Napoleon Route

[Brandon]

Does anybody know the current state of the Napoleon Route from StJean and if it looks likely to open at the beginning of April? Thank you

 

[chooleekr]

Does anybody know the current state of the Napoleon Route from StJean and if it looks likely to open at the beginning of April? Thank you

The highlands of the Pyrenees receive a lot of snow in winter. The Napoleon route over the French Way Pyrenees will be closed from 11.1 to 3.31. Closed entrance to Navarra near Collado de Bentartea (coordinates 43º3'2,02''N and 1º16'6,04''W). You will not pass without an authorization issued by the Navarre Emergency Agency. Pilgrims on foot to Roncesvalles during the period (11.1 - 3.31) must go the Valcarlos route. The climate in early April is unknown now.

 

[wayfarer]

It can be still hit and miss in April and indeed early May weather wise, check at the Pilgrims Office when you arrive and they will give you best advice on the day.

 

[Kathar1na]

Hi @Brandon, nothing is known here on the forum about the condition of the trail (remaining old snow etc etc), and the Pilgrim Office in SJPP who may or may not have driven up to have a first look already don‘t publish this info online. You’ll have to go personally to the Office and ask. (Obviously, this refers to the trail condition on the day and not to the weather condition on the day).

Buen Camino!

 

[Kathar1na]

Hi @Brandon, nothing is known here on the forum about the condition of the trail (remaining old snow etc etc)

I guess you are impatient to know … . There is a ski resort not too far away. The name is Cadanchú. They have webcams. The webcam at 1500 m (Pista Grande area) shows you what the snow cover looks like in Cadanchú at 1500 m right now …

 

[Bradypus]

I guess you are impatient to know … . There is a ski resort not too far away. The name is Cadanchú. They have webcams. The webcam at 1500 m (Pista Grande area) shows you what the snow cover looks like in Cadanchú at 1500 m right now …

Or one a little closer but slightly lower at 1200m. About 20km from Roncesvalles.

Webcam Iraty - Visualisez Irati en temps réél grâce à notre webcam

chalets-iraty.com

 

[Kathar1na]

Just a tiny remark: the Iraty webcam is at the level of the Ibañeta pass (1000 m, Valcarlos route) and does not provide such a wide view of the immediate surroundings as Cadanchú where one webcam is on a similar altitude as the Bentarte and Lepoeder passes (1330 m and 1450 m, Napoleon route).

In any case, obviously, none of these webcams show potentially difficult or treacherous passages on the Napoleon trail itself, either now or in ten days when April starts.

 

[Brandon]

Or one a little closer but slightly lower at 1200m. About 20km from Roncesvalles.

Webcam Iraty - Visualisez Irati en temps réél grâce à notre webcam

chalets-iraty.com

Yes a little impatient! I have a first night booked in Orisson and second in Roncesvalles so if Napoleon is closed it causes a minor issue. We would probably stay an extra night in SJPDP and do Roncesvalles in one day on Valcarlos

 

[Optimistic Traveler]

Still snow on the ground at Candanchu: Webcam Candanchu

 

[Susan Peacock]

Yes a little impatient! I have a first night booked in Orisson and second in Roncesvalles so if Napoleon is closed it causes a minor issue. We would probably stay an extra night in SJPDP and do Roncesvalles in one day on Valcarlos

Even if the Napoleon route is closed you would most likely be able to get to Orisson. I start on April 12th and am staying at Borda. I have walked the Napoleon route many times, but have never walked the Valcarlos route. If the route is closed, I think I will walk to Valcarlos the first day and then taxi to /from there to Borda.

 

[K_Lynn]

Last year the Napoleon route opened on April 1 and then was closed again a couple of days later. I would not bank on early April over the Pyrenees.

 

[lt56ny]

Before you start go to the Pilgrim Office and ask. They will tell you Napoleon or Valcarlos. Remember if there is bad weather in SJPP the likelihood is it will be worse with more elevation.

