I started to look into next years holiday. I would like to travel in the second half of June, and was thinking about walking a part of GR 10 from Luz to Luchon. But as the highest point of the trip is almost 2500 meters, I was wondering if the third pr forth week in june might be too early. What are the normal snow conditions there at this time of the year? Will I be all right without crampoons?
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 You might well be but there are no guarantees; I was there year before last in the third week of June and crampons would have been useful at times......if I had taken them!
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One thing I forgot to ask in my original post - what if the Col de Madamete is too dangerous? Is there any alternative route to walk? And, in worse case scenario, is it possible to find any transport (a taxi?) to the next stage?
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For the last 2 years there has been a lot of snow on the passes here until mid July. And this year when climbing Grand Barbat I camped at 2300 metres and it was at freezing point thus the snow on the North side of the Breche was solid - I could have done with crampons and had to rock climb down the face to avoid the ice. Yet 4 years ago in the same period the Col de Madamete was harmless and the snow soft. It all depends. A friend of mine here carries small 4 point crampons at that time of year and has no problems on the passes. That might be a solution for you. Regarding the taxis most of the towns the size of Cauterets and Luz etc have a taxi service. www.hotel-cauterets.com
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A new question - should I book accomodation for all the stages? Many villages seem to have few hotels, some only one, so it seems wise to book. But if the snow alters my itinerary, I might have a problem...
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| Edited: 28/08/09 11:49 |
Unless you are with a group of people there should be no need to book in the month of June. I only have 15 rooms and we always get people down from the mountains looking for rooms and we always have something free at that period. At that time of year there won't be many french people. Their walking season is July and August and you'll meet mostly English, Spanish and Dutch on the trail.
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Hi, this might be a long shot to post this question on this forum, but since there are people who actually live in the area posting here, I give it a try: I will walk the part og GR10 from Bareges to Luchon in mid-June. I printed all the bus and train itineraties from/to Lourde from Voyages SNCF, but what I'd like to ask is if I need to book the buses online, or is is all right to just arrive to Lourde and get hold of the tickets then? Are the buses overcrowded in June?
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No need to book at all. I'd advise to start form Bareges as the section Luz - Bareges is quite uninspiring. www.hotel-cauterets.com
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Hi, I walked the GR10 three years ago. No need to book any buses, train tickets or even accommodation during June. I took a one man tent with me and used that sometimes - taking a tent gives you lots of freedom. As for snow, no telling what it will be like. As said above - there could be virtually none or the high passes could be very icy.
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Joannad, I live in France and can confirm that it isn't worth booking busses in June. It is also true that the Luz-Barèges section isn't very interesting - better to use the day later on to go up above Espingo However, you will almost certainly meet up with icy snow on the high passes, unless you go very late in the month - winter has been unusually hard here. The easiest solution would be to take a pair of lightweight crampons.
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 I'm also walking the GR10 this June coming in the last week. I'm walking from Mont Louis to Banyuls, so the highest point will be Pic du Canigou. Does anyone know if it should be safe enough with no crampons? Also, I read somewhere about a festival around this time where half the population of Barcelona go and camp on Canigou and light fires at the peak. Apparently they can leave a lot of rubbish and ruin the scenery. This info just came from one guide though, so does anyone know anything more about this and whether its likely to effect my walk?
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Beanie, you might be talking about St John's night (June 20 or 21 - summer solstice) that is still celebrated in many countries as in Spain/Ireland/Denmark etc. As Canigou is the highest peak in Catalonia it does get a lot of visitors at that time. It is quite close to the Mediterranean and there hasn't been a large amount of snowfall in the last month so you should be OK without crampons.
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Just 6 weeks to go  Does anybody know about a web page (doesn't have to be in English!) with updated snow information for the area?
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Here - scroll down and click on Hauteur de neige hors piste (on right under country/area map), then choose area you want
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Wow thanks! It is perfect!
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Quick update - it's started snowing higher up today and apparently snow down to 800 - 1000 metres in the Pyrenees. As to the website from ED H, be careful. The last two years Meteo France have stopped updating this site and the avalanche risk in May as it is primarily a service for skiers. As all the ski stations in the Pyrenees are now closed you may find that prior to your departure this will not be updated.
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According to France Meteo, it was snowing again last week, and there still is quite a lot of snow above 2400m. Is it a normal spring ???, or should I start looking for alternative places to go, as there will still be too dangerous to go in 4 weeks time?
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It actually snowed down to 800m in Cauterets this weekend. The snow level is down to 1600m and I reckon there will still be a lot of snow around in 4 weeks time. The last 4 years it has never snowed this late and there has been a lot of snow around the end of June. It could be difficult but it depends on your confidence and experience. And no this year is not a normal spring. Don't give up just yet but maybe have a second destination in mind.
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I don't have a second destination in mind! Unless I go straight to my finishing point of Banyuls Sur Mer and camp the whole time there and soak up the sun! I am not that experienced with snow (although generally pretty experienced hillwalking) We leave on the 20th June and are doing the slighlty easier section of the GR10 from Mont Louis to Banyuls, so Canigou is the only major peak. I hope we'll be ok? I'm going with a few people who have very little experience so it'll all fall on me if anything goes wrong 
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You should be ok on that section.
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