The Aneto Cross returns to the Pyrenees roof: the impressive helicopter transfer to the top at 3,400 meters

The Christian cross that traditionally crown the Aneto, the second highest peak of the Iberian Peninsula with 3,404 meters of altitude, has been reinstalled this Wednesday after a year of absence motivated by its deterioration and subsequent restoration process. The operation, coordinated by the Mountain Rescue and Intervention Group (Greim) of Benasque (Huesca), has been developed without incident thanks to favorable weather conditions.

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The cross was removed in September 2023 due to the advanced wear caused by more than seven decades of exposure and the extreme conditions of the Pyrenean massif. Since then, it has been subject to an exhaustive restoration process.

The intervention has begun at 6:00 am with the exit of the helicopter team from Benasque. At 7:00 they were already at the top of Aneto, where the installation work has been carried out. And shortly before 11:00, the cross has been set with new anchors and tensioners, and the team has returned to the valley.

During the waiting months, the cross was exposed to the public at the Palacio de los Condes de Ribagorza de Benasque, managing to attract thousands of curious. So much so that the success of the sample has led the City Council to raise the creation of a permanent replica in the municipality, as a tribute to its symbolic and historical value.

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The placement of religious symbols in mountainous summits is an extended tradition in Spain since the mid -twentieth century, especially in areas of strong cultural and mountain roots such as the Pyrenees.