In Sep 2019 myself, PJ, Rab, Nigel (along with Niall Kielt) tried to climb Naranjo de Bulnes (Picu Uriellu). It was a bit of a Hail Mary project, the last possible day of climbing in a squeezed week of overlapping leave. Sadly our route-finding let us down and we ended up on something grade VI instead of grade IV. We bailed and ran for the ferry, vowing to return.
Come July 2025 we were ready for another attempt, this time approaching from Las Arenas in the north of the Picos de Europa (we’d trekked from Fuente De in the south last time).
A weather window and the last few places in the hut prescribed a potential wet Thu hike up to Refugio Uriellu but a clear dry Fri. We bussed to Poncebos but found the funicular to Bulnes fully booked and opted to bus on to Sotres instead. It’s a 4 hour hoof that way and we were glad of the cloud cover and occasional cooling mist.
It was the usual hut experience: decent food and beers but broken sleep from the endless snorers, screamers and midnight toilet-goers. We were up and away by 7:30am for the hour long steep climb to the East face. Three groups (2 guided) had beat us to the start but that gave us the opportunity to follow the correct route line this time!
I was suffering a skiing shoulder injury so only had about 50% reach with my right arm. Rab had encouraged me to give it a go anyway and summon my inner T-Rex… Nigel was going to have to lead me on the whole climb. I held out hope that I might lead 1 or 2 easier pitches but the climbing was strenuous enough that that never happened.
It was after 10am by the time Rab and PJ were through the first pitch and Nigel and I got started. Everything had looked doable from underneath but you very quickly realise 2 things: the holds are well polished and the cracks (canalizos) are bottomless, so lots of pinch grips and painful toe jams.
The first 15m pitch was listed IV+ in the guide but the polish made it feel harder, about VS. We ran the next 2 pitches together for a 40m run out, again about VS to start, easing somewhat at the end.
The first party were abbing off as Nigel led off the 3rd pitch. The descending guide had already indicated that PJ was slightly too far to the left but then gave Nigel a load of instructions in Spanish. Eventually we figured out he was showing us a handy thread for a sling… Nigel had resorted to “What? Whaaaat??”
This 3rd pitch was a tight chimney but by now we were learning to trust the friction and look for the unpolished stuff. We got a bit off route on the next 2 pitches: what should have been a right, then left traverse we ended up just blazing straight up in a 50m run out. It started easy but was a tight finish, about VS again. Some climbers on a route to our right tried to help point out the belays and we got there in the end.
The last pitched climb would have been VDiff but for a difficult wee crux crack that pushed it to Severe. After that we dropped the packs and ropes and switched from rock shoes to boots / trainers. I’ve rarely been as glad to get out of rock shoes after all that toe jamming.
The last couple of “pitches” were just grade 2 scrambles up a couple of slabs and chimneys to gain the summit ridge. An easy walk / scramble to the top then to find the small huddled statue of Mary.
Time was pressing on, it was 3pm already, so we took some quick summit pics and then started the 4 abseils to get back down. It all went smoothly enough, bar Nigel dropping his phone halfway down the last abseil. On a route like this, if the only calamity is an oul phone, happy days.
It was 4pm when we’d packed up and the last bus from Sotres was 8pm. A guesstimated 1 hour to the hut and 3 back to the village meant we’d just make it. Rab and Nigel took the ropes and battered on while PJ and I returned to the hut for baggage we’d left behind. The 2 boys cheated and took a taxi from the road head, making the 7pm bus. PJ and I, unaware of this solution, hoofed the whole 5k and just about caught the 8pm one. It was a brutal walk out in the heat.
The fingertips are quare zinging today, like we’d spent a weekend climbing on Gola. We bought T-shirts in Arenas with the “Directa” climb stencilled on the back, a great souvenir for a great climb.