 

[Rick M]

Yes a little impatient! I have a first night booked in Orisson and second in Roncesvalles so if Napoleon is closed it causes a minor issue. We would probably stay an extra night in SJPDP and do Roncesvalles in one day on Valcarlos

Been there, done that. In April, the Napolean is passable on a day-to-day basis. You can nearly always walk to Orisson, and the place will be open - the bad conditions are at the top, and it could be fine in Orisson itself. If the weather is bad the next morning (happened to me one year), they bus everyone over to Valcarlos, and you start for Roncesvalles from there. There was no hassle, and no charge when they did that for us......just disappointment. There was also a little relief when we got to Roncesvalles. The weather was really, really awful, and I was glad we were not a few hundred meters higher up the mountain where the wind, snow, and poor visibility would have been dangerous. There is nothing to worry about or plan for here. Walk to Orisson as planned if you have a reservation, and find out what's happening with the Napolean in the morning.

 

[Marbe2]

Just a tiny remark: the Iraty webcam is at the level of the Ibañeta pass (1000 m, Valcarlos route) and does not provide such a wide view of the immediate surroundings as Cadanchú where one webcam is on a similar altitude as the Bentarte and Lepoeder passes (1330 m and 1450 m, Napoleon route).

In any case, obviously, none of these webcams show potentially difficult or treacherous passages on the Napoleon trail itself, either now or in ten days when April starts.

Obviously, a lot depends upon the snow melting and the position of treacherous spots in relation to the Sun. So while you may get a general idea of the amounts of snow up there, don’t use those cams to determine whether a different pass will be open then. I have been on alpine trails, in the same region, at about the same altitude,on the same day, and found one trail open, and another impassable.

 

[mattythedog]

Does anybody know the current state of the Napoleon Route from StJean and if it looks likely to open at the beginning of April? Thank you

As said in many posts: hit or miss on a daily basis. Last 2 times I went around 20 April, 2022 and 2019, Napoleon route was closed, so I went through Valcarlos. In 2019 I arrived SJPP about 1600, the pass had been open that morning, but closed midday due to tremendous winds--not snow. Next morning it was still closed, but opened later that day, well after I had trekked through Valcarlos. Good luck.

 

[Bradypus]

As said in many posts: hit or miss on a daily basis.

Absolutely. Very unpredictable. I walked the Valcarlos route on 2 January this year and didn't see a square inch of snow on the way and no sign of serious snow on any on the hills above. But in the past I've seen photos and videos of blizzard conditions in April between SJPDP and Roncesvalles. We just have to live with the knowledge that weather is a huge unknown and be ready to adapt to it. It won't change to suit us!

 

[Kathar1na]

I hesitate to point this out but since several people write the Route was closed on one day and open the next day, or open in the morning and closed at midday: this may give people the idea that there is an authority or organisation that declares the Route open or closed throughout the year, depending on the weather or the trail condition or other circumstances, and that there is some official notification. This is not so. If someone says - outside of the period 1 November to 31 March - that the Route was closed it means that it was not passable or the weather made it not passable and similar.

During 1 November to 31 March, there are boards along the way up that point out that the Route is closed on the Spanish side and there is also a sign on Spanish territory and maybe the volunteers do not yet remove their “closure” signs in early April for a few days but after that there are no signs that indicate whether the Route is deemed safe / passable or not. You need to pro-actively inform yourselves.

 

[Brandon]

I hesitate to point this out but since several people write the Route was closed on one day and open the next day, or open in the morning and closed at midday: this may give people the idea that there is an authority or organisation that declares the Route open or closed throughout the year, depending on the weather or the trail condition or other circumstances, and that there is some official notification. This is not so. If someone says - outside of the period 1 November to 31 March - that the Route was closed it means that it was not passable or the weather made it not passable and similar.

During 1 November to 31 March, there are boards along the way up that point out that the Route is closed on the Spanish side and there is also a sign on Spanish territory and maybe the volunteers do not yet remove their “closure” signs in early April for a few days but after that there are no signs that indicate whether the Route is deemed safe / passable or not. You need to pro-actively inform yourselves.

Thank you for that info. That’s partly my reason for asking the question. There will be people who know the situation on the ground through mica knowledge or actually being on the route. Very helpful for pilgrims about to set out.

 

[freespirit]

Does anybody know the current state of the Napoleon Route from StJean and if it looks likely to open at the beginning of April? Thank you

 

[freespirit]

The enclosed photo was taken mid June 2015 while crossing over the Pyrenees, very damp and chilly, the weather down below while leaving St Jean was hot and sunny, just be prepared