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Special Offer – 20% discount for the first two weeks of September…

Special offer from August the 31st until Sept 17th

On October the 1st 2022 Casa Quiros will be rented on a long term basis – so as a special offer to fill the last two available weeks before that time, we are giving a 20% discount between the dates of Wed 31st of August until Saturday 17th September.

This gives a base nightly price of 72€ for two people so drop us an e-mail with your dates and requirements – minimum stay is five days and there’s and extra 10% discount for a two week booking.

Casa Quiros is perfectly situated for lovers of the outdoors: climbers, walkers, mountain bikers, road bikers or just those who want to chill out in a beautiful quiet spot. It’s also dog friendly…

On the summit

On the summit of Huertos del Diablo…

Pico Ferreirúa – The highest point in Teverga 1941m…

We picked a cooler day to do our walk up Ferreirua, the highest peak in the ‘concejo’ of Teverga, and that proved a blessing on the steepest parts of the hike.  As we did when we did Huerto del Diablo  we set of from Puerto Ventana after a short car ride.

This time the sky was grey so the views were not as stunning but at least we could see where we were going and it looked like a great walk. The path was relatively easy to follow  (we followed our nose without a map) and the first km or so wasn´t to steep and kind of skirted round the first obvious peak. However, the first hill proper was a bit of a shock with about 75m of very steep climbing which left us out of breath but improved the views. And from there we ascended via a series of steepish ascents and short descents over several small hills. The path was obvious and the ground pretty easy and forgiving.

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Then after about 2.8km the ground got a bit more mountainous and rocky and we semi-scrambled along a series of ridges each sharper and rockier than the last. These were fun as there were no serious drops and the path was easy to follow but they were a bit slow and awkward. At the end of the ridge we thought we were at the summit but in fact there was one last short, rocky descent and ascent to gain the top, which was marked by a small cairn.

As we reached the summit the clouds lifted and a bit of sun shone giving us stunning views into León and the Parque Natural de Somiedo, where some even bigger challenges lie!!

The map of our ascent.

The map of our ascent.

Overall this was a fun walk with some steep bits, some rocky traversing and as ever great views. We did it in about 3+ hrs with quite a few short stops and a 10 year old. Once again this would make a brilliant mountain run…

Follow us on Strava to see all our activities we are – Casa Quiros

Casa Quiros – Climb Bike Hike Run Relax…

 

Mountain Walk – Up to ‘Huerto del Diablo’ 2140m from Puerto Ventana

What a day out!! Making the most of a stunning, sunny day we decided that we needed to start exploring the local hills (mountains) a bit more and so headed up to Puerto Ventana 1587m. This pass forms the border between Asturias and Leon and is the southern-most point of Teverga. It’s a great starting point for several hikes as it lets you access the high mountains with the minimum of ascent (albeit there’s still some ascent!!).

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From Casa Quiros there are two ways of getting there: one shortish, roughish one, and a longer but smoother method. The quickest and more adventurous way is to drive east up the valley from Casa Quiros and, at Santa Marina, take the road up to Ricabo which just before the village is signed off right up to Puerto Ventana. This road then turns into a mainly unpaved road for about 11km leading slowly but surely up to Puerto Ventana. TBH the track is pretty decent and has no scary drop offs or bad patches – it’s tarmac where needed and is a reasonably gentle slope most of the way – this takes about 45mins from Casa Quiros depending on stops at the viewpoints. However, if you weren’t happy to do this in a rental car for example then the alternative is to go north towards Proaza and take the road up to San Martin (Teverga) and follow the valley south from there ( which actually covers some spectacular territory) to arrive at Puerto Ventana in about the same time. A good call maybe to go there one way and return the other…

Anyway from Puerto Ventana we decided to walk to to the peak known as Huerto del Diablo 2140m (the Devil’s garden – is the direct translation). This turned out to be a simple to navigate but very beautiful and not too challenging – our 10 year old son came with us and kept up the whole way. The walk starts on a wide easy to follow track which turns uphill and is the old miners track – the hills here were covered in small mines for many years – and soon gains height to give views of the high ridges and mountains to the south which lead to the Fontanes and Peña Ubiña – the highest points in the Ubiñas group at 2417m. At this point we saw what we think was a Golden Eagle gliding gently above us! From the end of the track we moved up and traversed across onto more open, rocky and mountainous terrain to take a wide gully which led steeply up to a coll.

