"In the mountain I am happy and in the Pyrenees even more"

Peaks, summits, ridges, edges, spurs, glaciers, gullies, walls, rocks, valleys, lakes, meadows, flowers, forests, paths, smells, colors… scientist Lluís Torner likes everything the mountain offers him and especially what is found in the Pyrenees: “It is impossible for me to choose a specific place, I like all of the Pyrenees and I do most of the things that can be done there. When I was young I did a lot of climbing, now I climb peaks, go down valleys and with my family I like to ski and go see lakes. In the mountains I am happy and in the Pyrenees even more so”. He believes that one of the reasons why he likes it so much is for the aesthetics, the beauty of what he sees, and even though humans are polluting the planet, the mountain is still, almost always, a pure and clean place, which allows for intense contact with nature.He is unable to remember the first time he went there. He explains that for someone from Berguedà, like him, hiking is common. Upon reaching adolescence, he went to climb the first peaks in the Pyrenees, with older and more knowledgeable people. He admits that since the eighties the landscape has changed quite a bit; then there were about twenty glaciers and now there are four left, and they are small. He comments that it is visible proof that the planet is warming as a whole, a shame for what it means and because this spectacle of nature is disappearing. Torner refers to the white that remained in the summer, a white part around rocks that are usually red: “In mid-July the snow had already disappeared, only the old, black ice remained, and it is not the same. It is sad, the mountains look strange, as if they had been stripped bare.”As an adult, he has also continued to go to the mountains: “When we made family plans, they were in the mountains. The children, even if they didn't like it as much, already knew we were going,” he says, smiling. He is also proud to have many mountain friends, to enjoy it with friends and family, and assures that apart from them, science and the mountains have been and are his life.

If he had to make a choice, his favorite spots would be the Besiberri peak, the Estany de Mar lake, or a bike ride above Guils de Cerdanya until reaching the Feixa refuge, which he describes as “a beautiful, rounded place, all green and with a great view,” although there are so many, he says, that he could choose lakes with green or deep blue water. He also practices cross-country skiing with his partner, and although some find it boring, he likes it because it allows them to see many landscapes. He has abandoned climbing more and has replaced it with ridges, “it’s wonderful to ride them, to grab on both sides to reach the summit”.

Among his best memories is camping out, when he has had to spend the night before reaching the summit, sitting with his climbing partner in a small corner protected from the wind, waiting for it to get dark, sleeping a little, and being the first to see the sunrise. From there, walking to get to the very top and enjoy the spectacle.