Mountain refuge Cabana de Sotllo

In the Porta del Cel and the HRP

In the high section that links the Porta del Cel with stages of HRP , this cabin appears as basic support in an area where progression changes quickly according to the direction of the slope and the hill to which it goes. It is at the end of Alins, in the Pallars Sobirà, at 2,350 meters, near the surroundings of Pont de la Socalma and under one of the most alpine sectors of the Natural Parc de l'Alt Pirineu.

Guidance and field

The Sotllo Cabana is very close to the mountain axis that leads to the Pica d'Estats , Pic de Sotllo and the tops of Canalbona. This places it in a high mountain terrain where the visual reference can be clear with stable time, but where changes in fog, wind or storm have a great impact on the orientation and pace of progress. It does not perform a comfortable stop function as well as an elementary guard or intermediate point to divide long days on a journey.

Its interest is to serve as a link between passing routes and ascends of the border area with Ariège, rather than in a short or isolated access to the pyrenees context. It should be raised autonomously, because the nearest sources are several kilometres away and water should not be taken for granted in immediate planning. At this altitude, the terrain, weather and possible exposure in open sections weigh more than the distance on the map, so access calls for basic mountain experience and margin for changing conditions.