New for the 2027 winter season, we offer bespoke winter walking trips in the wild and beautiful French Pyrenees to provide you with the knowledge and experience to venture out in winter conditions.
Whether you are a complete beginner, or already have some experience of winter walking, we are here to help you safely access snowy trails and peaks, and offer practical tips and experiences in the winter landscape. For our three bespoke activities listed below we can accommodate individuals or groups of up to 7 people.
HAVE A GO!
Try winter walking for the first time, or join a group where speed is not on the agenda! We will give you practical advice on choosing the right gear for walking in winter, and use easy trails to help you get used to walking in snowshoes. This is designed as a fun, safe, and short introduction to walking in snow – or if you just want to enjoy spectacular views without feeling you are at the limit of your abilities! We programme this as a half-day activity using a circular route, typically meeting in a café for tea/coffee and a chat before we set out into the winter wonderland.
A STEP FURTHER!
Maybe you have tried winter walking already and are feeling a bit more adventurous? Perhaps you would like a new challenge, or want to propose a route or a peak you have walked in other seasons but haven’t tried in the winter? – have you wondered what safety equipment you might need to venture further? We can provide you with snowshoes and all the safety equipment you will need to access the winter landscape (transceiver, probe and shovel), and tips and advice on how to use them. For more experienced winter walkers, you are also welcome to bring your own snowshoes if you have them.
NAVIGATION TECHNIQUES
During a two-day course, we will introduce you to practical route-finding for ‘off the beaten track’ and remote winter walking. For the fans of electronic navigation we will introduce you to a variety of mapping apps and GPS systems, also, we will brush up our skills using the good old-fashioned paper map and compass – all of which (together) help us to stay safe in the mountains. We will cover: how to stay on a bearing and how to locate yourself (especially in low visibility conditions), how to calculate time (very important to know when to continue and when to turn back), how to interpret the Météo correctly, how to read terrain and weather patterns, how to use instinct and expertise (avoiding heuristic traps!), how to work on your own or in groups, and how to make an in-the-field on-going risk assessment of your activity. Knowledge and practical experience is always useful, and more-importantly knowing where you are (and how to get back) is critical.
“Winter returned to the Pyrenees just in time and we got fresh snow and cold conditions to practice cutting steps, cutting blocks, burying axe belays and polishing our transceiver skills… brilliant to be out training and sharing ideas and experience. Thanks for running a brilliant event Dave… looking forward to the next one!” (Steve)
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:
16 January 2027 – have a go!
17 January 2027 – a step further!
23-24 January 2027 – navigation techniques
These dates are programmed for weekends, but if you have a special request for dates during the week just let us know!
Please email us for more information and prices.