From Berga to Pica d'Estats in winter

The aim of this great adventure was to walk from my home in Berga (a village in the Catalan pre-Pyrenees in the province of Barcelona), to Pica d'Estatsthe highest peak in Catalonia and one of the most important three-thousanders of the Pyrenees I am most fond of. Besides, to do it in winter, with winter conditions.

• YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN: HRP 2×3000: tips for the Haute Route Pyrenees

The objective

But where did this idea come from?

For that, we have to go back a bit to July 2022. I wanted to do my first trek a bit longer and solo. After several days looking for options, it occurred to me to walk from home, as I did many times to go to the mountains, but this time to take it a little further and go to Pica d'Estats.

The adventure was a complete success, I managed to reach Pica d'Estats and reach the summit in 9 days.

But something happened that made me want to repeat the adventure. Apart from doing mountain activities, I am also a content creator, which means that I record mountain activities to make videos of my adventures on my YouTube channel and social networks. In this case, as sometimes happens to us, unfortunately I lost all the videos I recorded from the moment I entered Andorra until I reached the top of the pike. 

This made me want to repeat the adventure at some point. So it was perfect, when this winter I wanted to do my first long trek in winter. To repeat that adventure, but with the "plus" in winter. Since I already knew the route, there was a little less uncertainty and I felt much safer despite the harsh conditions we sometimes encounter.

The philosophy we follow

For this trip, we followed the philosophy that I like the most and that, personally, connects you more with the mountain and makes you live it all much more.

As much autonomy as possible (this does not preclude reloading food), without making use of shelters or anything like that, at most we spend the night in some free shelters.

Personally, I like much better to remove all those "conveniences" that are so much in use nowadays.

In this case, unlike the first time I did this route in summer, I went with my good companion Joan Marcé, also a student guide.

Together we make a very good team and that is very important in this type of crossing, even more so in winter.

The route and logistics

The route we follow starts in Berga.heading towards the village of Gósol. 

We climb the Serra del Cadí and descend the north face on a slope with a considerable gradient.I have to admit that we were a bit apprehensive about how we would find the snow, but in the end we made it without any problems.

The next day we already passed through the village of Martinet, in CerdanyaWe took the opportunity to buy some food to finish off the two days we had left until we reached Andorra, where we refuelled with the most important food. 

Crossing Andorra in almost a day. 

The last, but also the most intense, stretches were left before we arrived at the summit of Pica d'Estats . Some snow that made us afraid of avalanches, as well as difficulties to progress on the terrain with some stretches that took forever.

Here is the link to the track in case you want to consult it: https://mapy.cz/s/gemokucoto

Dates

Due to the dates, the original idea was to do it purely in winter.

We started walking on the 15th of March 2023. I would have liked to start earlier to feel the winter much more, but because of the dates it was not possible for my partner to leave earlier.

So the summit day was 21 March. Although the summit was not purely wintry, as we were in the very first days of spring, it was in wintry conditions.

Hard times

As on any long journey, there is time for both good and not so good, rather difficult and hard times.

At the time you encounter these situations you may have a bit of a hard time, but with time you even manage to enjoy them. 

If nothing else, when you finish the trip you remember everything fondly, and you wouldn't want to take anything away, because all those moments make it all worthwhile and you remember it with intensity.

In this case, the hardest moments began when the snow became more prevalent.. We did have some snow in the Serra del Cadí, but when things started to get serious was the day we entered Andorra. We crossed the pass that gave us access to Andorra, and the snow began to fall more and more intensely, and fortunately we never lost visibility at any time. The stretches to the refuge for that night were not at all technical, quite the contrary, in summer you could get there without major problems. However, there was a significant amount of snow accumulated, it should be noted that we were in the midday hours, so the snow was not hard, which meant that we were sinking a lot with every step we took. So much so that in some sections we had to crawl up some slopes to try not to sink so much. 

Once we reached the refuge, the weather became quite complicated, to the point that my companion Joan began to have a certain amount of respect for the possible avalanches.

The following day, when we were passing through the centre of Andorra, we were able to consult the avalanche bulletins and everything indicated that it was safe to continue. Even so, that same day when we were approaching the refuge we saw first hand, in fact we had to pass over them, some traces of avalanches.

When we were already at the refuge for the night, we could clearly see some recent avalanches in the first sections where we had to continue our route the next day. This was a much tougher time for my companion mentally.

So to minimise that risk, we set off earlier the next day and managed to get through those sections without the slightest problem.

Finally, probably the hardest moment of all. On the very day of the summit attack, my companion was still uncertain about the avalanches, and even though we woke up at 4 a.m. and left early, when we were descending the French side of the Sotllo pass that gives us access to the north face to climb to the Pica summitMy partner felt very insecure because of the type of snow. So we decided that he would wait for me on the pass and I would attempt the summit. Seeing him turn back, when we had overcome so many hard moments together, hurt me a lot.

Arriving at the summit, the last stretch was a bit tricky because of the ice and rock, which made me feel scared on the way down. Finally the adventure was successfully completed and everything went according to plan.

Preparation and knowledge

I always like to emphasise this point, and if it is possible to avoid any kind of incident or to minimise as much as possible some of the dangers of less experienced people who want to imitate this kind of adventure, so much the better.

In this case, both my partner Joan and I have knowledge of the mountains and we know what we're getting into. This doesn't mean that we can't make mistakes and even have an accident, it could very well happen. But it is not the same as someone who goes to the mountain with much less or even no experience. The best thing to do is to be trained and to know the dangers, exposure and commitment of each one of them. mountain activity and how to minimise it in order to make it safer..

Featured material used

The idea here is not to give a millimetre-by-millimetre breakdown of all the material used, but something more general that may be of more interest to you.

• Regarding the shelter for the night we used a tent for two people on nights when we do not stay overnight in free shelter.
• I carried a bag with a comfort of -11º.I was never cold at any time, in fact I was hot one night even though I slept with very few clothes on.
• Regarding safety equipment, as it is winter terrain. We use both crampons marching as a ice axe transhipmentin addition to helmet for slightly more sensitive areas and for possible rock falls.
• One of the most key materials for this journey was footwear.. Because we had to walk a lot, both on more technical mountain terrain, roads and more urban areas, and finally for the more demanding steps where we used crampons. For this, I used my Bestard Alp FFThese have been perfectly adapted to the needs of this adventure.

Conclusion

For me this trip has been very special, as it is another level in terms of improving as a mountaineer. Besides, the company has been exceptional.

Without any doubt, I would highly recommend doing a winter tour in this style, especially if you want to improve and go deeper and deeper into winter activities and terrain. But always be safe and be aware of your limits.