From the coll we could see our objective easily enough and crossing a low valley we climbing up again onto a broad, rocky shoulder which led to the summit. The views from this shoulder were amazing – wide open vistas to the south of the majestic peaks of the Fontanes and the huge, precarious looking ridges between us and them. Once on the shoulder we reached the top of Huerto del Diablo in about 10 more minutes and relaxed with a bite of chocolate and and few photos. From there the obvious descent was down a wide ridge then ascend to take in the second peak of Huerto del Diablo south and to drop down to the south to arrive back at the top of the gully we’d climbed up.

Our ascent from Puerto Ventana

Our ascent from Puerto Ventana

The descent was very welcome as the day had heated up and all the sets of legs were getting a bit tired. And so in about 45 minutes more we arrived very hot and a bit bother to the big fuente (spring) at the start of the route. Freezing and refreshing in equal parts we dumped our shoes and socks and bathed our feet before nipping back to the parking. Final tally – from the parking around 11km with about 670 metres of ascent. With stops we took around five hours.

Fauna – Golden Eagle, Griffon Vulture and either large mountain goats or rebecos (a type of mountain deer).

As a note this would easily make a great trail run for anyone of that inclination…

Follow us on Instagram @Casa_Quiros for more photos and updates and for climbing updates follow us at @rocaverdeclimb

Ya estamos abiertos!!

¿Tienes la suerte de estar en Asturias? Ya puedes pasar unos días en plena naturaleza aquí en Quirós! Con la Senda del Oso y muchísimos caminos de monte al lado tienes muchas opciones para hacer senderismo o bicicleta (tanto de carretera como de BTT). Estamos en la fase 1 de la desescalada, lo que significa que ya pueden abrir los alojamientos turísticos. Siendo un concejo de menos de 5.000 habitantes aquí no hay franja horaria para pasear y hacer deporte así que los que se alojan aquí pueden disfrutar al máximo.

Ves el calendario en el margen derecha y contactanos por correo electronico richieandmary@casaquiros.co.uk para hacer una reserva…

Recuerdas que hasta más adelante no se puede viajar a Asturias desde otras provincias ni a otras provincias desde Asturias entonces no podemos aceptar reservas.

La Vuelta – Delayed until late October

Following the delays to the Tour de France and the Giro de Italia La Vuelta 20 has new dates, following the recent official announcement by the International Cycling Union (UCI). The Spanish tour will take off with the Irun – Arrate. Eibar stage on Tuesday the 20th of October, and will conclude in Madrid on Sunday, the 8th of November.

Due to the health crisis caused by COVID-19, Unipublic, organiser of La Vuelta, made the decision to cancel and not replace the official departure which was to take place in the provinces of Utrecht and North Brabant (Netherlands). Taking this into account, the UCI has reorganised the cycling calendar by exceptionally including a Vuelta with 18 stages, instead of the usual 21. This is a unique event as, since its 1986 edition, La Vuelta has always featured, at least, 21 days of competition.

The Director of La Vuelta, Javier Guillén, has highlighted his “satisfaction” with the new dates. “We have to try to turn this necessity into a virtue and to make the most of the opportunities available to us as a result of this new paradigm. We have a great position in the calendar and we hope to have an exceptional participation level”, emphasised Guillén.

La Vuelta will take place one month after the Tour de France (29th of August – 20th of September) and three weeks after the UCI Road World Championships in Switzerland (20th – 27th of September).

