Tuc Gran de Sendrosa, 2700 m

Camino de Ruda parking area - Refugi de Saboredo - Lac de Baish - Tuc Gran de Sendrosa - Coll de Sendrosa - Estany de Miei - Estany de Naut - Lac Major de Saboredo - return

To access Val de Ruda you drive just past Baqueira then turn right onto the gravel road of the Camino de Ruda until the parking area at its end where the route starts. From the parking I followed a clearly marked GR trail to the Refugi de Saboredo. At the refugi I took the path to the right towards Colomers and Coll de Sendrosa, passing along the shores of Lac de Baish. A little under 2 km from the Refugi I left the established trail to head up the steep slopes leading to the east ridge to summit Tuc Gran de Sendrosa. For this ascent line there are no trails or route markers, the terrain is steep and requires route finding in an alpine environment therefore I rated this as a moderate alpine route. However, if experienced then I would consider this to be easy, straightforward scrambling. I was lucky enough to see a large group of red deer and 2 rock ptarmigan on the way up but not fast enough to photograph either.

From the summit of Tuc Gran de Sendrosa (2700m) the panoramic views are some of the best in the area - encompassing the numerous lakes of the Colomers area and reaching far towards the west where Montardo, Besiberri N and Aneto stand out as well as the expanded panorama of the Saboredo circle on the other side.

The ridge descent to the Coll de Sendrosa follows an intermittent path and is clearly marked with rock cairns. It does require some care as it is a steep descent to the coll and requires some hands-on manoeuvring through the boulder sections. Once at the Coll de Sendrosa I reconnected to the hiking path and descended back to the refugi.

At the refugi I connected back to continue on the GR to see Estanys de Miei and Naut, then cut across off the trail up and over a grassy hill to the picturesque Lac Major de Saboredo. Here I connected to a shoreline path that brings you to the dam at the head of the lake. After crossing the dam a path follows to the right side of the river until crossing over it on a small wooden bridge. At this point you can go straight and end up back at the Refugi de Saboredo or continue as I did and follow the faint path to the right which quickly connects back to the GR for a more direct return to the parking.

NOTE: my garmin watch recorded the distance as 17.16 km and elevation gain 1,168 m - just as reference for planning as the wikiloc recording is not as accurate. Please also note that I tend to have a faster than average hiking pace so when planning adjust trip timing as needed.

Note on rating: I rated this as a moderate alpine route because the ascent up the east ridge to the summit of Tuc Gran de Sendrosa has no route markers or trail, therefore requires comfort route finding in an alpine environment. The ridge descent to the Coll de Sendrosa is clearly marked with rock cairns but requires some hands-on manoeuvring through the boulder sections.