El Perro Negro

Grumpy old mountain man living in Spain

Social-Feed – 2024 (285)

El Perro Negro (@elperronegro) on Khumbu

A memory from 2016. One of those stormy days when the blizzards don't allow you to leave your tent. You end up doing selfies! 🤣😆🤣

Too people lie head to head in a tent whilst a blizzard rages outside

@Steveb sometime in May we shall have the last rains ehich will last a few days. Unlucky if that happens during your stay. At 1200 metres very pleasant temps, getting warmer towards the end of the month. Expect daytime temps of up to 30°. Images below of maximums and minimums from Lanjaron at 750 metres.

Hope this helps

Maximum temps at 750m Lanjaron

Minimum temps at 750m Lanjaron

This is a trailer for the Wilderness - Patagonia series with Simon Reeve. Brought back so many memories from 2016 as, after 3 days on the trail, he approached the Marconi Pass and the entrance to the Patagonian Icecap. Quite emotional as I'm sure it will be for anybody who has had the fortune to visit this magnificent place.

https://youtu.be/yjih0vYjOaY?feature=shared

I am back for a week in the UK visiting family. Feel a bit like a fish out of water. It's all rather strange and alien. And ... flat 🤣

Fully agree with this interesting article by @jeena. The fun has gone out of surfing through the internet and discovering weird and wonderful things. Sanitisation has occurred.

https://jeena.net/content-is-king

Just taken receipt of my new summer day pack, a custom made, handcrafted, 20 litre "Atelier Longue Distance" from France.

Seems really well made and just as per my specification. Weighing under 500g, including 4 vest pockets, 3 main compartments & a bottom pocket. I'm delighted to be able to support a small cottage company that produces quality gear. Will let you know how it performs in due course.

https://atelierlonguedistance.fr/

A black and white backpack sits on the back of a person with a blue t-shirt

Our husky, Arko, is a bit of a clown, especially when he's pinched the sofa! 🤡 😂

An upside down face of a husky dog lying on a sofa

Practice day on crampons and ice axe for us today. No matter how often you have done this, it's still good to practice. Enjoyable too. Coming up the slopes out of the Barranco de San Juan, Sierra Nevada

Three people are climbing up a steep snow slope. Behind them dark skies bring the onset of bad weather

Three people are climbing up a steep snow slope on the right of the photo. Behind them rise other mountains covered in snow and ice

Out with the gang in the snow today. Bit breezy and not a lot of sunshine but a great day out nevertheless

5 people all with helmets and dark glasses it in the snow in the mountains

After many years of using spreadsheets, I've started using Lighterpack https://lighterpack.com/ to record and control my backpacking gear lists. Works pretty well. Just wondered if anybody could recommend any other alternative software for thru hiking gear lists?

As a young lad I was very lucky to be here. Bowies last but one ever concert as Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Seems a long, long time ago. And, look at the price 🤣

An old tickets from a David Bowie concert in 1973

A few from today's excursion into Spain's Sierra Nevada mountains. Once away from the ski area we saw nobody all day and had to make our own tracks through the snow. Varying conditions, some hardpack, some breakable crust, some ankle deep powder. Crampons and ice axe essential. Superb day with brilliant mountain views

A person follows a solitary pair of tracks up a snow covered hillside. A long shadow comes out of the snow to the right of the person. Above are the indications of mountain summits. Bright blue skies.

A person descends a snow slope from right to left. Behind are snow covered mountains

A person dressed in a pale blue jacket descend a slope from the right towards a small summit with a large cairn on. Behind rises a big mountain

A person follows footprints in the snow to the right of the image. The person is beneath a large boulder covered in snow. To the left the cliff drops off vertically

After 2 winters with either health problems, poor snow conditions or just plain bad luck, it was nice to get back into the high Sierra Nevada again. I forgot just how much I love this environment and how comfortable I feel here. Good to be back!

I apologise in advance, as there might just be quite a few snowy mountain shots heading to the timeline over the next few days! 😂

A person (me) with a yellow hat and blue jacket and trousers is walking down a snowfield with an ice axe in one hand and a walking pole in the other.

Today I've been hiking in an area that was badly burnt during a severe wildfire in September 2022. It is so refreshing and inspiring to see plant life recovering and new growth coming through.

Some burnt tree stumps come out of rocky ground whilst new green plant growth starts to appear. Snow mountains behind

Out of a barren and burnt hillside some lush green cactus type plants start to emerge

Lot of snow loss below 2500 metres in Spain's Sierra Nevada. Strange really as temperatures have remained cold. Here a view of the Río Lanjarón valley leading up to the Cerro de Caballo 3009m. To the right is Cerrillo Redondo 2912m and Las Alegas 2700m

A dirt road in the foreground leads the eye to the mountains behind which become snow covered towards the summits