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Park in the Col des Tentes car park.
(S/E) Take the old tarmac road south-west towards Port de Boucharo.
(1) Located on the border, this wide pass offers a breathtaking view of the Vignemale and Balaïtous mountains. Continue east-southeast on the well-marked trail towards Col des Sarradets. This trail runs along the north face of Taillon but climbs only slightly for 30 minutes before turning south and winding up to Col des Sarradets.
Only the crossing of the stream below the Taillon glacier requires caution to avoid slipping (follow the red arrows on the rocks that indicate the crossing). A few switchbacks then lead up to the pass, from where the Refuge des Sarradets, located about 150m further on, suddenly comes into view. Head towards it.
(2) From the refuge, our objective (the Casque) is clearly visible to the left of the Brèche de Roland, adorned with its large summit cairn. Follow the well-marked trail south towards the Brèche de Roland. The scree is quite crumbly, so be careful not to slip.
You will reach a ledge, from which you will have a better view of the breach. You will then need to cross a 50m horizontal snowfield (exit made at the end of August), before tackling the final slope up to the breach. Some sections require the use of your hands about 30 metres before the breach.
(3) The view opens up to the south and Spain, with Ordesa National Park looming straight ahead in a very mineral landscape, both lunar and Martian...
To head towards Le Casque from La Brèche, follow the cliff directly to the left to find the path leading to Pas des Isards. Be careful not to descend too far and stray too far from the cliff (as we did), as you will have to climb 50 metres back up the scree to rejoin the path. Reach Pas des Isards.
(4) This tricky passage is equipped with a 30-metre chain handrail. It may impress the less experienced, but it is by no means technically difficult. In the rain (as in our case), the handholds can still be slippery, so great care is required. After that, the path becomes less visible, but cairns make it easier to find your way to the Col des Isards.
(5) It is important to follow the cairns in this rocky chaos and not to miss the path on the left at the fork, which heads north towards Le Casque. The path continuing to the right leads to Pic du Marboré and, further on, Mont Perdu. You will arrive at a fork that marks the start of the normal route to Le Casque.
(6) The path climbs quite steeply northwards through a funnel of scree and snowfields that persist late into the season. It goes around a rocky outcrop before heading westwards above it. You will then reach the foot of the enormous scree slope characteristic of this face of the Casque. From there, several cairn-marked trails lead in different directions, but all lead to the summit. We followed the one on the far right to climb up to the rocky ridge.
A fairly slippery slab allows you to bypass this bar on the right and climb up to the ledge overlooking the enormous scree. Taking this ledge, you reach the last few metres, which require the use of your hands for some easy climbing. Here too, scattered cairns show that several routes are possible. The route finally leads to the summit of the Casque.
The summit is a vast plateau with bivouac sites and a large cairn. The panorama is magnificent, stretching from Mont Perdu in the east to Balaïtous in the west, overlooking the Cirque de Gavarnie.
(7) The descent begins along the same route for the first few metres, but it is possible to stay on the ridge and walk along the scree on the right. You will rejoin the ascent path a few minutes later, above a rocky outcrop. Then follow the ascent route back to the car park (S/E).
). As it was relatively late (1 p.m.), we didn't see many people once we passed Brèche de Roland, so we were able to enjoy the beautiful view of Pas des Isards! This passage is really not to be feared by people prone to vertigo as there is plenty of room for your feet, and the "void" next to it is not that steep. No snowfields in sight.
, so we were glad we had done the Taillon so we wouldn't be left unsatisfied ^^ Oh well!
Visorando Member
Moderate 
Very difficult 
