Jean Claud,
Welcome to the Forum!
Late autumn/winter is a wonderful time to walk but you must be prepared. Be sure to scan this earlier Forum thread
re walking out of season. Nights can be extremely cold with freezing rain or even snow. Learn to read the sky for possible storms, ask locals for advice and take every precaution.
Starting mid October not all albergues will be open, but the welcome at those albergues which are is usually sincere. Most will be heated and/or have blankets. Generally the hospitaleros know who is open on the next stage. In smaller albergues you might be the only pilgrim. When walking in late autumn/winter only in larger places such as Roncevalles, Logrono , Santo Domingo de la Calzada and, of course, Santiago have I ever seen a cluster of more than 20 pilgrims at one time.
In bad weather such as dense fog, heavy rain, hail or snow many steep descents on the camino can be treacherous and following smaller parallel roads might be necessary. Winter 2012/13 the Napoleon route from SJPdP to Roncesvalles was filled with several meters of snow and in effect closed to pilgrims thus necessitating the use of the Valcarlos alternate; read more here about this
hazardous situation
Other difficult stretches after storms might be from Najera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada or across the Montes de Oca from Villafranca as well as Monte Irago and, of course, O Cebreiro. Even late November 2012 the climb up to O Cebreiro was packed with snow. You can see the snow and read my blog account of this storm
here. Luckily the open albergue offered welcoming shelter, heat and companionship.
Most of us who walk in late autumn/winter wear and carry lightweight but warm layers which can easily be added or removed while walking. Each pilgrim develops a favorite combo. Scan the Forum's
Equipment topic to see a multitude of varied approaches.
Here's mine
Happy planning, stay safe and Buen Camino,
Margaret Meredith