Pic du Midi d'Ossau loop

HikingLoopPyrenees

Map of the Pic du Midi d'Ossau loop track on OpenTopoMap, with the start and numbered waypointsExplore the map

© OpenStreetMap, SRTM · OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA)

Key facts

Distance
15.5 km
Ascent
+1,020 m
Descent
−1,006 m
Estimated time
6 hr
hiking
Difficulty
Hard
official rating
Route
Loop
back to the start

Official time: 7 hr

Profile and gradient

  • under 10%
  • 10 to 20%
  • over 20%

Gradient along the route: 6.2 km under 10%, 8.1 km at 10 to 20% and 1.2 km over 20%. Elevation from 1,415 m to 2,306 m over 15.5 km.

Lac de Pombie below the Pic du Midi d'Ossau, halfway round the loop
Photo: Cptcv, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons · Commons · CC BY-SA 2.5

Description

This walk circles the whole Pic du Midi d'Ossau from Lac de Bious-Artigues. You first climb through forest to the flat shoulder of the Col Long de Magnabaigt, then cross the stream in the Magnabaigt valley to reach the Col de Suzon. The path then heads south to the Pombie hut, skirts the lake behind it, crosses a large scree slope below the east face of the peak, and climbs in steep zigzags to the Col de Peyreget, the high point at about 2,310 m. The descent passes Lac de Peyreget and the Peyreget hut, then zigzags through forest and avalanche gullies down to the Bious plateau. Our track measures 15.5 km with 1,001 m of ascent; the Béarn Pyrénées sheet gives 15.4 km, 1,020 m and 7 hr, and says it is for good walkers only. There are no painted waymarks, only direction signs on a yellow background. The Pombie hut is in the National Park core zone: dogs are not allowed and bivouac is only permitted from 7 pm to 9 am.

Difficulty

Official rating: hard, by Béarn Pyrénées, tourisme64 (site touristique départemental des Pyrénées-Atlantiques).

Before you go

  • No painted waymarks: only direction signs on a yellow background.
  • Large scree slope below the east face, steep zigzags, avalanche gullies on the way down.
  • The Pombie hut is in the National Park core zone: dogs not allowed, bivouac only from 7 pm to 9 am and more than an hour's walk from any road.

Getting there

Start: Lac de Bious-Artigues car park, Laruns (64).

By car: Ossau valley via Laruns and Gabas, then the road to Lac de Bious-Artigues.

By public transport: No public transport listed on the official sheet.

Season

Snow-free months, when the Bious-Artigues road is open (May to October). Scree and avalanche gullies on the route: check snow cover early in the season.

Sources

Nearby tracks

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