80) Oulettes de Gaube

Glaciar

The Oulettes de Gaube Glacier is located at the base of the Couloir de Gaube. During the Little Ice Age and until the early 20th century, both glaciers converged to form the old North Glacier of Vignemale, which stretched from its head at the Col des Glaciers (Petit Vignemale sector) to the front located in the area of the current Gaube refuge, reaching a length of 1,590 m. This made it the fourth longest glacier in the Pyrenees. With an area of 62 ha, it was the second largest in the massif and the ninth largest in the mountain range. If we consider the length of the Oulettes Glacier individually from its feed zone in the Couloir de Gaube, it was 1,090 m.
At an altitude of 2,300 m, together with the Helero de 47) Barroude and the 1) Arcouzán Glacier, it has the lowest glacial ice in the Pyrenees. The ice is preserved thanks to the protection from solar radiation provided by the northern wall of Vignemale, as well as the excess snow it receives from avalanches, both from the aforementioned wall and from the Couloir de Gaube, from which it also received ice from the Ossoue Glacier.
In the 1990s, it split into two tongues to the left and right of a remarkable rock outcrop that emerged in the centre of the glacier. However, the ice no longer extends beyond the rock outcrop and the front is constantly fracturing as a result. At the base of the outcrop, a large mass of ice from the glacier has been fragmented into a black icefall, completely covered by eroded material. This mass of ice continues to be fed from the upper sector, mainly by sliding.
The current area of the icefall is 2.9 hectares, making it the second largest in the Vignemale Massif and the 12th largest in the Pyrenees.

Este aparato glaciar pertenece al siguiente macizo:

J) Vignemale Massif

Aragón
7 glaciers

Galería de imágenes

Image of the situation in 2017. In the centre is the Couloir de Gaube and at its base the Oulettes de Gaube Glacier. To the left is the Petit Vignemale Glacier, and at the top and on the opposite slope is the Ossoue Glacier (Jordi Camins).

The North Glacier of Vignemale in 1810, before the end of the Little Ice Age. On the left is the current Petit Vignemale Glacier, and on the right is the Couloir de Gaube and the current Oulettes de Gaube Glacier. (Drawing by Nicolás Chapuy – Thierry Frères – Glacier du Vignemale – Pyrenees).

The Oulettes de Gaube Glacier in 1974, with a very convex morphology, confirming its good state of conservation. (Camil José Guiu – AFCEC).

The Oulettes de Gaube Glacier in 1993. The longest of the two tongues of the glacier stands out, illuminated by the sun at the bottom of the photograph. The moraines from the Little Ice Age are clearly visible. Compare with the following image. (Jordi Camins).

The Oulettes de Gaube Glacier in 2024, two decades after the previous photograph was taken. In the lower right corner, a black icefall fragment has broken away from the glacier. Compare with previous image. (Ricki Piki).

From the summit of Piton Carré in 1993, the Couloir de Gaube (15), the Glacier des Oulettes de Gaube (80) with its two ice tongues (1-2), and moraine accumulations from the Little Ice Age (12). (Jordi Camins).

Detail of the Oulettes de Gaube Glacier in 2017, the fastest flowing glacier in the Pyrenees, protected by the northern wall of Vignemale. (Jordi Camins).

The two sections of the Oulettes de Gaube glacier in 2022. The active upper section in the shape of a glacier, and the lower black ice field, with openings that allow access to its interior. (Gabriel Baena).