Mont Valier (

Languedocien Languedocien (French name, ), Languedocian, or Lengadocian () is an Occitan language, Occitan dialect spoken in rural parts of southern France such as Languedoc, Rouergue, Quercy, Agenais and southern Périgord. It is sometimes also called Lang ...

: ''Mont Valièr'') () is a mountain of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

in Ariège, France. Its name comes from ''Valerius'' (Saint Valier, ca. 452), the mythical first bishop of Couserans, who climbed the peak. Bernard de Marmiesse, another bishop of Couserans, had a marble cross erected on the peak in 1670.Giles Barber, ''Saint-Girons - Ses rues, leur histoire à travers les âges'', PyréGraph, 2005. .

Geography

A small glacier, the Glacier d'Arcouzan, occupies its northeastern slope. It is the only glacier in the Pyrenees situated below 3000m, the most Eastern glacier in the chain and also the most isolated. The summit is located on the perimeter of the regional park of the Ariège Pyrenees. A number of valleys originate on its sides:
On the French side, the stream of Artigues, a tributary of the

Salat ''Salah'' (, also spelled ''salat'') is the practice of formal ibadah, worship in Islam, consisting of a series of ritual prayers performed at prescribed times daily. These prayers, which consist of units known as rak'a, ''rak'ah'', include ...

(which itself rises a few miles from Mont Valier) and the Ribérot, a tributary of the Lez, itself a tributary of the Salat.
On the Spanish side, the Noguera Pallaresa, and a few miles to the west, a trbutary of the river Ebro.

Climbing

The

normal route A normal route or normal way (; ) is the most frequently used climbing route for ascending and descending a given mountain peak; it is usually the easiest and often the most straightforward route. Other generic names include the ''Tourism, tourist ...

, in summer, starts from the Refuge des Estagnous and travels to the Col Faustin before ascending the broad South face. This is the easiest route, although it is still challenging. The other principal route to the summit is via the Arête des Antiques and involves rock climbing along an exposed ridge. The east face and its famous "Trou Noir", (black hole), first climbed by Louis Audoubert in 1971, is rarely ascended. The classic ascent in winter is via the Couloir Faustin; it is a long outing mostly on snow (AD).

History

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, an escape route from Saint-Girons to

Esterri d'Àneu Esterri d'Àneu () is a town and municipality in Pallars Sobirà county in Catalonia. It has a population of . It is situated on the right bank of the Noguera Pallaresa river above the reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake beh ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

crossed Mont Valier. The "Path to Freedom" – the name given in 1994 to the hiking trail that follows the course – enabled the evacuation of 782 people between 1940 and 1944 and remained operational despite increased surveillance by the Germans from 1943. The route was operational until the end of the war. On August 18, 2023, French general Jean-Louis Georgelin fell to his death while hiking on Mont Valier, at an altitude of .

Protected zone

By a ministerial decree of 5 July 2005, a large area centred on the village of Seix, including the Crown Reserve of Mont Valier, was designated as a "special protection area" and a site of the

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

network.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valier, Mont Mountains of Catalonia Mountains of the Pyrenees Mountains of Occitania (administrative region)