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The authorities are considering limiting access to Catalonia’s favourite mountain. This has practical implications (details below) but it also heralds the start of a new chapter in the way we perceive Canigó and the Pyrenees in general.

Initially remote, wild and dangerous, Canigó has become a Catalan emblem – frequently nicknamed la montagne sacrée [sacred mountain] des Catalans. It has been exploited for minerals and wood, and narrowly escaped some of the worst ravages of mass tourism. Now it seems to be heading for a quieter life.

 

 

 

Here be dragons

The first recorded attempt to climb Canigó was by Pere III el Gran, king of Catalonia and Aragon, around 1280. At the summit, it is reported, he saw a dragon coming out of a lake. Given that the nearest lakes are 500m lower down, this detail makes me wonder about the overall veracity of the account.

Nevertheless, St Jordi (George) became Catalonia’s patron saint, which makes the dragon its patron enemy.

Here be Catalans

Over the centuries, Canigó has become linked with Catalan patriotism in other ways. This is despite it being located in France, albeit in historic Catalonia.

In 1886 Canigó, an epic poem by Jacint Verdaguer made the mountain a symbol of the Catalan ‘renaissance’. The Centre Excursionista de Catalunya walking club began making expeditions to its summit and throughout the 20th century both walking clubs and the Scout movement emphasised the value of the Catalan mountains, despite Franco’s repression.

Meanwhile the Catalan flame was also being kept alive, or more exactly rekindled in France. On Midsummer’s Eve 1955 François Pujade climbed to Canigó’s summit and lit a bonfire. In the years that followed, the Feu de St Jean became a signal for lighting other fires in towns and villages in a show of unity that stretched both north and south of the Pyrenean border.

And now the mountain has been renamed: from the French ‘Canigou’ to the Catalan ‘Canigó’, thus leaving behind it the unfortunate association with a brand of dog food. (Incidentally the pronunciation remains the same.)

But it wasn’t just about one peak. The mountain sanctuaries of Montserrat and Núria have become a recognised part of Catalan identity. Jordi Pujol, the first president of Catalonia, was often to be seen with Pyrenean mud on his boots.

 

Here be people, but not many

With no significant settlements above 1000m, Canigó Grand Site is a relatively natural landscape, with some exceptions.

Former mining has left scars on its slopes, most notably near Batère, and the forest has also been exploited, although replanting has repaired the damage. Sheep and cattle roam certain areas, notably on the Pla Guillem, on the southern slopes and near the Cortalets but the grazing is not intensive and creates areas of biodiversity which would otherwise be swallowed up in forest cover.

 

 

Then of course there is tourism, bringing motorists, walkers and rock climbers. Initially, access and economic development were the keywords, generating projects that could have had a more negative impact: the ski resort and cable car schemes were thankfully abandoned, as was the idea of a road linking the Vallespir valley to the south with the Conflent to the north. Unfortunately the Pla Guillem was desecrated by a web of tracks in the mid-20th century, but these are now slowly disappearing under grass.

 

A 21st-century Canigó?

If this new scheme sees the light, the frontiers of ‘civilisation’ will be pushed back downhill. Instead of being a mountain that walkers can easily ‘bag’ in a day, the summit would be a 7-hour round trip from the new car park well below the Cortalets hostel, taking about the same time as from the other two entry points: at Mariailles and Batère.

 

 

 

Canigó will become more of a challenge, a sacred mountain once again.

So what’s behind the project?

At present, a large proportion of walkers drive up to the car park just below the Cortalets hostel and climb the mountain the same day. The round trip takes 3-4 hours on foot. So Canigó attracts 25,000 visitors annually (200 a day in the short summer season) making the experience akin to walking along Barcelona’s Rambla.

 

 

But it isn’t just, or even primarily, a matter of overcrowding at the summit. There is also the question of the 16km road up to the Cortalets hostel which has been deteriorating. Repairing it would cost 1m€; maintaining it would add 0.1m€/year to Canigó Grand Site’s budget. Why not abandon it altogether or at least make a car park lower down, requiring visitors to walk for two hours before even arriving at the Cortalets hostel? These are some of the options being considered.

The new car park would be at 1500m above sea level. Given the 1300m of climbing to reach the top most walkers would need to stay in the Cortalets hostel at 2150m before contemplating climbing to the summit at 2784m. If the potential problem of increased wild camping can be solved, Canigó could again become the mythic mountain it used to be.

Watch this space.

More info: l’Independant

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