Pic du Balaïtous
Encyclopedia
The Balaitus or Pic du Balaïtous (French
) is a granitic
massif
of the Pyrenees
, located right on the border between Spain
and France
.
and it is the first mountain to surpass the 3,000 metres from the Atlantic coast. Its name may come from the Occitan words "vath" (valley
) and "leitosa" (milk
y). Another Spanish name for the mountain is Pico de los Moros (Moors
' peak).
It separates the Spanish Tena Valley
(Sallent de Gállego
) from the French Val d'Azun.
technicians Peytier and Hossard after wrongly getting to Palas Peak due to fog. The second ascent was made in 1864 by Charles Packe
, after several failed attempts, he thought that he was the first one, but was amazed by finding evidence of the first ascent.
From France the most frequent route goes through Las Neous glacier
starting from any of the refuges nearby: Larribet (2,060 m), Balaïtous (G. Ledormeur) (1,970 m) or Arrémoulit (2,305 m).
From Spain the starting point is La Sarra parking, near Sallent de Gállego
, and then to the Arriel lakes or the Respumoso lake .
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) is a granitic
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
massif
Massif
In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...
of the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, located right on the border between Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Geography
Balaitús marks the starting point of the High Pyrenees. Its height is 3,144 metres AMSLAbove mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
and it is the first mountain to surpass the 3,000 metres from the Atlantic coast. Its name may come from the Occitan words "vath" (valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
) and "leitosa" (milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
y). Another Spanish name for the mountain is Pico de los Moros (Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
' peak).
It separates the Spanish Tena Valley
Tena Valley
The Tena Valley is a valley located at the southern side of the Pyrenees, in the Alto Gállego comarca, province of Huesca, and is crossed by the Gállego river from north to south...
(Sallent de Gállego
Sallent de Gállego
Sallent de Gállego is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain.The town is located in the central Pyrenees besides the reservoir of Lanuza on the foot of some of the highest summits of the chain, close to the border with France...
) from the French Val d'Azun.
Climbing history
The first ascent was done in 1825 by French geodesicGeodesic
In mathematics, a geodesic is a generalization of the notion of a "straight line" to "curved spaces". In the presence of a Riemannian metric, geodesics are defined to be the shortest path between points in the space...
technicians Peytier and Hossard after wrongly getting to Palas Peak due to fog. The second ascent was made in 1864 by Charles Packe
Charles Packe
Charles Packe was an English lawyer and explorer who is noted for his travels in and writing about the Pyrenees.-Family:Packe was born in 1826, the oldest son of Edmund Packe, a captain in the Royal Horse Guards.-Pyrenees:...
, after several failed attempts, he thought that he was the first one, but was amazed by finding evidence of the first ascent.
Routes
There are many ascent routes, none of them are easy, mainly because of the strong vertical drop of 1,500 m from any of the access points.From France the most frequent route goes through Las Neous glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
starting from any of the refuges nearby: Larribet (2,060 m), Balaïtous (G. Ledormeur) (1,970 m) or Arrémoulit (2,305 m).
From Spain the starting point is La Sarra parking, near Sallent de Gállego
Sallent de Gállego
Sallent de Gállego is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain.The town is located in the central Pyrenees besides the reservoir of Lanuza on the foot of some of the highest summits of the chain, close to the border with France...
, and then to the Arriel lakes or the Respumoso lake .