Turon de Néouvielle, Mountain summit in Hautes-Pyrénées, France
Turon de Néouvielle is a 3,035 m summit in the Néouvielle Range, on the eastern edge of the Pyrenees National Park. Its grey rock face, cut by vertical gullies and ribs, rises above a dark lake, with scree slopes and a small snow patch near the ridge. A rocky spur, named Pointe Reboul-Vidal, extends toward Cap-de-Long Lake.
On 2 August 1787 the astronomer Jean-Joseph Vidal of Mirepoix and the Toulouse chemist Henri Reboul made the first recorded ascent of a Pyrenean peak above 3,000 m here, while working on the general levelling of the Pyrenees. The rocky spur running from the crest toward Cap-de-Long Lake carries their names.
The name Turon comes from Gascon and means "rounded summit", while Nèu vielha means "old snow", referring to the snowfields and small glaciers once found on the north and west slopes. The rocky spur running from the crest toward Cap-de-Long Lake is named after Vidal and Reboul, the first recorded climbers.
The usual route leaves from Barèges and passes the Refuge de la Glère, beside Lake Glère, before gaining the crest. The final slopes are bare rock and scree with no marked shelter above the hut, so the descent must be timed before dark. Snow patches can persist near the ridge even in summer.
The summit's name comes from Gascon: "turon" means a rounded, tower-like top, while "Néouvielle" derives from "nèu vielha", old snow, after the snowfields and three small glaciers once covering its north and west slopes. The glaciers are now almost gone.
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