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No Way! That's my opinion about common sense and heart attacks.
You may find some information on this thread about the gradients. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...ied-de-pont-to-roncesvalle.15174/#post-109186. Just to give you a comparison, by my reckoning, a gradient of 35% requires 'scrambling,' and there is nothing even remotely near that on the Camino. Hope this helps.
cruel sense of humor.
Are we talking about the same route. Yes, you can drive as far as the cut off to the Font de Rolland then you are into walking terrain. I have seen cars on the Spanish side but they are only 4WD.
I'm with you. But Russ Russell seems to be interested in an honest evaluation of the route.
IMO, the very first day 's hike from Saint Jean Pied de Port was quite challenging: quite a steep elevation gain to the top followed by a....steep descent on the other side of the mountain! I left St Jean on September 29, 2011 at 6ASM with only a cup of coffee, stopped for lunch at the mountaintop, devoured Basque Ham & Cheese and farmers' bread I took along. Be sure to buy food & provisions in town the day before you leave as all shops are closed early morning! Bon voyage!
My husband had his fatal heart attack at his desk at work. I'm absolutely certain he would have rather had it happen on the Camino.
I guess the answer would depend on how fit you are?
And that's where poles, properly used, will really be helpful. Buen Camino!
Why do people say it is not the start of anything? It's the start of the Camino Frances, just like Santiago is the end of it and Le puy is the start of another, and Arles is the start of another. Your Camino can start anywhere, but if you want to do the CF, then SJPP it is, or Roncevalles.
That is the right attitude! Thank you Emily.
Thank you. He will be with me in my heart when I walk next June.
The climb is not that difficult, people exaggerate. It is just steady 25-30 deg incline. Crossing the Pyrenees is a beautiful start though. If you want you can break that stage by stopping at Orisson.
There is an oxymoron in there somewhere!
Yes of course. One's fitness level makes all the difference. Here we are talking about the steepness of the first stage compared to the rest of the Camino. Most of the climb is on paved roads. If you do this one go, its about 1250m elevation gain. If you break this stage into two and take it slow and steady it is doable as long as you don't have any health issues.
Rajy62, I think you may want to re-examine that 25-30 degree figure. The elevation gain from SJPdP to Col de Lepoeder is approximately 1250 meters (1.25 km) over a distance of approximately 19 kilometers, which makes the average slope a little more than 6.5 percent -- that's a climb of 6.5 meters in every 100 meters of horizontal distance, or approximately 3.75 angular degrees. When you look at it that way, it's not nearly as intimidating as the elevation profile chart from the Brierly guidebook makes it appear. You have to make note of the difference between the vertical scale and the horizontal scale in the chart. Imagine stretching the same Brierley guidebook chart out so that both scales were the same as the vertical scale -- the chart would then be almost half a meter wide and the rise would look pretty insignificant. But let's not kid ourselves; for the average pilgrim setting out on the first day, even though he or she may have trained with a backpack over many miles or kilometers in the weeks and months before arriving, it is not exactly a stroll in the park. But no one in reasonably fit condition should have a real problem other than a lot of huffing and puffing and sweating. However, breaking it up by stopping at Orisson is a good idea if you can get a reservation -- not only for physical reasons but because the Orisson communal meal experience sets the stage in such a positive way for the rest of one's Camino.
Well now, I was not trying to be theoretical but rather to give a sense of the climb difficulty. If you look at the video posted above by pelgrimpaul, the stage looks relatively flat. So, although the average incline could be less but one should anticipate, at most, a steady 25-30 deg uphill.
It would be hard to imagine those Roman engineers running a road over the Napoleon route when the pass through Valcarlos was available. In fact the articles available are confusing. However they do state that the Roman road became the traditional route followed by such as Charlemagne (Carlos in Spanish- hence 'Valcarlos'). I suspect that the Roman road took the lower route.
The original question was whether one should consider starting in Pamplona instead, because it might be too steep to climb on the 1st stage. As has been pointed out by others, expect even more difficult terrain further in the Camino. Unless one has any underlying physical issues, knees/joints/back etc, it is doable and rewarding walk to try. If the elevation gain/distance is too much to handle on the "first stage" then split it into two stages. We all have varying fitness levels, only Russ could decide which starting point is best for him.
And the point I was trying to make was not to be critical of your comment, but rather to note that to one who casually looks at the elevation profiles in the guidebooks, the grades appear to be much steeper than they actually are. When I said the average grade out of St Jean is 6.5%, there are obviously sections that are steeper than that, as well as sections that are less steep. And there are a few short sections that are actually downhill. Nevertheless, it is a strenuous walk for most (myself included).
I agree average grade is not that meaningful here. But elevation gain reflects the efforts involved, all else being equal. Yes, elevation profiles presented in the guides are distorted. I always look at the actual elevation gain and plan my day accordingly. So, 1250 m gain via the Nepoleon route would be the highest gain of all other suggested stages in Camino Frances. So, yes it is a strenuous walk. Good news is that options exists to either divide the stage into two or take the lower route and therefore reduce the elevation climbed per day before abandoning this section altogether. My 2c.
Amen.
Have you tried to call?
Great job Paul!!! Thank you
