HRP mid sections in early July – Snow and wayfinding?

Snow pack is variable. You should allow for a good cover for the first few weeks. It might be there, or it might not.

If there is snow, forget about finding the track. It will not be visible, and neither will much of the way-markings. They are often on rocks – under the snow. Stuff (and navigation) could be tricky in places.

Few of the Refuges will be open before the middle of July. That's when the 'season' starts. That's a bit of a hint about the weather, btw.

If there is snow around, you might get a bit more than a 'taste' of the high mountains. Yeah, a GPS might be useful under those conditions.

Cheers

Thanks Roger. That's really helpful. Sounds like conditions could be much more difficult than I'd thought. Some accounts mentioned that snow was particularly heavy and late in 2013, but otherwise Joosten plays down snow – excepting the few sections of the trail for which he details alternate routes. He gives the impression the trail is hikable from mid-June.

If most of the waymarkings would be hidden, maybe I need to plan an alternate route if there is any indication of snow in early July. Perhaps I should consider GR10.

I guess I'll try phoning some of the refuges in late June to ask about snow conditions.

As Roger said, snow is quite variable in July from year to year. Last year there was lots.
From Gavarnie, you need to head east to get to Salau :-)
I would say ice axe is essential but full crampons are not. Something like Hillsound Trails are ideal. A GPS can be reassuring at times, the 'trail' is not like what I gather US 'trails' are like. You will get some time alone, but I guarantee you will meet someone every day in July – possibly even me!

Thanks Stuart. Also very helpful. That's my careless mistake on the direction of travel; I meant west to east :)
I'll report back what I learn about snow conditions sometime in June, in case it's useful to anyone else.
Maybe see you along the way!

With the ski resorts in the Pyrenees shut now they are no longer posting snow reports. Does anyone know where to get accurate info about snow depth in the critical areas of the HRP?

You can get snow depth information from http://www.meteofrance.com/previsions-meteo-montagne/pyrenees/monp007pyrenees .

Scroll down to a section titled Relevé de haute montagne (en France)
Select Hebdomadaire for the month details or Saisonniere for the season.
Choose the section of mountains you want (Pyrenees Ouest or Est) and Station.

Ewan,

When Amy and I thru-hiked the HRP in 2010, we reached Gavarnie on July 19. This was day 12 of our walk. We reached the area around the refuge Enric Pujol on day 22. On our walk, we only had snow on the high passes and we didn't carry either an ax or crampons to cross them. However, we had the benefit of soft snow and previous walker's steps. Without these, it would not have been possible to cross at least the Col inferior without snow tools. What conditions will be like this summer is anybody's guess.

As to a gps, without snow on the ground, we found navigation to be generally easy, but the gps was very helpful when the fog rolled in, especially in the higher passes. Waymarking is hit or miss, but much of the terrain is quite open and if you can see and if you can read a topographic map, navigation should not be a problem. There are a lot of other trails, use paths, and animal tracks that lace the route and can sometimes cause confusion, but with care, you shouldn't have a problem staying on track. However, if snow covers everything…

James

An alternative interface for the same information (and in the same website):

http://www.meteofrance.com/previsions-meteo-montagne/neige/pyrenees/monp007pyrenees

You can choose altitude and side (versant; north or south)

The problem I'd had with meteofrance in the past was from accessing the site on my iPad, and it usually wouldn't open past the home page. Now that I've tried again on my desktop computer I've got in ok, and found it a very easy site to navigate, so thanks for the heads up.

My Google Translate has been working overtime, but it looks like there is slightly less snow pack at altitude at the moment than an average year. There was a warm spell in May that melted a lot of snow.

As regards other sections to try, the 80 miles from Lescun to Gavarnie is really nice, and challenging enough if you stay on the main Haute Route. From there you can just keep going east until it's time to go home, although you'll have to work out your exit route.

Thanks everyone for more useful advice.
James and Amy- Thanks for explaining your experience. Your trip report was what tipped the decision for me to try a section of the HRP!
John- Below average snow depth sounds promising. We'll have to keep checking. Thank you for also suggesting Lescun-Gavernie.

New question: Suggestion on where to get Rando Editions maps? It seems some editions are out of print (including 22 and 24, which cover Gavernie and Vielha-Salardu). There are no reasonably priced versions available online in the UK. There might be a few scattered around GoOutdoors shops across England, but I'd have to go to the stores in person.
What's the best alternative? Can I buy electronic versions of the maps? Do I revert to the French IGN and Spanish Editorial Alpina maps?

