Aitz Txiki is a peak of
Biscay
Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...
,
Basque Country (
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
), 791 m. high. Its name means "small rock" ''aitz''=rock ''txiki''=small.
Description
It is the smallest peak of the
Urkiola
Urkiola is a mountain range of the Basque mountains in Biscay near Durango, in the western Basque Country, Spain. The highest mountain in the range is Anboto (1331 m). The range runs from west to east and forms the water divide between the At ...
range, and forms part of the same
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
mass that forms the
Anboto
Anboto () is a limestone mountain of the Western Basque Country, the highest peak of the Urkiola range and not far from the Urkiola mountain pass between Durango and Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Description
An immense mass of limestone, very compact a ...
and the
Alluitz.
Although it is the smallest one, it has the same rough and wild look, especially when viewed from the ''Atxarte'' pass that separates the mountain from the neighbouring
Untxillaitz {{Infobox mountain
, name = Untxillatx
, photo = Untzillatx 2.jpg
, photo_caption = Mount Untxillatx
, elevation_m = 934
, elevation_ref =
, prominence_m = 375
, prominence_ref =
, map = Spain
, map_caption = Location in Spain
, map_size ...
. It has a double summit- the highest is Aitz Txiki and the lowest one is ''Artxua'' or ''Sorginkobetagana''. It is rough and difficult from all sides except the one faced to ''Atxarte'', which is the main access route. There are remains of a
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
that was used to watch the Atxarte pass.
The main
rock climbing
Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...
ways of Biscay's climbing school are in its slopes.
Ascents
From Atxarte (1h 30m): from the ''Zelaieta'' parish of
Abadiano goes the road to ''Mendiola'' until the ''Atxarte'' pass, then the river is crossed and the route reaches the
col
A col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks; a mountain pass or saddle.
COL, CoL or col may also refer to:
Computers
* Caldera OpenLinux, a defunct Linux distribution
* , an HTML element specifying a column
* A collision sig ...
of ''Asuntze'' soon left to reach the col of ''Artola''. From there the proper ascent to Aitz Txiki begins without major difficulties through steep meadows.
From Axpe (1h 30m): the path goes just under the ''Devil's Pass'', from here the
Alluitz can be seen. A path to the right leads to the col of ''Artola'' from where the route of Atxarte continues.
External links
* (es
Astxiki at wikineos(includes maps and many photos)
* (es
Mendikat{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525205828/http://mendikat.net/monte.php?numero=306 , date=2015-05-25
* (es
Las montañas
Mountains of Biscay
Basque Mountains
Mountains of the Basque Country (autonomous community)