Day Three on the GR20 - Refuge do Carozzu to Haut Asco

The Spasmati Slabs, a High Traverse and a Long Descent

The guidebook says: "This is another tough day's walk and there are no easy alternatives" and that when you are on your way down to the ski village at Haut Asco "the descent is very steep and rugged, taking longer than you might imagine to complete". There are also some warnings about the slabs being mostly unprotected, and that they can be very slippery when wet. We weren't really concerned about the slabs as we have some climbing background and the weather looked good. The long descent didn't tickle our fancies much though as we both have had some issues with our knees.

The stats for today's stage:

• Distance: 6 km
• Total ascent: 860 m
• Total descent: 710 m
• Time 5 1/2 hours

The idea of six kilometres taking five and a half hours seemed a bit improbable, so we were curious about the terrain ahead. We thought the high traverse (also mentioned in the intro) might be a bit technical, and perhaps the descent into the Spasmati Gorge could be a bit tricky too.

Roused well before first light by other campers keen to get under way, we thought we might as well make an early start too. After a quick breakfast we set off just after six with our headlamps switched on.    As you will see, our puny head torches weren't up to the task of showing us the route, but before we go into that, here is the map for today:

Day 3: Deeper into the Mountains

Shortly after leaving the refuge, the most obvious track heads down to the right which is actually the easy way up to Carozzu and is used by day hikers - and the guardians for reprovisioning the refuge. Unfortunately, yes we did stray in that direction and headed down the wrong way for about a hundred metres before I said to Di that I hadn't seen any red and white markers, only yellow ones. We backtracked to where the route went. It would have been much easier to find in daylight ...

Just after we got back on route a randonneur moving quite quickly joined us. Together we searched for the way in the half light. I was struck by how lightly equipped he seemed to be and how quickly he was moving so I asked him  (in my pidgin French), "Combien jours pour la route prendrez-vous?" 

He answered, "Normalment, six jours." 

'Wow!', I thought, 'Six days!' So I then asked, "Combien lourd est-ce que votre sac?"

His reply: "Six kilos".

A real mountain athlete doing his thing. Just great! Unfortunately this bloke's route-finding skills in the dark weren't much better than ours, and we followed him down the wrong route - following intermittent but wrongly-placed cairns - for about another hundred metres before he turned back. Together we found the correct route. He pushed on but we decided to wait until it was light enough to at least see the trail markers, as the guidebook describes the descent into the gorge as "steep and rugged". After only about fifteen minutes we felt we could see well enough to set off again, but  as you can see from the (rather grainy) photo of Di crossing the suspension it wasn't yet fully light ...

Spasmati Gorge Suspension Bridge

Although most of the Spasmati Slabs are unprotected and would be pretty tricky in the wet, there are a few short sections where chains or cables have been installed. Here is one example where a cable leads off around a corner and a GR marker clearly shows the way ...

What a Cheerful Girl!

The gorge and the slabs were fantastically atmospheric and I was rather sorry that we didn't have fuller light so I could make better photos. We have always found that we like to get underway early as we enjoy hiking in the morning when it's a bit cooler. This approach allows a bit of a safety margin should the weather turn nasty and also longer rest stops should one choose to exercise that option. Besides that, it's pleasant to spend at least some of the afternoon in camp relaxing and enjoying the sun. And, as far as the GR20 is concerned, the earlier you arrive the better chance you have of booking a spot at the dinner table in the refuge each night. However, the price we paid on this trip was often not being able to get great photos early because of the deep shade in places so I have to apologise for the lack of definition in some of today's photos.

It's always a joy in such inhospitable and rocky terrain as this gorge to encounter isolated clumps of flowers clinging to a tiny crevice and finding moisture and nourishment to survive ...

Unexpected Joy

The slabs were brilliant.  They were good and dry for the most part, allowing one to ascend pretty comfortably and confidently. The interesting thing was how long they stretched on up the gorge.

In the places where we came across hardware installed to provide a measure of safety we were able to ignore them completely. However, this is definitely not a place you'd want to be were it icy  ...

The Slabs Continue for a Surprisingly Long Way

The next photo shows the view back the way we've come. Unfortunately the light in the sky and the deep shade in the gorge itself made it difficult to really showcase the terrain at a level it deserves.

Granite Planet

I'd estimate that of the day's 860 metres of ascent, perhaps half of that was on the slabs themselves. Climbing them was quite a sustained effort but at the same time, thanks to the great footing, a real pleasure. In the next photo we are starting to get near the end of the slabs. If you look closely you can see a distinct straight line on the rock, which is actually a bit of fixed chain in case of icy conditions ...