Thank you all again!

> It seems some editions are out of print (including 22 and 24, which cover Gavernie
> and Vielha-Salardu). There are no reasonably priced versions available online in
> the UK.
I believe the printer went bankrupt.
Very strange: you would think that there would be a good demand in Europe, but …

Anyhow, you can find a complete coverage on the web, sort of.
Try the following (I am sure there are more):
http://www.hrp-essential.com/HrpFrame.htm
http://www.wandermap.net/en/route/1952924-hrp-haute-route-des-pyrenees-banyuls-sur-mer-san-sebastiandonostia/
The 2nd one allows you to zoom in and then you can screen-grab. Note also the Print maps button: it creates 247 (247) small printable topo maps or a smaller number at a reduced scale.

Cheers

Rando editions Carte no. 3, 4, 23 will get you from Lescun to abeam Vielha, which is about two weeks, and includes the Col Inferior de Literole.
Try the Map Shop, Upton upon Severn, or Stanfords in London.

You can still get Rando carte 5 and 23 on amazon

I have 3, 4 and 24 and could scan any sections you cannot otherwise get

Hi Ewan,

One of your questions was 'if you would recommend a different roughly 12-day section of the HRP, I'd be grateful to know about it!'

As you prefer to start & end in France, you could consider starting in Arinsal (Andorra) as it linked with Toulouse via a convenient shuttle service (http://www.andorrabybus.com/), and end in Bagnères de Luchon (that has a train station… and a cable car lift option to descent into the valley)

I have done this route in july 2014 in nine days, but you can easily extend it to 12 day by peak bagging and/or going south of Mt. Aneto (instead of the busy northern corridor). Impressions: https://plus.google.com/photos/115730044803644133203/albums/6043012952060502769?authkey=CNuK_qXSkK9K&banner=pwa (remember, 2014 was a big snow year in the Pyrenees – July rather looked like May).

PM me with your email address if you would like the gpx tracks & map options.

Wim

PS: if you understand a bit of French, consider (also) purchasing the TransPYR guidebook of Jérôme Bonneau. IMHO a better option than Ton Joosten’s guidebook.

PS 2: 2015 is probably going to be a normal snow year. Webcams: http://www.alberguesyrefugiosdearagon.com/webcams.php . I’d still bring a lightweight axe & microcrampons.

Thank you Wim. That's really helpful. I'll PM you about the maps.

Here's some more info Win sent in an email and said could be shared with the Forum:

Hi Ewan,

I’m sending you some gpx-files with the route (options) of my mid-HRP walk. Mind you, some parts are cross country (sometimes with ducks assisting route finding).

Some Rando maps are indeed not available anymore. With the exception of the last two days, I remained on the Spanish side (more sunshine and slightly fewer – albeit more intense – rain showers). So I relied on maps of Spanish Alpina Editorial: Aneto. There are a couple of options. I relied on the follow maps:
– Parc Natural de L’Alt Pirineau
– Val d’Arran
– Aneto

Do not rely on the trails indicated on the Alpina maps : a lot of trails on the map are in reality cross country routes.
For the short French section at the end, I printed screenshot maps from the French online topo map site (http://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/accueil) . Alternatively, you could purchase the IGN-map of the region (IGN = French topo maps). Google is your friend.

I walked east to west for two reasons:
– the town of Bagnères de Luchon (sometimes abbreviated as ‘Luchon’) has relatively good public transportation options (compared to Arinsal, only served through a pre-booked shuttle service. Read: more relaxed walk towards Luchon). You can find the train schedule on the regional train services of the French railways (called the ‘TER midi pyrenées: https://www.ter.sncf.com/midi-pyrenees/depliant/recherche (look for line n° 14. ‘CAR’ on the timetable means the services is by bus instead of train)).
– more interesting options for an extension – if ahead of schedule – or for shortcut to Luchon (if behind schedule, by crossing the frontier to ‘Hospice de France’, served by a summer shuttle service to Luchon (http://www.luchon.com/navettes-montagne/bagneres-de-luchon/tabid/37161/offreid/5b5b2dac-144a-473a-b905-9ccc142d81d4/detail.aspx ).

– A extra bonus is the possibility to descend to Bagnères de Luchon by cable car.

Best regards,
Wim