 During World War II, an escape route from Saint-Girons to Esterri d'Àneu in Catalonia crossed Mont Valier.The "Path to Freedom" – the name given in 1994 to the hiking trail that follows the course – enabled the evacuation of 782 people between 1940 and 1944 and remained operational despite increased surveillance by the Germans from 1943.The route was operational until the end of the war.