THE LATEST VUELTA

With these changes, La Vuelta 20 will be the latest edition in its history. Originally (1935) held during the months of April, May and June, Unipublic made the decision to move it to the end of summer in 1995. Up until now, its 2001 edition held the record for being the latest in the calendar. That year, the Spanish tour began on the 8th of September with an individual time trial in Salamanca and concluded with a linear stage in Madrid on the 30th of September.

Follow this link to the UCI site 

At the moment I haven’t seen the full new tour but I am presuming that the the two stages which passed close to Casa Quiros are still going ahead…

Horse trekking in Parque las Ubiñas

The Parque Natural de las Ubiñas, which straddles Quirós and our neighbouring counties of Teverga and Lena, is the youngest of all the Asturian natural parks. It’s a stunning mountainous landscape with spectacular high peaks, glaciated valleys and ancient woodlands and is criss-crossed with an extensive network of trails that makes exploring it relatively simple and infinitely appealing, be it on foot, bike or horse back. If you’re lucky enough to get the right conditions in winter you could even pull on your  snowshoes or cross-country skis out on the tops.

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Perhaps the best-known of these trails is the Camin Real de la Mesa which follows the old Roman road that crosses the mountain tops linking the provinces of Asturias and León. It forms part of the Via de La Plata, an ancient trade and pilgrimage route that ran all the way along the west side of Spain from south to north. Linking up to it at various points are a seeming infinity of other local paths.

Last September I had the good fortune to explore 60kms of this network of trails on a two-day circular horse ride in a group accompanied by a super-knowledgeable local guide, Paco from Cuadra Sobia stables. On the Saturday we climbed up through dramatic limestone gorges, enjoyed the dappled shade of extensive beech and chestnut forests and clip-clopped past waterfalls, stopping to picnic at a braña (an ancient settlement of the native nomadic cowherds, vaqueiros de alzada) from where we continued up to the roof of Asturias at Puerto Ventana.

From here we pitched over and down into León where we overnighted in an albergue.  The next day we looped back down to our starting point at Cuadra Sobia, via the extensive and spectacular plateau where Somiedo, Teverga and León meet. In the whole weekend we didn’t repeat a single section of trail and barely set hoof on tarmac. Apart from a few walkers by Xiblu waterfall the only company we encountered on the trails were wild horses and a few cows.

All in all an amazing experience that has whetted my appetite for continued exploration of these majestic mountains. Although from now on I shall be mainly staying on foot – two days in the saddle after 20 years without mounting a horse rather took its toll!

Quirós by drone – a visual guide to the crag

Set in a fantastic location, Quirós is unquestionably one of the best crags in the Roca Verde guidebook with a wealth of climbing across the grades on over twenty separate sectors. Historically important in the evolution of climbing in the Cordillera Cantábrica, its development goes back to the 60s and it is home to the first Asturian 8a. However, Quirós is not stuck in the past; it’s a vibrant, and very popular venue which is cared for by a dedicated crew of climbers including those from the refugio. Most of the sectors have been re-equipped with new bolts and chains and there has been plenty of new routing even in recent years.

Quirós is difficult to summarise due to the amount of climbing but several things stand out. Most prominent is the superb limestone, which, even after more than 40 years has hardly polished; then there is the variety, and although the climbing tends towards slabs or wall climbing, with fantastic examples of both, there are tufas, overhangs and even roofs! Add in a brilliant mix of multi-pitch and single pitch routes and the fact that a lot of the single pitches are of a good length and it’s easy to see why it’s a great destination.

Finally, Quirós is also very much an ‘everyman’ crag with the majority of the routes skewed towards the mid-grade climber as well as plenty for beginners and some superb, harder testpieces too.

Fraguel rock, a brilliant 6b on sector La Amarilla

Fraguel rock, a brilliant 6b on sector La Amarilla

Like Teverga many of the greatest Asturian climbers, as well as others, have left their mark at Quirós. Again the following list is probably not perfect but hopefully covers a lot of the main people: Eduardo Velasco, Francisco Blanco, Tino González, Claudio Sánchez, Javier López, Mariluz Santacruz, José Manuel Suarez, Nacho Orviz, Carlos Vásquez, José A Margolles, Plácido Suárez, José M Fernandez, Kike Oltra, Anselmo Menéndez, J Carreras, Jesús Martín, Roberto Magdalena.

