IMPORTANT: The Lepoeder Pass (Route Napoleon) closed from 1 November to 31 March

[CJ Williams]

Important information for anyone planning to walk the Camino this winter:

Given the increasing number of interventions by emergency teams to rescue pilgrims attempting to cross the mountains in winter, as well as the recovery of the bodies of pilgrims who have died in the attempt, authorities have declared that the Lepoeder Pass on the Route Napoleón is closed to pilgrims from 1 November to 31 March.

This decision was made after consulting with town officials of the village of Luzaide-Valcarlos; the Association of Friends of the Camino de Santiago in Navarre; the Departments of Culture, Tourism and Institutional Relations and Rural Development, Environment and Local Government; the General Council of Pyrenees-Atlantiques and the Provincial Police of Navarre, after consultation with the Navarra Emergency Agency, which coordinates rescue efforts throughout the region.

The route is well marked, but it can nonetheless be difficult to follow in adverse weather conditions. While great effort is constantly being made to improve waymarking and the incorporation of new technologies such as emergency GPS tracking and localization, the number of rescue interventions by emergency personnel, both professional and volunteer, continues to increase, often motivated by imprudent or poorly-informed pilgrims who undertake the crossing without adequate physical preparation and/or the necessary equipment for confronting the difficulties of this this route.

The situation is particularly serious in the winter, with very difficult conditions for rescues, including situations of risk for life-saving teams, given the terrain and climate of the area, and the serious difficulties of access, location and evacuation.

For this reason, passage through this variant of the Camino de Santiago in its first stage in Navarra is restricted. From 1 November to 31 March, all pilgrims are required to follow the Valcarlos route from St. Jean Pied-de-Port to Roncesvalles, unless express authorisation to use the Route Napoleon is given by the Emergency Agency of Navarre.

Here is a link to the original article in the local press (in Spanish) for those that can read it:

Se restringe la entrada de peregrinos por la variante este del Camino de Santiago en su primera etapa, a la entrada por Navarra

 

[Lynda t]

Only until March? Is later discretionary. The weather can be bad until May/June.

 

[CJ Williams]

My understanding is that, yes, it's discretionary from 1 April onwards. Although at those altitudes there is always the risk of bad weather or sudden drops in temperature, the meteorological situation is far less risky than it is from October to the end of March.

 

[Tia Valeria]

?? IMO they have chosen safety, of pilgrims and the rescue teams, over danger to both. Inconvenient for some, but a necessary step if folk won't heed advice. Going by Valcarlos need not be seen as affecting the religious pilgrimage, it may even enhance it without endangering life. It seems to me that those who have insisted in going by the Route Napoleon during the winter have put their faith as much in the rescue services as in God. An unpopular comment maybe, but with increasing numbers of pilgrims there is also an increased risk for the rescue teams too so a closure was probably inevitable. After all Orisson closes (I believe) in winter making the route that much harder. I suspect that there will be days when it is also inadvisable between April 1st and October 31st, but without total closure.
Am I right in thinking that the original route was in fact via Valcarlos anyway?? so on the safer lower route.

 

[naplesdon]

This is a very valuable piece of information but how does it get transmitted to all the pilgrims who do not read forums? IMHO a sign saying "route barree" will not be enough to stop someone who does read or understand French or Spanish from wandering into harms way.

 

[MTtoCamino]

I think closing it is the right thing to do. We close roads in the winter for public safety, every winter. They are not closing the Camino. It is just a different leg of the route.

To put this in perspective the Francis route is is only movement from That portion of France I can't imagine the Effect changing if you walked the Norte, Portuguese, or any others. Bottom line you are all my brothers & sisters who make this so special. If it reduces 1 death per year it's worth it.
Keith

 

[Felice]

If the Route Napoleon was anywhere other than at the start, it would be ignored. As it is, thousands of fresh faced people arrive from all over the world, with untested gear and no experience, eager to get going no matter what.
Compare with the high route out of Villafranca del Biezo. Steep haul up but worth it for the views. I walked it last Sept when the main Way was busy, yet met no one.

 

[peregrino_tom]

Even if we accept that it is the authorities' prerogative to decide to block access to the route Napoleon for 5 months of the year, I hope we are still allowed, without being attacked, to mourn for what we are losing? I travelled this way on a November day when it was warm enough to wear a T-shirt for the first third. We walked along the higher parts, being able to see for 20 miles or more in every direction which gave us a particular sense of exhilaration that stayed with us through the harder times that came later. That's largely my heart speaking.
Studying this communiqué, I can see that it's managed to gain agreement from an impressively wide range of organisations, including the friends of the camino in Navarre, who, I'm happy to trust in looking after the best interests of the pilgrim community, given their situation/location in regard to this matter.
However... my beady eye is very interested in the wording provided here (albeit that it may not be a perfect translation of the original). The communiqué says that access is to be 'restricted' and that Valcarlos route is to be followed unless express authorisation to use the route Napoleon is given. That doesn't sound conclusively like a blanket ban against all access to me, and I just hope that it leaves some small window open for discretionary access, should the people and organisations involved be able to give the resources that are necessary to manage this.
I hope that sharing my thoughts on this matter does not anger anyone - it is certainly not intended to do so, just to try and add another perspective to the discussion as together we process the implications of this announcement.
Best wishes to you all, tom

 

[ivar]

Several posts in this thread has been removed. Some of them just because they were a response to a post that is not longer there.

 

[Felice]

Tom, I do hope you are correct in your hope that it is giving discretionary powers to close the route.

I actually think that a blanket ban is probably even more dangerous. By no means everyone treats the law with respect. I can imagine people, on a sunny clear day, looking at the ban and saying stuff it, it's a stupid blanket ban, and heading off. Most will be fine, the odd one will be caught out.

IMHO, the power to physically bar the road in several places when the conditions dictate, would be the most effective way forward.

 

[mikevasey]

I walked at the end of October and I could not have asked for a better day. A couple who I met walked two days before me had problems when the conditions suddenly turned, at that time of the year the weather conditions have more potential for danger. It seems from what I was reading last year that pilgrims are ignoring local warnings and the actual conditions and going up, not sure how they will enforce this but it helps the authorities.

 

[NoQ]

Excellent idea to close this route and save lives and rescue costs. The Valcarlos route is a tough enough walk for days 1 and 2 anyway.

Those that still want a very high beginning could walk the Aragones.

 

[MTtoCamino]

I sense a business opportunity: buy a dozen snowshoes, get the necessary permissions to lead groups or individuals over the Lepoeder pass and offer the opportunity to be poor medieval pilgrim in winter for a day to foreign visitors. Snowshoeing is gaining in popularity anyway in the Alps and Pyrenees, there are plenty of offers already so hurry up! No fixed fees, of course, it's donativo only.

Better make sure you have good snowshoes the kind with spikes on the bottom. & very light as you can. Just don't try to rent toboggans!

 

[Gareth Griffith]

The attached thumbnail is me walking through the snow at the start of the descent to Roncevalles on 13th April 2016. The route had only been declared open that particular day. There were tremendous winds that day in addition to the remaining snow on the higher ground.