Hi all,
I’m looking for some information about winter climbing in the Pyrenees. This is a couple of questions put into one post.
So far, my research has consisted of looking at the Pyrenees, Courses mixtes, neige et glace guidebook (https://www.camptocamp.org/books/115416/fr/pyrenees-courses-mixtes-neige-et...) and picking out routes which are feasible for me (looking at stuff at around D- and below). From what I can tell, most of the routes in that guidebook are close to the town of Panticosa on the Spanish side of the border or on the French side of the Pyrenees national park close to the town of Gavarnie-Gèdre. Does anyone here have any thoughts on how these places are to stay to be close to the climbing? Or are there any areas that I’ve missed that would be better? I’m aware there is also quite a lot of climbing in Andora as well but I haven’t found a list of climbs or much info on the internet what the climbing is like there.
The next question I have concerns guidebooks. As I have previously stated, most of my research has been based on Pyrenees, Courses mixtes but I have found three other guidebooks online that might be useful: Corredores del Pirineo – Pedraforca -Cadi-Cerdanya, Corredores del Pirineo -Caranca-Nuria-Ulldeter, and Corredores de Andora. Other than the Andora guidebook, I don’t really know which areas these books cover or how useful they are as guidebooks. Is anyone familiar with them? and if so, can they recommend which of these is worth getting? Or if there are any guidebooks that I’m missing, please let me know.
Thirdly, a lot of the routes that I’ve looked at seem to start at refuges. I’m not familiar with the refuges in the Pyrenees so I’m not familiar with how they work. Do they need to be booked? Do they require a sleeping bag, sleeping mat, and stove, and how much do they cost?
I would be grateful for any advice that anyone can give me on any of these questions. Furthermore, if you think there is something I’m missing or haven’t thought about, please let me know.
Looking forward to your answers.