoying our nice room at the Refugio de Riglos…man, we should’ve stayed there on our previous two trips (Sept. 2017).
The principal formations of Riglos as seen from the patio of the Refugio – spectacular and unique. Ambar beer…not so spectacular (Sept. 2017).
Onwards towards the Mediterranean coast (Sept. 2017).
Village of Ayerbe a few kilometers from Riglos (Sept. 2017).
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.
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