How it started

In 1994 we made a bike tour Coast-to-coast through the Pyrenees. From Luz St. Sauveur we went for a day trip to Gavarnie. Having arrived in Gavarnie, we strolled along our bikes, into the valley… We were impressed by the vast walls of the Cirque the Gavarnie, and the Grande Cascade, which, seemingly in slow motion, plunges down over 1100 metres.

That might be all very nice… but no matter where you go in Gavarnie, one of the highlights of the Cirque remains hidden behind a mountain top. High in the walls of the Cirque the Gavarnie, with a height of 100 mtrs, and a width of 40 mtrs, the Breche de Roland forms an impressive gateway to Spain.

Obviously, we could do only one thing… add mountain boots and a back pack to our light weight camping gear. In the summer of 1995 we practised with our backpacks in the dunes of North Holland. By the end of august we left from Gavarnie, heading fo the Refuge de Sarradets, a little bit nervous about what the high mountains might hold for us.

Our love a first sight never ended, end this year we are again preparing for an enjoyable hike in the mountains at the border of France and Spain.