Pic de Gourguet (2619 m) walks

Above Barèges, the mountain landscape changes completely as soon as the snow settles. From Tournaboup, the snowshoe route first ascends the Vallon d’Aygues-Cluses, a gentle track that winds its way between the ridges, to the recently built refuge and the old shepherd’s hut. The route then climbs up slopes of varying difficulty towards the Pic de Gourguet, at nearly 2,600 metres: in winter, the summit is reached in a silence disturbed only by the occasional tracks of chamois. From there, the view stretches far into the distance — the Néouvielle, the Pic du Midi, and the slope down into the Coubous valley. The return route via the Col de Tracens takes you past a succession of lakes lying dormant beneath the snow: Tracens, La Jonquère and Les Coubous. A simple, challenging and rocky circular route, where the winter season sweeps away the crowds and strips the massif back to its essence.