Casa Quiros facilities – a selection of bikes perfect for the Senda del Oso

Just below Casa Quiros, next to the lake, runs the Senda del Oso which, roughly translated means ‘the bear path’. Now one of the most popular things to do in Asturias the Senda started life as the railway line which connected the mines of Quiros and Teverga to Oviedo. However, once the mines shut it became obvious to utilize the flattish tracks and tunnels to make a brilliant cycle/running route.

The Senda del Oso

The Senda del Oso

This route or just part of it makes great day out, either as a rest day from climbing or simply as a fun activity on its own – walking, running or biking. Obviously you’ll cover most ground on bikes and although there are plenty of bike rental companies if you rent Casa Quiros we have a selection of bikes all of which are suitable for the ‘off-road’ nature of the Senda.

Obviously a couple of these are true mountain bikes and so could be taken on some of the more demanding tracks which can be found around the house.

The bikes at Casa Quoros

The bikes at Casa Quiros

And we also have a bike with an attachable baby seat for those who bring a child under 5!

And for those who are very keen, one of the most popular events – and one of the hardest – is the half-marathon which takes places each year on the Senda del Oso. I did it a couple of years ago as my first ever race and if you’re up to it it’s a pretty cool event. It’s on 28th October this years and here’s a link: –https://carreraspopularesasturias.com/carreras/proaza/media-maraton-sendadel-oso-2020/

My first race

My first race!! – team Senda del Oso…

Teverga from the air…

For those who don’t know how much rock we have or what they’re missing in if they haven’t climbed in Teverga – which is a short 15min drive from Quirós – here’s an aerial view of some of the 35 (or more) sectors which make up this brilliant destination.

There’s close to 1000 routes here and thanks to the work of the dedicated local club Grupo Escalada Aguja de Sobia there are more routes and sectors being opened every year.

You can see the size and scale if you check out the cars on the road…

The guide to the area is available on my page http://bit.ly/BuyRocaVerde2 and if you need somewhere we’re here for you…

La Vuelta 2020 – 29th + 30th August at Casa Quiros

Ok, it’s on its way once again, and this year there are more stages than ever in the north of Spain in La Vuelta – Spains equivalent to the Tour de France. And this year there are two stages which go very close to Casa Quiros – one right underneath.
And if possible, the two stages this year are even more brutal than last years in Asturias which ended up on the Alto de la Cubilla after passing under Casa Quiros.

Stage 14
So even though this is not considered the harder of the two stages to me, knowing the climbs, it looks very, very hard. It’s also 170km long and takes in three category 1 climbs! This includes La Cobertoria from Pola de Lena (which is sooo steep) as well as then heading up San Lorenzo which is another very difficult pass, before topping off on the long grind of Farrapona.

This stage passes underneath Casa Quiros on 29th August and I’ll hopefully be riding it the day before. One thing to bear in mind is that the end of August is usually the hottest time of year in Asturias and so heat could be a factor.

Vuelta 2020 1

Stage 15
Now this stage is the one which is considered to be the one which may well decide the race as it finishes up the legendary Alto de Angliru which with it’s sections of up to 23% (and we’re not talking one or two metres either). This climb strikes fear into the heart of some of the most hardened athletes. And when it was first proposed for the tour it was said that some riders thought ‘they are trying to kill us’. However, it also makes for great drama like it was two/three years ago when Contador bowed out with an incredible stage win in his final year as a pro…

This stage is very close to Casa Quiros, starting from Pola de Laviana, about 20km away and wending its way round to finish up Angliru which is about 35km away.

Vuelta 2020 2

 

So if you fancy checking it all out Casa Quiros is not booked up for those dates at the time of writing this blog…

And if you want to see more about riding here and the Angliru in particular you can check out one of our guests experiences in this Blogpost – Angliru Blog