The
Vignemale (Occitan:
Vinhamala, Aragonese:
Comachibosa), at 3298 metres, is the highest of the
French
Pyrenean
summits, in
the border with Spain
(the highest
in the whole of the range is Pic Aneto
).
The Vignemale is the name given to the
mountain massif which
actually straddles into Spain. It consists of several distinct
summits, the predominant ones being
Grand Vignemale or
Pique-Longue (3298m),
Pointe Chausenque (3204m) and
Petit Vignemale (3032m). The Vignemale is
also the site of the second largest of the Pyrenean
glaciers (after Aneto's one), the Ossoue (with
around 0,6 km
2), across which is the "voie normale" or
standard route to the summit.
One of its most dramatic aspects is the North Face upon which there
are a number of serious ascent routes requiring skill and
commitment. Below the North Face is the impressively situated
mountain refuge - the
Refuge des Oulettes de Gaube.
The
approach from the north entails a delightful walk up to and around
the picturesque Lac de
Gaube
giving increasingly dramatic views of the
mountain.
Almost synonymous with the Vignemale is the name of
Count Henry Russell, an eccentric
of the
Victorian era who developed a
life-long passion for the mountain.
Image:North_Face_Vignemale.jpg|North
faceImage:Lac_Gaube.jpg|Approaching from the NorthImage:Count Henry
Russell 2.jpg|
Count Henry
Russell in front of one of his caves on the Vignemale