[WTB] Haute Route Pyrenee (HRP) Maps

[scoha]

Anybody willing to part with (or lend !) a set of maps that covers the HRP? Planning for a Aug/Sept traverse this year

[Mark F]

I am unwilling to sell my old RandoPyrenees maps (Nos 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 21, 22, 23) but could photocopy bits if required. These (hopefully updated) may be available from http://www.stanfords.co.uk/B%C3%A9arn-Aspe-Ossau-Pyrenees-National-Park-Rando-Editions-3_9782344008058 or other retailers. I would see what they have and then try to fill in the missing ones. I would also recommend Topo Pirineos for Garmin gps http://topopirineos.blogspot.com/ as a very useful and free map. You can load it into BaseCamp to view on a regular computer screen.

It is a fantastic walk. My avatar is a view from Hourquette d'Ossoue looking towards Vignemale.

[Warin]

There is also https://hiking.waymarkedtrails.org/#route?id=2018553 ... that will give you gpx/kml tracks for it .. click on the 'sections' tab to divide it up in to bits.

[Mark F]

You have to watch out when using gpx tracks for the hrp. There are several versions of the hrp ranging from the original Georges Veron route and the more recent versions in the Cicerone guides by Ton Joosten with some differences between book editions plus any number of other variations. The Veron route was designed in the French style to deliver you to accommodation each evening while the Joosten routes assume some camping. In french this is bivouacking. Camping is car camping and often prohibited whereas you can bivouac most places once away from a road but only over night, the tent goes up after about 6pm must be down in the morning by 8am - times vary. There are several alternatives available if you enjoy tenting it which neither guide addresses. You also need a widish view of the area for detours, getting to and from resupply points, deal with weather issues, severe thunderstorms are common, etc..

[Warin]

The link I gave has 2 routes.

One is a continuous route named "Haute Randonnée Pyrénéenne" described as "HRP Principale".

The other "HRP Variante" gives alternatives but is not a continuous route.

[scoha]

Thank you both for your helpful info and tips - really appreciated. From what I can see its a bit of a weather juggle to complete the HRP before end of September (before chance of snow ramps up) (and closure of all or just some of the refuges ?? - be keen on your view on this aspect) and not starting too early in August to avoid worst of heat and holiday crowds. Im thinking 5 weeks (35 days) should probably do it but am reckoning on possibility of some snow at the tail end of September.

[Mark F]

I would start the walk in the first half of August thus finishing mid to late September. This will certainly minimise the risks of snow but starting too early can also lead to snow issues as I found out in 2013 when I started at the end of June in a full on snow year. Don't worry too much about the heat, yes, it will be *&%$#! hot on the plains but you will be in the mountains and temps should be quite reasonable. From my times in the Pyrenees and the Alps you will mainly have mid 20s but don't plan on climbing out of a low valley in the early afternoon. You will find crowds at key points along the route, mainly day walkers walking to specific peaks and lakes but they fade away once you get to la rentrée (when French schools start up) about 2 September in 2019.

[scoha]

Thats good to know - thanks Mark. Thinking 3rd week August through to end of September - but still a bit of planning there. Appreciate your tips

[wobbly]

Check out www.hrpguide.org
We purchased/donated to get the GPS waypoints (not a continuous track) but it also came with a very useful document covering all sorts of info re the track. But most useful of all was that whilst on the walk we'd get emails about current track conditions (snow/ice/closed huts etc) as other walkers posted/shared this info.
cheers Peter

[scoha]

Thanks Peter - yes good tip - Ive contacted to obtain file and notes

[MrFaulty]

Have any of you who have done this walk also done the GR20 and if so, how does it compare? I did the GR20 south to north in 13 sdays 2017 and loved it (albeit it was difficult - probably in part due to the luxuries I was carrying), looking for something to plan for 2020.

Cheers
Ben

[Mark F]

I haven't done the GR20 which is considered the hardest of the GR paths but the HRP has sections that I would rate more difficult than the GR5 and GR52 (French Alps) which I have walked. The HRP is an amalgam of the GR10 in France and the GR11 in Spain with many sections either not tracked or using more local paths. The beauty of the HRP is that it doesn't descend into the valleys at the drop of a hat (for accommodation and resupply) but tries to remain high and criss-crosses between France and Spain to create the best route without nationalism dictating which side of the border you are walking. Many of the harder sections have easier variants to deal with weather and snow so you can make it more or less difficult. Personally I preferred it to the GR5/GR52 - it was a more intimate environment compared to the grandeur of the Alps but still remarkably grand.

[MrFaulty]

Cheers, what sort of altitudes were you walking at?

[Warin]

Cheers, what sort of altitudes were you walking at?

Using https://hiking.waymarkedtrails.org/#rou ... 931!0.6775 click on elevation profile .. and you can view the altitudes... from 0 to 3,000 meters .. mostly around 2,000 metres.

[Mark F]

THe HRP breaks down into about 3 sections. Hendaye to Lescun (the Basque country) where you are ranging from 1k to 2k metres elevation, then the higher Pyrennees at 1.5 to 3k elevation and once past Pic Canigou (2784m) you are heading back into lower terrain at 1.5 to 1k.

[MrFaulty]

Thanks, altitude sounds pefect, high enough without risking altitude sickness or having difficulties with travel insurance!