Seeking Information on the trail to O Cebreiro in Winter

[Marbe2]

It is not our first winter camino so we know what to expect weatherwise.

We are leaving Leon around 27th of November to make our way to SdC. Our original camino, this Fall, which we planned for Sept./Oct in Italy had to be cancelled due to injuries. So we are walking at a later but colder/ time. My total carry weight will be 3.175 kgs.

Fortunately, I have been able to reserve places to stay all the way to SdC via booking.com, including staying at Hotel Cebreiro! Some of my favorite albergue will be closed, but the stillness and bareness of the colder months has a beauty of its own.

Because it is off season, we will carry what we can…mostly underwear, socks, an extra LS shirt, and an extra base layer of ultra light padagonia pants, rain gear, a silk sheet and cocoon blanket, first aid stuff, a cup, immersion heater, metal cup, a few tea bags, meds +wrist blood pressure machine, an IPhone with charger, passports, CCs, some cash. In toto it is circa 7 lbs. or 3. 175 kgs not including what we will wear each day. I have distributed the weight into a golite backpack which then ways 4 4lbs. 1.5lbs are in the fanny back which will hold valuables and a phone, and 1.5 lbs are in an Osprey front cross body day pack which will hold meds,immersion heater & cup, BP machine. I will use the Frogg Toggs jacket in its case and the use the cover to attach it to my hip belt using a lite weight Carabiner.

Normally, I will wear, 3 Patagonia very light long sleeve capaline shirts. One long sleeve medium shirt, a very lightweight weight LL Bean jacket, and a Spyder long sleeve full zipper hoodie (polyester).

I hope to distribute the weight evenly and have my pockets empty for water and snacks.

The Question I have is related to going up to OCebreiro. I expect that the trail itself will have too much snow by then. Can anyone tell us who has walked up in winter what the road is like going up to Pedrafita…there we will taxi or bus to OCebreiro? Thanks.

 

[Bradypus]

The Question I have is related to going up to OCebreiro. I expect that the trail itself will have too much snow by then. Can anyone tell us who has walked up in winter what the road is like going up to Pedrafita…there we which we will taxi or bus to OCebreiro? Thanks.

I walked up the path to O Cebreiro at the end of January this year. There was a fair amount of snow for the last km or so but clear until then. After O Cebreiro I walked for a couple of km in snowy woodland then walked at the roadside until a couple of km short of Triacastela where it became clear of snow.

 

[peregrino_tom]

The Question I have is related to going up to OCebreiro. I expect that the trail itself will have too much snow by then. Can anyone tell us who has walked up in winter what the road is like going up to Pedrafita…there we which we will taxi or bus to OCebreiro? Thanks.

I'm a bit confused - I don't understand why you'd want to detour all the way over to Pedrafita - and try and walk on the main road (A6?) to get there..?
It seems like you should know the CF pretty well and so remember the parting of the walkers' route from the cycling route a few km after Vega de Valcarce? Just stay on the small road and it goes up the right side of the gorge and at the top crosses over veering left to be close to the walkers' path. Have a look on Mapy.cz - it's pretty clear. Many years ago we were advised that the walkers' route was blocked with snow (in December) and so stayed on this small road that is marked for cyclists. It was absolutely fine and leads into O Cebreiro- no need to go all the way over to Pedrafita and try and source buses or taxis - and safer too I'd bet.

 

[Marbe2]

I'm a bit confused - I don't understand why you'd want to detour all the way over to Pedrafita - and try and walk on the main road (A6?) to get there..?
It seems like you should know the CF pretty well and so remember the parting of the walkers' route from the cycling route a few km after Vega de Valcarce? Just stay on the small road and it goes up the right side of the gorge and at the top crosses over veering left to be close to the walkers' path. Have a look on Mapy.cz - it's pretty clear. Many years ago we were advised that the walkers' route was blocked with snow (in December) and so stayed on this small road that is marked for cyclists. It was absolutely fine and leads into O Cebreiro- no need to go all the way over to Pedrafita and try and source buses or taxis - and safer too I'd bet.

We actually took the bikers route up to Albergue La Escuela once (curiosity) and then took the walkers route the rest of the way. Thanks! This is indeed ideal, but if there is a very recent storm, then, the highway would be cleared first . Also I don’t think albergue La Escuela is open then?

 

[peregrino_tom]

We actually took the bikers route up to Albergue La Escuela once (curiosity) and then took the walkers route the rest of the way. Thanks! This is indeed ideal, but if there is a very recent storm, then, the highway would be cleared first . Also I don’t think albergue La Escuela is open then?

But you don't have to join the walkers' route at Laguna/Escuela, there's still a small road running parallel.
Even if a few inches of snow has recently fallen, the small road of the bicycle route should still be walkable, in fact the padding and crunch of fresh snow on road is quite nice to walk on - unless temp has dipped so far below zero that it has turned to ice (which is unlikely).
Going up above to the A6, which looked very dangerous from down below, seems like a bad idea to me. But maybe someone will comment who has gone up that way - and put me straight on that...

 

[Tincatinker]

In the event of the necessity arising the “bike” route is fine. The snow poles make the navigation easy and it’s only a km and a bit longer. I took that route one year when I didn’t fancy a rough route where I couldn’t see where my feet were going. Cebreiro when the webcam on the Albergue gable was covered by snow was still a warm, if damp, welcoming space. The following day threw up far more challenges. Stay with the road but bear in mind that the snow plough drivers don’t take prisoners

 

[Marbe2]

In the event of the necessity arising the “bike” route is fine. The snow poles make the navigation easy and it’s only a km and a bit longer. I took that route one year when I didn’t fancy a rough route where I couldn’t see where my feet were going. Cebreiro when the webcam on the Albergue gable was covered by snow was still a warm, if damp, welcoming space. The following day threw up far more challenges. Stay with the road but bear in mind that the snow plough drivers don’t take prisoners

We were on the trail route to O Cebreiro in early March one year and were told the route was open and passable. Conditions were OK until about 1km before Alberge Escuela. Then the snow was up to my knees, every step, making it very difficult for us to sustain any pace. So,we would like to avoid similar circumstances again. When we left Cebreiro toward Triacastela, we had to remain on the road because the snow height made the paths too difficult to sustain.

 

[LTfit]

One year I walked from Burgos to Sarria in January and had little snow going up to O Cebreiro. The next morning we woke up to a beautiful snowfall. Half way down to Tricastela it had all melted, never to be seen again.

One just never knows, in 2018 I was caught in a snowstorm walking into Atapuerca on October 31st! The next day the snowing continued until reaching the outskirts of Burgos. Subsequently never saw snow in either O Cebreiro or Foncebadón.

 

[Kevin Considine]

I walked up to O Cebreiro on December 3 last year and it was sunny and pleasant and I wore just a tshirt and an open lomg sleeve shirt. Though it got cold at night. If there’s snow on the path easy enough to take the road nearby.