Abric Almadraba is a podcast created by Edu Comelles that, through attentive listening, explores the soundscapes of the Marina Alta, drawing a subjective and poetic acoustic map of the region. Across four episodes, a prologue, and an epilogue, the podcast traverses mountains, marshes, coasts, and caves, capturing the realities, contrasts, and singularities of the territory through sound.
Casa de Neu
20 mins • Valencian • Abric Almadraba • Edu ComellesEpisode #3, the Casa de la Neu of Parcent, where the echo of the mallet and the vastness of the landscape intertwine history, memory, and silence.
In this episode of Abric Almadraba, we find ourselves at the Font de la Foia, at the foot of the Carrascar de Parcent, a natural border to the south of the Vall de Pop. From there, a steep trail leads to the Casa de la Neu, an ancient ice depot located at 800 meters above sea level. At this historic site, a team of stonemasons, led by two brothers from Planes, is working on the restoration of the snow harvesters' shelter, a dry-stone refuge built 300 years ago by order of the Duke of Parcent. Their days are marked by effort, daily ascents, and the sound of the mallet striking the rock, in an environment where the landscape dominates the horizon.
From the summit, the view opens over the Vall de Pop and beyond, to the coast, connecting the past and present in a space that feels both near and remote. The episode captures the sounds of the work on the shelter's reconstruction and the atmosphere of the mountain, where time seems to stand still. In a world where ice has become an ephemeral commodity, the very existence of this snow pit takes on an almost abstract meaning. Thus, between the echo of hammer blows and the vastness of the landscape, this high-altitude refuge becomes a symbol of resistance, memory, and connection to history.
We are at the Font de la Foia, at the foot of the summit of Carrascar de Parcent, the southern border of the Vall de Pop and behind a geographical wall of the Marina Alta. From this point, a narrow, rocky trail ascends vertically, following abandoned terraces up to the Casa de la Neu, 800 meters above sea level.
Up there, two brothers from the village of Planes lead a team of stonemasons in the reconstruction of the snow harvesters' shelter. This dry-stone building served the people tasked with managing the ice pit built there 300 years ago by order of the Duke of Parcent. They have been coming here to work for almost two months. Every morning, they climb the distance and elevation on foot to reach the site. Each day, they carry tools, food, and water. In the afternoon, they descend.
Between hammer blows, they pause long enough to become aware of the space they are in. From up here, we see the Vall de Pop, Murla, Parcent, and Orba. In the distance, the Serra de Segària. To the right, the Llosa de Camacho and the Montgó, omnipresent on the horizon. We observe the landscapes unfolding below, familiar places with streets, squares, houses, and more.
Up here, far from everything and yet so close, everything becomes abstract and blurred. There is a clear disconnect between this place and the world down below, and especially beyond, on the coast. Even the original purpose of this structure, an ice pit, becomes extremely abstract from today's climatic perspective. It seems impossible to think that at some point in history, it snowed here. This is a high-altitude refuge, a mountain refuge, an ice refuge, a refuge of carved stone. A place that can only be reached on foot, where men build a country with hammer blows.
A mountain refuge that preserves traditional uses. An almadraba that clings to the contradiction of a tradition and an identity in transformation, which, once again, is not about utility but about recreation. But, as Fran says, up here we don’t come to make a living, we come for another reason.
This episode features field recordings and soundscapes captured during the reconstruction work of the snow harvesters' shelter at the Casa de la Neu in Parcent on May 22, 2024. The sounds and text follow chronologically, as they were recorded. Special thanks to Fran TotapedraFamarge, his brother Javi, and the team of mountain stonemasons.
Abric Almadrava is a podcast created, narrated, and produced by Edu Comelles thanks to funding from the Impulsa Cultura 2024 grants by the Salom Sabar Foundation.
