Lac du Portillon et le refuge Jean-Arlaud

Oô

The Lac du Portillon, at about 2,580 m, is a reservoir lake of 34 ha in the upper Oô valley, near the Spanish border, at the foot of the pic Perdiguère. It was formerly called the lac glacé du Portillon d'Oô. The dam dates from 1929 and supplies the power station of the same name. According to Wikipedia, it collects meltwater and torrents from the seil de la Baque and the glacier du Portillon d'Oô; I have not verified the current state of this glacier. The neighbouring refuge has borne the name of Jean Arlaud since 1992. Born in 1896, a doctor and mountaineer, he founded the Ski club toulousain in 1914 and the Groupe des jeunes in 1920, then was the doctor of the first French expedition to the Karakoram in 1936. He died on 24 July 1938 after falling 80 m on the crête des Gourgs-Blancs, aged 42, and lies in the cemetery of Gavarnie, in the Pyrenean mountaineers' plot. The refuge and the peak that bear his name make it a place of memory for Pyrenean mountaineering. The altitude of the refuge varies according to the pages consulted (2,543 to 2,570 m).

Getting there: From the granges d'Astau (1,139 m): 22 km round trip, about 10 h of walking, 1,649 m of ascent, classed as very difficult (Pyrénées 31). Mountain hike, check the weather. Coordinates: Wikipedia.

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

Ambient sound