Fantastic Walking in the Right Conditions

At the top of the slabs there was an elevated rocky shelf where a young couple were doing a bit of stealth camping. It was a beautiful spot, and I could hardly blame them but if many walkers did the same the route would become a real mess. There are very few places along the GR20 where camping would be hospitable in any case and, sadly, many walkers don't seem to think it necessary to dispose of their toilet waste in a way that doesn't impact on the experience of others. Hopefully that is something that will improve over time.

In the next photo we have left the slabs behind and are making a rising traverse towards the gully that leads the way out of the cirque. It's still pretty early as we've been making pretty good time. The exit from this valley lies pretty much directly above Di's head and slightly to the right, behind the ridge that stretches down from the right of picture ...

As we continued higher we were delighted with a view back towards the coast which had come into view behind a series of ridges.  Calvi, which is only twelve kilometres from our starting point in Calenzana shown below, with a ferry just entering port. It seemed like another world ...

Calvi: A World and Three Days Away

From another vantage point a little further up a beautiful ridge stretched away to the south and we wondered if that was where we would be traversing once we reached the col ...

Up near the head of the valley you pass a small tarn, the Lac de la Muvrella. Further on into the wide gully leading up towards the col there was a bit more shelter and moisture for plant life ...

Although shorter, like on the first day almost all of the ascent for this day's hike came in one continuous lot. We were nearing the col but I decided we might as well stop for a little rest and some energy ...

Nearly at the top of the day's climb

Finally we reached the col and came out into the sunshine, pleased with the rapid time we were making. No doubt optimal conditions - cool, no rain or wind, dry rock - helped enormously. 

As you can see from the photo below the col is 2003 metres, which is about 733 metres above Refuge Carozzu. With the initial descent into Spasmati Gorge, that means we've ascended about 800 metres since crossing the suspension bridge ...

At last: sunshine!

Through the gap we went. We imagined from reading the guidebook that we'd head pretty much straight down towards Haut Asco but were surprised to be led around a high and interesting traverse to another col where we were then able to see Haut Asco far below. There was quite a lot of fun scrambling initially across short rocky slabs and pinnacles to deal with then a long, loose descent. At this point we started to meet quite a few hikers on their way up into the mountains, many of them just out for the day.

Like the guidebook says, the descent takes longer than you think it might. Eventually we got into some fantastic large Laricio Pines. In the photo below I'm looking back up towards Di and a couple of day hikers on their way up into the mountains ...

Back down into the pines

Haute Asco is a funny sort of place. There is a refuge that doesn't serve food because of the presence of the ski resort and hotel. Another building has a little snack bar and apartments that seem only to be occupied during the ski season. We had booked into the hotel because we thought it would be great to have a big comfortable bed and a hot shower as well as a meal at the hotel. 

As it turned out, we were pleased to find that it had only taken four hours to get to Haut Asco from the time we left Refuge Carozzu, despite a couple of minor misadventures with route finding in the dark. After this, the third day on the route and accumulating over 2000 metres of descent, our knees were starting to complain a little but otherwise things were looking good.

The downside of arriving so early was that we couldn't get into our hotel to have the anticipated shower for a few hours.  Somewhat bemusing was the offhand manner of the staff on duty, who didn't seem at all interested in providing much in the way of service. It was a bit puzzling but no big problem. We managed to order and enjoy coffees on the verandah while writing postcards.There was a panoramic view across the parking lot ...

... and up the left of where the route would take us the next day ...

Here and there a larger Laricio Pine stood out amongst the forest, perhaps a remnant from a previous time when the area had been logged ...

Some of the hikers we'd passed along the way started to arrive. The small group that had arrived before us ordered lunch including a fantastic-looking salad, which we discovered had the title "Salade GR20". We were then interested - and impressed to see them pick up their packs after completing their meal and set off for the next stage. A young couple who had passed us in the traversing section but that we'd subsequently passed on the descent because the girl had a problem with one of her knees arrived, had lunch and also set off for the next stage. Because we had the hotel booked and we'd been warned to make a really early start on the next stage, we weren't tempted to join them. Instead, we ordered lunch ourselves, intending to take our time and enjoy the afternoon. After seeing what the Salad GR20 looked like, we couldn't go past it and a bottle of rosé to wash it down ...

One of the bonuses of hiking in Europe

After moving our packs up into our hotel room and having a shower we took a stroll along the start of the next day's route to check we could easily follow it if we started as day was breaking, which was our intention. A late afternoon snooze preceded dinner, which was fantastic. Even more fantastic was the service of the waiter who'd been so offhand when we'd arrived earlier in the day. He was amazing - zipping around the many tables,  deploying plates of food and picking them up as efficiently as humanly possible, the whole while cheerful as  you could imagine. Amazing stuff. We wondered if he - and the others who had also been a bit disinterested when we arrived but were now quite solicitous - had just dragged themselves out of bed before we got there or whether they just really enjoyed the more energised environment of the restaurant. We went to bed that night with the knowledge that the next couple of days looked to be spectacular and quite challenging before letting up a bit on day six.