This is an account of a winter crossing of the Pyrenees by David Hamilton and Steve Kentish in 2020. The journey started on the Mediterranean coast on 15^th January and should have ended at the Atlantic in late March. The outbreak of the Covid-19 virus in Europe and resulting travel restrictions ended the trip at Iraty on 17^th March, five stages short of the intended finish. It was a journey of 44 stages completed over 63 days, covering 724km with 54,000m of ascent. The entire distance was covered by ski or foot and no vehicles were used for travel. The route was split into nine sections: a hiking section at the start, seven ski sections in the middle, and a hiking section at the end.  Each section started from a location where it was possible to collect a package of supplies for the next leg. These were delivered in person by friends based in the Pyrenees, or sent by post to a hotel or tourist office.

Mediterranean Pyrenees: Banyuls to Gîte de Batère (Stages 1 – 4)

Leaving the shores of the Mediterranean we followed the well marked trail of the GR10 for four days. The route is mostly on or near the frontier ridge between Spain and France. The weather was mild but sometimes windy. The path alternates between sections on open ground and sections in forest. There was no snow on the ground, and conditions underfoot were generally dry. The trail climbs steeply from the coast taking in the summit of Puig Neulos (1256m) on the first day. It then undulates, mostly between 500m and 1200m, before climbing to 1450m at the end of day four.

A severe Mediterranean storm occurred in the 3^rd week of January causing significant flooding and damage in France and Spain. This deposited a large amount of snow above 1400m and delayed our progress by six days, as we sheltered away from the mountains. We returned to Gîte de Batère on 24^th January to resume the journey the following day.

Catalan Pyrenees: Gîte de Batère to L'hospitalet-Près-L'andorre (Stages 5 – 12)

This is a long section traversing two mountain ranges, separated by the Cerdagne plateau. The recent snowfall gave good ski conditions in the high mountain terrain, but made travel very difficult in the lower forest sections. The ascent of Canigou (2784m) was straightforward and the abseil descent down the ‘cheminée’ was the only time we used a rope on the whole trip. The long ridge from Ref Du Pla Guillem, via Refuge de la Porteille de Rotja, to Vallter was snow covered but mostly icy. With good snow conditions the small resorts of Vallter and Nuria are popular starting points for single day ski tours. On the short trip between them we met several other skiers. The Cerdagne plateau divides the main Pyrenean range from the Canigou massif and it will rarely be possible to cross this on skis. We climbed from Nuria to the Coll de Finestrelles (2604m), descended to Llo, and then faced a 15km hike to Font Romeu. Here we collected fresh supplies and set out for the two day trip over the Bouillouses-Carlit massif. We had an overnight stop at the small basic Cabane Rouzet. The weather had been excellent up until this point but deteriorated on the journey over the Portella de Lanos (c2500m) and Portella de la Cama (2534m). We arrived at L'hospitalet-Près-L'andorre rather cold and wet.

Pyrenees Ariège & Andorra: L'hospitalet-Près-L'andorre to Alos D’Isil

(Stages 13 – 20)

Passing through Andorra, then staying on the Spanish side of the range this was another long section through remote terrain. Snow cover was good on the higher sections and on the north facing slopes. The lower sections and south facing slopes had little snow and we had to walk for a few hours on several days. The Andorran huts (Juclar & Coms de Jan) were simple but well maintained. The terrain between them was complex, needing careful navigation. There was a very strong winds and some snowfall on the Coll de la Mina (2673m), on the way to El Serrat, making this one of the more difficult days of the trip. After collecting an extra resupply at El Serrat we made an early start for the key day through the Arcalis ski area and over two big passes, Port de Rat (2537m) & Port de Bouet (2509m), on to the Ref Vallferrera. The next three days via Ref Babort and Ref Certascan to Tavascan were fairly straightforward in fine sunny weather. Crossing to the Isil Valley was another key section requiring careful route planning and giving the steepest ski descent of the trip from the Coll de Tartera (2543m). The Ref de Fornet opened specially for us and we were the first guests of the winter season.

Catalan Pyrenees (Pallars / Encantats): Alos D’Isil to Espitau de Vielha (Stages 21 – 24)

After the initial climb out of the valley, this was a four day section entirely above 1800m with reasonable snow cover. The Refugi D'Airoto is a pleasant hut in a small isolated massif providing a key stopping off point between two larger and more popular mountain areas. Moving south towards the Port de la Bonaigua we endured a few hours of fog with light rain that made navigation difficult and travel stressful. The valley approach to the Ref Saborado was straightforward and this opened the way to two further days travel through the Aiguestortes National Park. Despite the absence of 3000m peaks this was a landscape of numerous lakes set among steep cliffs requiring careful navigation. Leaving the high ground via the Port de Rius (2344m) we could see that the snow cover was very thin in the lower valleys. We had now been moving for 20 days without a break, and decided to have a rest day in Vielha on 14^th Feb.

