Full report will be available soon on my blog at www.mikecoppock.com. In the meantime here are some of my thoughts on the route. The weather was not the best for my crossing and I had several days of persistent rain, snow, iced over glacial boulder fields and freezing temperatures some nights above 2500m. I didn't have a strict plan and ran everyday on how I felt and where was an appropriate place to stop. I did plan between refuelling stops because there aren't that many (Elizondo, Parzan, Pas de la Casa, Super Bolquere, Amelie de les Bains) and up to 4 days between them.
Although there are a multitude of different variations for the Haute Route Pyrenees (HRP), I think the route that I took followed the most direct line and was in keeping with the concept of the HRP in staying as high as possible and close to the border. The route was pretty much the same as the one taken by Louis-Philippe Loncke on his incredible solo unsupported crossing. There are lower variations, namely between Refugio de Viados and Hospital de Vielha, however, this significantly changes the nature of the challenge and avoids the highest part of the route, including the high glacial terrain and the highest peak (Tuc de Mulleres 3010m) and is considerably less challenging.
Similar to the GR10, I would like to propose that the route used by the solo unsupported and self-supported (pending verification) fastest known times be considered as the main variation for future record attempts, to establish a repeatable challenge and in the spirit of fair competition.
Please contact me for any more information regarding my attempt. I have photo and video files of the whole route should they be needed. I'd be happy to share any information with anyone who would like to attempt the route.
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The full write up can now be found here:
https://www.mikecoppock.com/post/the-borderline-the-haute-route-pyrenees-fastest-known-time
Along with my video documentary of the run:
https://youtu.be/RdbeE_7EDKw