Pic du Midi d'Ossau, « Jean-Pierre » pétrifié

Laruns

With its double black summit, the pic du Midi d'Ossau dominates the valley of the same name and remains, for the people of Béarn, a familiar silhouette that they affectionately call ‘Jean-Pierre’. According to the local legend, two shepherds, little Jean and colossal Pierre, were turned to stone by the devil, and their bodies became the mountain. Other texts speak of two brothers who defended the valley before being petrified against each other. A third source recalls that the Ossau is linked to the tales of Jean de l'Ours, without telling them. These stories are oral and the versions vary. The geology, for its part, is known: the peak is the remnant of an ancient volcano formed some 280 million years ago, well before the Pyrenees, whose caldera was uplifted with the range. As for history, the normal route was used as early as 1790 to place a triangulation signal, and the first fully attested ascent dates from 2 October 1797, by Guillaume Delfau and a shepherd of Eaux-Bonnes named Mathieu. An expedition of 1552 is sometimes cited, but Wikipédia judges it contested. The peak has become an emblem of Béarn.

Getting there: In the core zone of the parc national des Pyrénées, above Gabas. The tour of the peak (about 17 km, 965 m of climb, about 6 h) starts from the car park of the lac de Bious-Artigues. The refuge de Pombie (CAF, 2,031 m) is about 1 h from the Anéou car park. The summit by the normal route is a mountaineering route graded PD (equipment and experience necessary): dangerous for unprepared hikers. Coordinates: OpenStreetMap (Nominatim).

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound