ANETO: THE FIRST CLIMBERS (19TH CENTURY)

1. - Simple Introduction (maybe very simple, but enough)

Es posible que tu navegador no permita visualizar esta imagen. The Aneto is the highest peak in the Pyrenees, with an altitude of 3,404 meters above sea level (not too much for us). Located in the Parque Natural Posets-Maladeta, neighbouring the town of Benasque in the province of Huesca and at the northern limits the region of Aragon.

Maybe someday Aneto will be the Lion´s target, but nowadays, only the Lion "Irastorza" can get it.

2. - The First Climbers

In July 1842, (can anybody tell if Antonio was born around this time?) a young Russian, named Tchihatcheff Plato (with this name he can´t be a Lion), a former army officer and a French botanist, Albert de Franquevielle along with a few guides, reached the summit beating natural, atmospheric and atrocious climatic conditions. Of course, they were not so silly as to forget their "lip balm" and their "walking stick" ("optional, but very useful")

They liked what they did to such an extent that they made a second ascent. (It is a good principle: if you can do it once, you should do it again!)

A chap with Irish connections, called Henry Russell, made the first solo ascent. He would have been a possible candidate for the Lions although, then again, perhaps not as he made it by following an easier route which was a boon to subsequent climbers.

Surprisingly, the first Spaniards to reach the summit to the top were the Harreta brothers. They made it in 1855 accompanied by a guide called Michot. Little more is known about these brothers despite being credited with another significant achievement: they were the first scale Montblanc (in 1864). Since then there have been many expeditions by Catalans (when they were not cheering for Barca!). The names of Juli Soler and Santaló along with many others, would write singular pages in the history of this mountain.

The first woman to reach the top was Ernestine Tavernier, in August, 1849 (such things tend to happen: women arrive later but still manage to be in time!).

3. Es posible que tu navegador no permita visualizar esta imagen. - Fauna

The area of the Aneto is inhabited by a few different species of animals. (Should I fail to adequately discharge my job of “Packed Meals”, we can always find an alternative). Examples that come to mind are: the snow pheasant, groundhog, mountain goat and Royal eagle, among others.

4. - What can be seen from the summit

The images below show views from the top of Aneto (not all taken on the same day!).

By Rafael Salas, Mountain historian correspondent

Introducing canyoning

Hi everybody!

Once again, let me introduce canyoning to those of you who have not yet had the opportunity to try this fantastic and many faceted activity. I am convinced that canyoning will be for many of us one of the high points of our coming adventure in the Pyrenees.

What is a Canyon?
A conyon is a deep gorge with steep sides, carved out of rock by a river. In Sierra de Guara where we will do our canyoning, some of the gorges are more than 1.500 m deep. It is almost certainly the best place in Europe for caynyoning.



What does canyoning involve?
Well canyons require a great variety of skills, the primary one being excellent physical condition (not a problem for the Lions of the Pyrenees!). However, navigation, swimming, jumping, team work, wading… and appreciation of the environment will all help to ensure a good time. The ideal canyoning trip includes a combination of all the above, plus a group a good friends ready for challenges.



What do you take into a canyon?
All one needs is a tee shirt, light quick drying shorts, long socks (that stay up i.e. self-supporting) and a pair of old tennis shoes. On top of these, we will wear a wetsuit, since the water will be cold and canyons are mostly shaded. Ropes, helmets and bolts will be provided by our guides.

Hope to see you all soon.

By Juan Manuel Ruigómez, Canyoning correspondant

Origins of Tour de France

By the turn of the century, France was polarized by the Dreyfus case, in which a Jewish, Alsatian, French Army officer named Alfred Dreyfus was accused of selling military secrets to the Germans. After a big anti-Dreyfus demonstration in Paris, the writer Pierre Giffard took the opportunity to write a pro-Dreyfus editorial in "Le Petit Journal".

Unfortunately for Giffard, whose main job was editor of "Le Vélo", one of the participants at the rally was the industrialist Comte de Dion, who just so happened to be the main backer of "Le Vélo". Already enraged by what were seen as exhorbitant advertising charges, De Dion promptly marched off with a group of other advertisers to found a new magazine, "L'Auto-Vélo", and installed Henri Desgrange (cyclist and legal clerk) as editor. Though l'Auto-Vélo had been set up to promote all sports it was first and foremost a cycling magazine.



Pierre Giffard, now running Le Vélo with minimal finacial backing, sued L'Auto-Vélo for breach of copyright. Giffard won his case in January 1903, causing L'Auto-Vélo to become simply "L'Auto". Worried that his cycling clientele might disappear with the title, and with circulation scraping along at no more than 20,000, Desgrange needed to take desparate steps, which in the times meant organising a sensational race. So, Georges Lefèvre (Journalist a L’Auto) suggested to Desgrange, "a several-day race, longer than anything now going on, something more on the order of a track six day race. Thus the idea was born. Lefèvre surveyed the route and made preliminary organisations, and on 19 January 1903, just four days after losing the plagiarism suit to Giffard, Desgrange announced the race on the pages of the newly-christened l'Auto. The race would be "the greatest cycling trial in the entire world. A race more than a month long: Paris to Lyon to Marseille to Toulouse to Bordeaux to Nantes to Paris." When Garin rode into Paris as winner, in front of a crowd of 20,000 paying spectators, Desgrange rushed out a special edition of l'Auto, whose sales had rocketed to 130,000. The first running had been a resounding success. Later Le Vélo went banckrupt and L’Auto hired Giffard, who was looking for job.

By Federico Gaito, Cycling correspondent

Pyrenean fauna from the perspective of the Pyrenean chamois

"What is that noise? Who is coming up the path? Just when I was settling down to a nice quiet graze....

If it's that noisy marmot family making all the racket I'm going to "accidentally" kick some dirt into the burrow.....seems like there's always another one poking his or head out. They get on my nerves so; all that loud whistling. Worse than sailors in a port, or so Grandpa Chamois says (but how would he know?)

Wait, that's no marmot family. Just heard a loud "clunk". Must have been that pesky Lammergeier, always dropping bones from the sky. Almost hit me in the head once, the inconsiderate bird. And that silly little tuft of hair under its beak... so uncouth.

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Nah, can't be that bearded dummy. Too much noise now, too much huffing and puffing. Perhaps it's a brown bear. I've never seen one but I hear tell there are a few in these hills. Grandpa says they were all gone, and then someone got the bright idea to move some in from a place called Slovenia. Where the heck is that? They should have left good enough alone -- us grass eaters don't need to have some big old brown fuzzball leaving their muddy paw prints everywhere.

Wait, I see something now. It's a line of humans snaking up the hill!! What the heck are they doing up way up here. They are all men, and that huffing and puffing, well, no wonder, they all look a bit long in the tooth. All old enough to be Grandpas, the bunch of them I bet. No wonder why there was so much wheezing. And that clunk -- must have been one of them fell over. Wonder whether they left him behind. No matter, the Griffon vultures will clean up....

Scott Fertig, Fauna Correspondent.

Beauty! Natural beauty! By Fr Bernard

Monte Perdido or bust!

Have you woken up recently with nightmares about not being able to squeeze all your Lions’ gear into RyanAir luggage regulations without a mega-penalty? Are you tempted to pull out of the Pyrenees and just join Tim in the next London triathlon? If so, read on: this is just the extra encouragement you need.

What’s the point of going to Torreciudad and Barbastro, to Alquézar, Posets, Ordesa, or Benasque – to name but a few of the Lions’ favourite haunts? Beauty! Natural beauty! – that’s the answer. And beauty inspires; it opens new horizons. It can help us grow.

One of the features of our 21st century western culture is that we are constantly enticed by the media and advertising to think no further than our feelings. “What do you fancy? – Well, we can offer you exactly that!” Following fancy – feelings and instinct – is all very well for wild lions: keeps the antelope population from getting out of control… But unless the human person looks outside himself, then his behaviour too becomes rather animal-like. This is one of the constant themes in the teaching of Pope Benedict, and in Pope John Paul before him. If we lapse into relativism, not seeking the truth – ultimately an absolute, Truth – and if we do not allow ourselves to be guided by that truth, then we’re up a gum-tree! (Antonio: I notice gum-tree climbing is not yet on the schedule…) Without the absolute, democracy descends into totalitarian dictatorship.

Now in spite of efforts by some artists to convince us otherwise, beauty is in fact a quality which is real and out there. It is not simply a passing fashion or merely invented by us humans. Beauty is a transcendent quality, and is in some way related to truth. (Footnote: As an example, when a mathematician discovers an elegant proof, he is more likely to be satisfied that the reasoning is true.) In fact beauty, like truth, is part of the image of God that rational beings are able to grasp.

Some years ago I came across a book by the German philosopher Dietrich von Hildebrand. In it he poses the question of whether it’s possible to develop a Christian ethics without mentioning God, the supreme Being. In other words, could atheistic principles by themselves lead to Christian standards of behaviour (forgetfulness of self, generosity, etc) or are they ultimately limited to begetting utilitarian schemes (what’s good for me)? He concludes that beauty is the quality that most effectively helps towards rescuing the atheist from being trapped in himself.

So when Lions look beyond swimming in the Thames (although I suppose even that could have it’s own sort of attraction…) to admire the canyons of Guara, it is coherent with their aspiration of reaching higher as persons. For all Lions, Christian or not, believers or not, a few days immersed in natural beauty is an opportunity become better persons.

However, this improvement is not automatic. Human freedom needs to be enlisted too. Beauty in itself may be real and uplifting, but you and I will only grow in practice if we seek to make use of the occasion and help one another in this endeavour. Thus our efforts to have a true spirit of service, to put the others first, to overcome the temptation to make a negative comment when something is not quite how we like it… – all these are indispensable.

And the spiritual dimension? We humans left to ourselves have but feeble resources. But what strength is available when we remember that God is close to us and loves each one of us madly, and when we invoke his help!

All in all, the Lions’ trip is a great opportunity to make effective resolutions of acquiring virtues (good habits) – inspired by beauty, helped by good companions and aspiring to Truth.

Fr Bernard, Religion Correspondent.