Vignemale
The Vignemale (Spanish: Viñamala, Occitan: Vinhamala, Aragonese: Comachibosa) is the highest of the French Pyrenean summits, on the border with Spain (the highest in the whole of the Pyrenees is Pic Aneto).
 View of Vignemale | |
| Elevation | 3,298 m (10,820 ft)[1] |
|---|---|
| Prominence | 1,027 m (3,369 ft) |
| Parent peak | Massif du Vignemale |
| Location | |
| Range | Pyrenees |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1837 by Henri Cazaux and Bernard Guillembet |
| Easiest route | Through the Ossoue glacier |
The Vignemale is between the Spanish province of Huesca and the French department of Hautes-Pyrénées. It is the highest mountain in the French Pyrenees, the Occitanie region and in the Hautes-Pyrénées department.[1] The mountain is in the Pyrénées National Park (France) and in the Reserva de la Biosfera Ordesa-Viñamala (Spain).
Geography
The Vignemale is the name given to the mountain massif that is formed by several distinct summits; the main summits are:
- Pique-Longue or Grand Vignemale, 3,298 m (10,820 ft);
- Pointe Chausenque, 3,204 m (10,512 ft); and
- Petit Vignemale, 3,032 m (9,948 ft).
The Pique-Longue can bee seen easily from other mountains and even from the city of Lourdes.
The Vignemale is also where is the second largest of the Pyrenean glaciers (after the one one in Aneto): the Ossoue glacier with an area of around 0.6 km2 (0.23 sq mi). The easiest route to climb the mountain, and the one most used, is across this glacier.
History
On August 1792, some shepherds climbed the Pique-Longue following orders from Louis-Philippe Reinhart Junker who was in charge of a team that was studying the French-Spanish border. But the names of those shepherds are not known.
The first known ascent of this peak was made 45 years later, on 8 October 1837, by Henri Cazaux, from Luz (now Luz-Saint-Sauveur), and his brother-in-law Bernard Guillembet.[2]
Vignemale Media
Count Henry Russell in front of one of his caves on the Vignemale
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Pic Vignemale, France/Spain". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ↑ "Les premières ascensions des 3000 et de quelques autres sommets" (in français). Carnet de randonnées dans les Pyrénées. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
Other websites
- Altituderando: La Pique Longue du Vignemale (3298m) (in French)
- Camptocamp.org: Vignemale - Pique Longue (in French)
- Randozone - Vignemale (Pique Longue) (in French)