Central Pyrenees / Aragon(1): Espitau de Vielha to Gèdre (Stages 25 – 32)

The excellent weather continued as we travelled through the highest peaks of the Pyrenees. A short diversion from the Collada de Mollieres (2936m) took us to the summit of Tuc de Mollieres (3009m) on the way to Ref de la Renclusa. The following day we climbed Pico de Aneto (3404m), the highest peak in the Pyrenees.  The final rock section was a bit tricky in ski boots and crampons. The Remune valley and Portal de Remune (2817m) offered a pleasant route to the Ref Estos. The next three days each had a combination of good ski travel on the higher sections and long hikes in the snow free valleys. The initial descent from the Puerto de Chistau (2580m) was steep and icy before a long walk to the Ref de Tabernes. There was some complex route finding on the way to the Tuco de Mommour (2628m) and Puerto de Urdiceto (2403m) before the long valley descent to Parzan. The following day started with a 9km road hike before a ski crossing of Port Vieux (2384m) and a night in a shepherd’s hut at la Gela. While crossing the Port de Campbieil (2600m) we saw many hikers and skiers on day trips from Piau Engaly before walking down the long deserted valley to Gèdre.

Central Pyrenees / Aragon(2): Gèdre to Gavarnie (Stages 33 – 35)

Ian Storey lives in the Ariège and undertook the job of organizing and delivering our resupply packages during this project. He was able to join us for the classic three day section linking the cirque d´Estaubé and cirque de Gavarnie. We hiked from Gèdre to Cabane D´Estaubé (4.30hrs, 8.8km, 967m ascent) carrying skis and boots all the way on a snow free path. However this was followed by two days of excellent ski travel as we crossed the Brèche de Tuquerouye (2666m) and Col de Cilindro (3071m) on the way the summit of Monte Perdido (3348m). After a night in Ref de Goriz we crossed the Brèche de Roland (2807m) and descended to Gavarnie. A single day of poor weather in Gavarnie gave us the chance to rest before starting on the next section.

Central Pyrenees / Béarnaises: Gavarnie to Col du Pourtalet (Stages 36 – 39)

On 26^th Feb we set out with supplies for five days and a fairly uncertain weather forecast. The normal summer approach to the Refuge Bayssellance is often off limits in winter due to avalanche risk and dangerous cliffs. The lack of snow this season meant that the Barrancoue D’ossoue was passable, but icy slopes and deteriorating weather made for a challenging day. The journey on to Ref Wallon was achieved in great weather with a little new snow. The views of the Vignemale North Face were impressive, and the descents from the Col des Mullets (2591m) and Col d’Arratille (2528m) were enjoyable.

At the Ref Wallon we received a forecast of incoming poor weather and descended via Port d’Espagne to Cauterets to await improvement. We were not able to continue the journey until 10^th March, having lost a total of 10 days.

The new snow was welcome, however warm daytime temperatures and mild nights quickly caused this to turn wet and heavy at altitude and disappear rapidly lower down. The journey over the Col de Fache (2664m) and Port le Peyre St Martin (2298m) to the Ref Larribet was straightforward. Crossing the Port de Lavedan (2612m) was another key passage showing evidence of a recent large scale avalanche. This was a long day via Refuge D'arrémoulit and Caillou de Soques to the single hotel at Col du Pourtalet.

Béarnaises / Pays Basque: Col du Pourtalet to Iraty (Stages 40 – 44)

The summits were lower and the landscapes more open on the final ski section, but there were still some long days, some ‘delicate’ passages and some difficult navigation. The open plateau NW of Col de Pourtalet is dominated by views of Pic du Midi d’Ossau (2884m), and popular with hikers and skiers. Leaving this in hot sunny weather via the Col de Astun (2188m) we descended through the Astun ski area and hiked to Col du Somport. Rain and fog made the next day difficult as we covered 21km with 1578m ascent in 11hrs through varied terrain to reach the Ref D’arlet (1986m) on the France / Spain frontier ridge. Perfect weather and icy snow marked the next day as we followed complex terrain west towards the prominent limestone peak of Ansabere and the eponymous Cabane. An undulating limestone landscape led to the building site where the Ref Belagua is being rebuilt. We found a small wildlife ranger cabin nearby, and then got stuck in it for 24hrs as a snowstorm blew through. At this point we became aware that Europe was shutting down to combat the Coronavirus. We decided to cover a double stage to reach our final supply drop at Iraty (1327m) and organize homeward travel. Under heavily overcast skies, with wet snow underfoot we covered 32km in 11.15hrs, arriving after dark. Over the next three days we took a taxi to Biarritz, walked along the Atlantic shore, and caught one of the last Ryanair flights out of France.

Pays Basque / Altantic Pyrenees :  Iraty to Hendaye (Stages 45 – 49)

Iraty was always going to be the end of the skiable terrain. The final 142km through the rolling Basque landscape to the Atlantic is mostly below 1000m and rarely holds snow. To claim a true ‘coast to coast’ crossing of the Pyrenees we intend to return and complete this final five day hiking section as soon as conditions permit.

Accommodation

The total number of overnight stops was 47. This includes 2 ‘bad weather’ days spent in the mountains, but excludes 17 ‘bad weather’ days spent in valley accommodation.

18 nights were spent in valley hotels, gîtes, hostels, and one private house. 5 nights were spent in staffed mountain huts. 14 nights were spent in winter rooms of well-maintained mountain huts (some with mattresses and blankets). 10 nights were spent in basic mountain shelters with few facilities.

A more detailed account of this project is available at: <link>

This includes a daily diary, interactive map and downloadable GPS tracks.

Nuneaton, UK: 14/04/2020