A bit more than a month ago, on a fresh, warm spring day, we had our last moment of ‘freedom’ before the Coronavirus lockdown kicked-in in Spain. Only around half an hour’s drive from Granada to the trek’s starting point, the ascent of a pyramidal peak in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada turned out to be surprisingly fun and challenging adventure on the route that I can spy from my own window.
Trevenque is a sharp, triangular peak in North West Corner of the Sierra, well-known for its elegant, steep sided aspect. It’s a dwarf compared to the main snow clad three thousand meter peaks that frame Trevenque to the south, but nevertheless at 2079m in height, it’s still a significant mountain, and a perfect option for a spring hike when the higher mountains in the range are accessible only to trekkers with full Alpine gear, equipped for trekking in deep snow.
We set out early from the Collado Sevilla carpark overlooking the precipitous canyon of the Dilar Valley far below. Together with a group of friends from Spain, Romania, the UK, Holland and Argentina it was a fun multi-national and multi-lingual day out- time to discover a little about each other and the amazing diverse landscapes on Granada’s doorstep.
The initial part of this trek is easy, a casual, slightly inclined stroll up a lush valley along the forestry track to Casa Forestal de la Cortijuela. The walk threads to the north of Trevenque and south of the peaks of Cerro Gordo and Cerro de Sol. Trevenque’s summit is often hidden along this route, but the walk, through dense pine forests alive with birds and insects is lovely. It’s a chilled warm-up for the rest of the hike. After a snack and a drink outside the Casa Forestal, next to what is promoted as a ‘botanical’ garden – fenced off it seems from the public (presumably for forestry/national park use)- we turned south on a road, through a valley leading back towards the Dilar Valley. Now, Trevenque loomed to our west above us.
We began a steep climb on a roughly marked side trail, the peak looking inaccessible up a sparsely vegetated face of scree, crowned by some steep, almost vertical sections of rock! We had decided as a group to go for the summit, but as I made my way up some progressively steeper slopes towards the rocks surrounding the summit, I tried to put out of my mind any image of precipitous sections I would find there. Already there were a few sections that required a bit of scrambling and using the roots of bushes as grab handles and support. The unsure, liquid like nature of the scree beneath my feet re-enforced the determination not to look down and play into my simmering sensation of vertigo.
Still, upwards we went, with that small edge of risk and the increasingly spectacular views of the surrounding landscape, and up to the snowfields of the Sierra Nevada making this local hike feel more like a true adventure. Approaching the section of steep, near vertical rock formations, a thin trail emerged leading us upwards. I was a little worried we’d get a point we couldn’t continue any further, as I wasn’t particularly elated at the prospect of returning down the steep route we’d just climbed, but finally we huffed and puffed our way to the summit of Trevenque and magnificent views in every direction. The way home appeared to lead through a small pass to the West of the summit.
The decent was again quite steep, requiring a bit of climbing in a few places, and the landscape was a complete contrast of the lush forested valley we’d hiked up this morning. This was an almost lunar land of dry scree slopes, strange eroded rock formations and towers. Spectacular, but hot and exposed even on a sunny day at the beginning of spring- another reason to do this hike early in the season. After finally tramping along that dusty spine-like ridge to the West, we finally reached the carpark, and had time for a relaxed drink at a local bar below Cumbres Verdes.
A perfect conclusion to an exciting day out in the mountains.
