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Do not understand why anybody would walk the Camino this time of year. Too much risk of hypothermia and injury due to falls and such. Doing your own thing is cool and all, but when somebody else has to risk their butt to save you when you screw up? That ain't cool.
@biarritzdon Freak snowstorms occur in May/June and/or September/October - in February there are no freak snow storms in the mountains of the northern hemisphere - just normal weather patterns. SY
Not from Las Herrerias thru La Faba to O Cebreiro. The path would not be visible in snow.For the most part, it even runs right alongside roads!
SYates, I agree with you but I think this snowstorm came as something of surprise to everyone in to region.
I'm with you SYates. Living in Idaho in the US has given me a very healthy respect for changing weather conditions in mountains! I guess there are lots of people who don't learn from experience or maybe they think they have developed super human survival skills and nothing any other location dishes up can be as bad as what they experience at home.... I sure am glad they were all OK.I can, having done this and worse!, what I can't understand is how anybody from Andorra can estimate mountains. Being born a 'flatlander' I approach mountains and their weather with utmost respect and due equipment. Also, I never would take on the responsibility of taking somebody else, much less minors, on such a trip without being overly prepared and having several 'back-up solutions' in place. SY
I guess what you wanted to say is "underestimate" and if that's so I can only agree completely (being born in Alps region myself and former alpinist)!...I can't understand is how anybody from Andorra can estimate mountains. ...
... I sure am glad they were all OK.
I guess what you wanted to say is "underestimate" ...
I'm with you SYates. Living in Idaho in the US has given me a very healthy respect for changing weather conditions in mountains! I guess there are lots of people who don't learn from experience or maybe they think they have developed super human survival skills and nothing any other location dishes up can be as bad as what they experience at home.... I sure am glad they were all OK.
Not at all Biarritzdon. For example, here in Slovenia it was code red alert from yesterday morning and state borders closed for trucks because of heavy snow storms and wind (up to 190kms/h) but the center of the cyclon moved about (only) 50kms south and all the major shit is now happening in Croatia. When the predictions are like this you simply do not go to the mountain areas, be it in Spain, Slovenia or Rockies. I wouldn't go walking through the meseta myself either...SYates, I agree with you but I think this snowstorm came as something of surprise to everyone in to region.
I posted a message several days ago about the latest North American storms being a precursor of the winter weather in Europe. Example was Hercules last year. It's freezing in Biarritz this weekend and I'm not happy about getting back to my home in 2 weeks after a warm and sunny winter in Florida.Not at all Biarritzdon. For example, here in Slovenia it was code red alert from yesterday morning and state borders closed for trucks because of heavy snow storms and wind (up to 190kms/h) but the center of the cyclon moved about (only) 50kms south and all the major shit is now happening in Croatia. When the predictions are like this you simply do not go to the mountain areas. I wouldn't go walking through the meseta myself either...
I don't see anything remotely political about the debate. I greatly admire the way that you were raised that ensured that you learned about self preservation at a very early age. Many, if not most, young people in the U.S. (excluding certain regions where nature is dominant) do not get the experience that you did. I grew up on a farm, so was naturally aware of the animals around me on the Camino and closing gates behind me was second nature. On the other hand, I didn't learn about the dangers of the elements until I moved to Alaska in my late 30s. We are creatures of not only how we were raised but also where we were raised. My grandchildren grew up in large cities, and my grand-daughter's first mountain hike was hiking the Chilkoot Trail with me last year.I am beginning to love this thread. It reeks of the debate between the nanny state and libertarianism values. Ignore the warnings and walk off into... Who is wrong, who is right? I do relief work so you can only guess where I stand.
I was a Boy Scout from the age of 10 and my parents allowed me to camp once a month for a weekend in some of the most hostile winter weather known to man (and boy) and guess what? I'm still alive.
Sometimes I only wish I had a plan a,b,c or d...or you can just go with the flow and hope some helicopter will arrive.It's all in the planning. I think of my nephew who is a Queen's Scout. He's done the most hair raising things in his life - but always with meticulous preparation and coldly calculating the odds and having a plan b, c, and d.
... and hope some helicopter will arrive.
That's why I was referring to the Camino as a whole and qualified it with "For the most part"...Not from Las Herrerias thru La Faba to O Cebreiro. The path would not be visible in snow.
Can I just throw some local knowledge/a different viewpoint into the soup?
This party was from Andorra ..... possibly one of the least hospitable (but beautiful) areas of Europe. There would not have been a kid who had not seen snow from the day he was born. This was not their first rodeo.
Are we all going to dress every bairn in cotton wool? Is the nanny state going to "save" us from everything? Should we all stay in bed every day, never speak to "strangers", cross the road, or try an untasted fruit? Should we ban rugby, soccer, absailing, parachuting ...... or marriage (surely the most dangerous activity known to man)?
Glad the party are all well and I am sure many will be back for more next week......and when they get home the conditions will be worse.
Do not understand why anybody would walk the Camino this time of year. Too much risk of hypothermia and injury due to falls and such. Doing your own thing is cool and all, but when somebody else has to risk their butt to save you when you screw up? That ain't cool.
Not sure I get your point here. Are you suggesting the "nanny state" (in this case the state police, the Guardia Civil) should not have rescued them?
The Koreans were not.This party was from Andorra
No. I am suggesting that the Nanny State should (a) let them go and (b) not be too judgmental if the wheel comes off. In Norway and Sweden where I have been out in minus 28, the worst danger I was ever in was a beautiful summer day when I got lost in the "100km Wood". I missed a path, thought I knew where I was but at every turn I was getting unwittingly more and more lost.
I also knew that I had only a T shirt and shorts and that the temperature would hit zero at night. Fortunately it was a starry night so I got a rough take where I was from the stars and by absolute fluke I found a path that took me to a stream. From there it was a tortuous 20km hike with no food and water and temperatures about 3/5 degrees. I was very very glad to have found our cabin. From that day, I treated our back yard AKA "100 km Wood" with much more respect 24/7/365
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