Pic de Montcalm is a French pyrenean summit, culminating at , located in the Ariège department,

Midi-Pyrénées Midi-Pyrénées (; oc, Miègjorn-Pirenèus or ; es, Mediodía-Pirineos) is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Occitania. It was the largest region of Metropolitan France by ar ...

region of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Topography

Located in the Ariège south of

Auzat Auzat (; Languedocien: ''Ausat'') is a commune in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region of south-western France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Auzatois'' or ''Auzatoises''. The commune has been awarded one flower by ...

in the

Vicdessos Vicdessos is a former commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Val-de-Sos.pique d'Estats and the pic du port de Sullo are the three main summits of the massif du Montcalm, the last two bordering Spain and la

Pica d'Estats Pica d'Estats (or ''The States Peak'') (Catalan: ''Pica d'Estats'', French: ''Pic d'Estats'') is a mountain in the Montcalm Massif, Pyrenees. on the Spanish– French border, and is the highest mountain in Catalonia. This mountain is included ...

the highest summit in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

. The summit is located in the perimeter of the parc naturel régional des Pyrénées ariégeoises.

History

The first ascent was made on July 18, 1807 by

Augustin Pyramus de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candoll ...

along with guide Simon FaureA. Bourneton, « Deux siècles d'ascensions dans le massif Montcalm-Estats », ''Pyrénées'', n° 200, 1999, pages 343-358 ; n° 201, pages 5-16 ; n° 202, pages 127-136 ; n° 203, pages 229-238

Access

On the French side, three main itineraries are possible : * by the Pinet refuge, located next to the lac du Pinet: the path (tagged red and white) is the easiest (namely downhill) and most used itinerary. * by the Soulcem valley and the Riufret couloir: some passages are difficult going downhill. It is poorly signed. * by the vallon de Pujol and the Pla Subra: which used to be the conventional track, used by the first Pyrenean pioneers. The route begins at the ''chalet du Montcalm'' (also called "Refuge du Montcalm") located by the ''route de l'

Artigue Artigue is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in th ...

'', 1 km after the hamlet of Marc. The route gradually lost its status as the normal route due to certain difficult passages, below and above the ''Tables du Montcalm''. On the Spanish side: by the

Val Ferrera The Ferrera Valley ( rm, Val Ferrera, german: Ferreratal) is a valley in the Swiss canton of Graubünden between Schams and Avers. It is 10 km long and is drained by the Avers Rhine. The only villages in the valley are Innerferrera and Aus ...

, from the

from which one can reach the Montcalm by the ''col de l'Estats'', French side.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montcalm Mountains of the Pyrenees Landforms of Ariège (department) Pyrenean three-thousanders