It was raining as we had breakfast in the dark. We put the covers on our bags and our rain jackets on but the rain had stopped by the time we were out the door. After twenty minutes walking we took our jackets off as it was too warm wearing them. The path left the road and started its climb to the plateau through the woods. The path was an old track, and in many places had walls constructed from granite boulders. Water was dripping from the trees and the humidity was high as we made our way upwards. We reached the plateau and then started the climb up to the col. The path was generally good, taking long zigzags across the hillside. At the col, the GR10 continued upwards and then on to a refuge. From there, we would continue on and descend to the village of Auzat. However, a GRP path went in the direction we wanted and would save us a good lot of climbing, so we followed it down into the next valley. The path down from the col was not good, but improved as we reached the valley floor. We then made good progress, and looking at the map, saw that a path ahead would take us directly to Auzat. We found the path, headed down it, and were soon at the village of Saleix. An even smaller path here took us down and into the centre of Auzat. We stopped at the bar for a drink and then headed to the hotel where we sat outside waiting for the owner to turn up. A couple of phone calls and he confirmed everything was ok, and then a longer wait before he arrived. We had a great meal in the attached restaurant.
Max elevation: 1796 m
Total climbing: 1152 m
Do take care!
You may have heard that a British man is lost in the Pyrenees after a fall:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/aug/08/british-doctor-tom-doherty-missing-french-pyrenees
https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/destinations/missing_person_help_locating_image_from_french_pyrenees_occitania-773602
We were at the exact spot where his car was found. There were no cars there at midday when we had our coffee, so he couldn’t have gone a great distance. He seems to have headed for one of the lakes, to which I cannot see a marked path.