Dead Ox Peak

The route starts in the village of Baselgas, where traditional buildings and orchards still mark the pulse of the rural world. From here, the route begins to gain altitude between meadows, pastures and scattered ash trees, and then enters more wooded areas, dominated by chestnut and oak trees. Although the first section has a somewhat steep slope, the climb soon eases, allowing you to advance comfortably through an increasingly open landscape.

Halfway along the route you reach one of the most singular points of the itinerary: the uninhabited village of San Adriano del Monte, where the remains of old dwellings and the San Adriano Chapel survive, a silent witness to time and the life that animated these mountains in the past. Despite its abandonment and lack of road access, San Adriano del Monte keeps its tradition alive: every year, on the Saturday closest to the 8th September, its old neighbours and descendants organise a picnic, bagpipe mass and an evening of music, celebrating the patron saint's festivities as they used to do in the old days.

From San Adriano, the path continues upwards, while the vegetation gives way to a wilder environment and the views extend over the surrounding valleys. After a detour to the right, the path heads towards the summit for the last three kilometres, where the climb becomes more demanding. Shortly before reaching the summit, the route passes through La Collada, where the Aula Vital is located, an austere refuge powered only by renewable energies, conceived as a space for learning and connecting with nature.

In the Aula Vital, visitors discover another way of understanding life and the environment: survival, astronomy, oral tradition, popular games, knowledge of the environment and self-organisation are taught here, all under the philosophy of learning from the landscape, the stars and the energy offered by nature. Asking questions, valuing what is essential and understanding that it can be lived in a different way are part of the experience offered by this unique educational space.

The final stretch leads directly to the summit of Pico Buey Muerto, from where the effort is rewarded with an exceptional panoramic view that takes in a large part of central Asturias: mountains to the south, valleys to the north and a mosaic of greens, greys and blues that invites you to stop and contemplate.

The return journey follows the same route, allowing you to rediscover the landscape from a different perspective. This route, without technical steps but with a certain accumulated gradient, offers a complete experience where nature, rural culture and history intertwine, making the Buey Muerto one of the most characterful ascents in the area.