How to get there:
The nearest village is Benasque, which can be
reached rather easily from Barcelona in Spain
or from Toulouse in France. The trail starts at the high end of the
Benasque valley, at the end of the dirt road which passes the Hospital de
Benasque, at the exact spot where one would start the hike to Refugio
La Renclusa and the Aneto/Maladeta massif. Route description:
You hike up the valley for a few hundred yards, until you reach a faint
trail heading left (we did NOT find it, and had to bushwack up
the hillside). Follow it until you reach the zig-zagging path leading
up the hillside, it is broad and has probably been a main road earlier,
connecting valleys in the two countries.
As the path flattens, turn left on a smaller path, which leads across and up
towards the Portillión de Benasque, a sharp and narrow cut in the ridge
between Salvaguarda and its neighboring peak, Pico de la Mina. A path leads
through this cut (which is on the border between France and Spain) and
down to a French refuge, only 15 minutes (downhill) away, where one can spend
the night or get a meal... But back to Salvaguarda. A trail leads left and up
towards the summit, from just below the Portillión, and climbs across the
entire south face of the mountain, mostly as a nice and broad dirt path, but
in a few places across some rock faces with minor exposure (a cable has been
installed in one place, but is unnecessary, if care is taken), before
zig-zagging steeply up to the summit, which lies right on the border between
France and Spain. An approach from France does not look like a
good option, the cliffs on the French side are sheer (indeed, the only easy
way down on the French side for miles is through the Portillión de
Benasque).
Comments:
The view from the summit is great. You get a great view of the Aneto/Maladeta
massif, with summits more than 600 vertical meters above you. You also get
a good look at the neighboring Pico de la Mina, which looks steep from here.
We tried to climb it, but gave up what we thought was halfway up, but turned
out to be quite near the summit, so we could probably have made it with a bit
more determination :)
For Mina, the best approach is probably to go to the base of the
mountain southeast of the Portillión, and climb up the steep, grassy
slopes, connected by small pitches of relatively simple rock scrambling,
onto the west ridge high on the mountain. We had some trouble with
the sharp grasses that grow here, which really can sting and cut your legs.
But, looking back, I suspect we could have reached the summit. Too bad,
really.
You can also hike down the steep path to the French refuge (10-15 minutes
going down, the double on the steep uphill return) and take a small break with
something to drink, like we did.