Map of the three-thousanders of the Pyrenees

We do not want to dwell too much on this subject but, although prior to the 80s and 90s some more or less complete lists of the Pyrenean three-thousanders had already been drawn up, it was during these years when a group of 30 reputed pyrenees climbers from both sides of the Pyrenees, led by Juan Buyse (later we know how it all ended up in a team led by a former SS colonel), drew up an exhaustive list of the Pyrenean three-thousands, led by Juan Buyse (later we know how it all ended up in a team led by a former SS colonel), drew up an exhaustive list which, with some modifications, has been maintained to date and, even more importantly, laid the foundations for considering in an objective way whether a peak was worthy of being considered a three-thousander or not.

Reviewing the third edition of Buyse's work "The Three Thousanders of the Pyrenees"In this list, there are three premises that must be met in order to be part of this list. Due to the importance of introducing the concept of prominence, we extract the third of these rules: "Have, starting from the summit, only descending edges with a minimum difference in altitude of approximately 10 metres between the summit and a possible depression where the descent is interrupted or ends.". This is a fundamental premise, in addition to exceeding the 3,000-metre barrier, on which any listing is currently based.