• Get your Camino Frances Guidebook here.
  • For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
  • ⚠️ Emergency contact in Spain - Dial 112 and AlertCops app. More on this here.
This is a mobile optimized page that loads fast, if you want to load the real page, click this text.

Starting to Camino from SJPDP on 2 of April

NUEVOMUNDOOO

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
SJPDP TO SANTIAGO CAMINO FRANCES
I wish buen camino to everyone! I'm planning to start to my camino on 2 of April. Is there any ideas about taking the Napoleon route on this date ? Anybody is aware of the last conditions of the route ? Thanks
 
Camino Jewellery
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Altus Poncho (ATMOSPHERIC H30)
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
NUEVOMUNDOOO said:
I wish buen camino to everyone! I'm planning to start to my camino on 2 of April. Is there any ideas about taking the Napoleon route on this date ? Anybody is aware of the last conditions of the route ? Thanks
Click to expand...
Very simple, go to the pilgrims' office and follow their recommendations. At the end of April 2008, on my first camino, the pass was repeatedly closed due to fresh snow. A possible rescue operation can be quite expensive.
 
Buen Camino!
If you'd like, you can add yourself to the list of those starting in April by clicking here.
 
NUEVOMUNDOOO said:
I wish buen camino to everyone! I'm planning to start to my camino on 2 of April. Is there any ideas about taking the Napoleon route on this date ? Anybody is aware of the last conditions of the route ? Thanks
Click to expand...
Hans-Georg Goebel said:
Very simple, go to the pilgrims' office and follow their recommendations.
Click to expand...
If there is ANY doubt whatsoever DO NOT walk the Napoleon Route. You may very well be taking your life in your hands. Take Valcarlos.
 
Discover the Northern Camino!
Join our full-service guided tour of the Basque Country and let us pamper you!
You must go to the Pilgim Office and ask and follow their advice in early April!

The weather is only one part of the equation. The other part is the condition on the ground in early April !!! In addition, considerable snowfall is predicted for the 1st of April, it will be cold with wind gusts of up to 70 km/h (!!!) although the predictability level is still low.

Weather report for Col de Bentarte (Friday, 1 April 2022)​
Night and day it is cloudy and snowing. Heavy precipitation of 20-30 cm is forecast for Friday. The sun will not be visible. The chance of precipitation is extremely high, exceeding 95%. Temperatures as high as 0 °C are foreseen.​
​
​
 
Last edited:
It is not only the 1st of April, but also the assured weather situation, that decides, whether the pass will be opened. It is probably not for nothing that Orisson will only accept binding reservations for mid-April. If the weather is dubious, we really can only advise not to hike the pass at one's own risk. High up there is often heavy fog, and if there is snow on top of that, the danger of getting lost is extremely high. Around 20 April 2008 (shortly before my first Camino) a Belgian pilgrim froze to death up there in such weather conditions. so be carefull
 
Hans-Georg Goebel said:
the danger of getting lost is extremely high
Click to expand...
Not only that. When there is still old snow and ice on the ground at altitude, possibly with fresh snow on top of it, people will advance even slower than they would otherwise, risk slipping or falling with potential injury more than otherwise, are wearing shoes that are not suitable for such conditions on the ground, will get wet and suffer from hypothermia more than otherwise ...

They really must ask for on the ground information at the Pilgrims Office and follow the advice that they receive.
 
Discover the Northern Camino!
Join our full-service guided tour of the Basque Country and let us pamper you!
I was definitely going to the pilgrim office, I’ve done enough hiking to have common sense about me thankfully. I value my life and I always err on the side of caution when I climb the mountains here. I just love the irony of life having weeks of +15 degree days then BAM 30cm of snow
 
theclaireperson said:
I just love the irony of life having weeks of +15 degree days then BAM 30cm of snow
Click to expand...
I was surprised at first when I read about the expected snowfall and double checked. It'll be like this at the end of this week not only in the Pyrenees but all over much of Europe. It's the polar vortex thingy again.
 
Camino Ready, Backpacks, Boots etc
3rd Edition. More content, training & pack guides avoid common mistakes, bed bugs etc
Just to add an observation. No need to be disappointed if conditions mean you are unable to walk the Napoleon route. I’ve walked both. Having walked the Napoleon route in 2011, when I had to walk the Valcarlos route on 1 April 2013, due to snow on the Napoleon, I was at first disappointed. But needn’t have been. It’s a beautiful walk - and ‘no walk in the park’ either. Enjoy.
 
2024 edition: The Brierley Camino Frances Guide
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
Kathar1na said:
I was surprised at first when I read about the expected snowfall and double checked. It'll be like this at the end of this week not only in the Pyrenees but all over much of Europe. It's the polar vortex thingy again.
Click to expand...
We are enjoying fabulous sunshine and warm temperatures in Paris this week - clear skies and up to 20/22 each day. But for the start of ou Chemin du Piémont in Carcassone in a few days it looks cold, grey and wet. ️
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Camino Photo

Most read last week in this forum

Similar threads

  • Tags route variant/side-trip
    • Variante Montejurra
    Replies
    5
    Views
    459
    Leila99
  • Tags route variant/side-trip
    • Starting Before SJPDP
    Replies
    6
    Views
    1K
    Goyo
  • Tags route variant/side-trip
    • Dragonte Route
    Replies
    22
    Views
    1K
    Anhalter
    Menu
    Log in
    Register