Route: Linking traverse from the southern slope (Cantabria) to Naranjo de Bulnes, connecting the cable car station with the most famous refuge of the Picos de Europa
- Approximate time: 4 hours and 30 minutes (one way).
- Difficulty: +772 m ascent (to the pass) and -391 m descent (to the refuge).
- Difficulty:High. (Although the cable car helps, the terrain is complex, especially the descent from Horcados Rojos).
- Key points: El Cable → La Vueltona → Collado de Horcados Rojos → Jou de los Boches → Jou Sin Tierre → Refugio de Urriellu.
General Information This is the classic route to access the base of Picu Urriellu (Naranjo de Bulnes) from Fuente Dé. Taking advantage of the cable car, we quickly get to the high mountain, but we must not be confident: the route crosses areas of bare rock and cliffs typical of the heart of the Central Massif.
Route Description
- Climb to the pass (El Cable - Horcados Rojos): The start is identical to the PR-PNPE-23 route. We leave the upper cable car station (El Cable) by the wide track to "La Vueltona". There we turn off to the right to climb the zig-zagging trail until we reach the Collado de Horcados Rojos (2,344 m). Up to here, it is all uphill.
- The Key Pass (Descent to Jou de los Boches): From the col, looking north (towards the Naranjo), the descent to the Jou de los Boches begins.
- Attention: It is a very steep descent down a rocky wall. There is a steel cable installed to hold on to and make the climb easier. It is the most technical point of the route.
- Travesía de los Jous: Once down, on the "floor" of the Jou de los Boches, we cross this lunar landscape in a northerly direction. We will pass to the next geological "hole": the Jou Sin Tierre. The terrain is uncomfortable, loose stone and limestone.
- Arrival at Urriellu: At the end of the Jou Sin Tierre, we reach a small pass known as the Garganta del Jou Sin Tierre. From here it is already easier: it only remains to descend along a well-marked path to the meadows of the Vega de Urriellu, where the refuge awaits us at the foot of the immense west wall of the Naranjo.
In winter or with snow, the descent from Horcados Rojos to the Jou los Boches is very dangerous. As it is done on a north-facing slope, the snow freezes and the safety cable is often buried and unusable. If there is ice, it is a pass reserved only for expert climbers with crampons and ice axe.