How Travesía Pirenaica was born (and why today it is much more than a route guide)

It all started on the endless road to the Yesa reservoir, 2011, on the way to the Pyrenees. Two friends from Estella-Lizarra, with an old backpack from so many adventures and a lot of desire, were talking about routes, maps and what they couldn't find on the Internet. That conversation ended up being a website. But Travesía Pirenaica, like so many worthwhile things, was not born all at once. It was a sum of steps. And of mountains.

I am Eduardo Azcona. Co-founder of Travesía Pirenaica. For more than a decade, we have been documenting routes, crossing mountain ranges, sharing experiences. What began as a homemade guide to the GR11 is today a real, living community that travels the Pyrenees with a mixture of passion, rigour and a desire for adventure. And this is our story.

From the Sierra de Urbasa to a reference website

Kike and I have been friends since school, so to speak. We grew up cycling in the Sierra de Urbasa and Andía, without a car and with a lot of curiosity. We would ride for miles on two wheels and then put on our boots and climb the peaks. When we started to do sections of the GR11, we realised that there was a need: a clear, useful guide with its own voice. In 2011 this project began, with an incipient platform, which was more like a blog. Soon after, Travesía Pirenaica had its own name.

The philosophy was simple: to tell what we would have liked to find. Reliable tracks. Logistical tips. Real alternatives for sleeping. Refined data. A step-by-step, stage-by-stage guide that soon became the benchmark for the Trans-Pyrenees Crossing on foot. The kind of information you can use without hesitation, because you know that someone has walked the terrain to be able to tell you all about it. hours there.

What we are today (and why we are still here)

We have evolved. From being a guide focused on the GR11, we have moved on to cover other routes, other formats. We created a newsletter that is now read by around 15,000 people every week. We launched a forum, various channels, and now, a Club.

But in the end, we are still doing the same thing: helping someone to live their journey better. With less doubt. With less weight, sometimes. With more confidence.

The value of community

Travesía Pirenaica is based on a very simple foundation: trust. The trust that is created when someone writes to you to say: "Thank you. You saved my route".

That trust is not bought or measured in clicks. It is built by answering doubts, debugging tracks, reviewing each accommodation in the guide. It is built by maintaining consistency week after week. That's why we launched the Club: because we wanted to strengthen this relationship. To make it sustainable. Not to make it depend on banners or quick strategies.

The Club, unvarnished. The future is in the details

It's simple: you contribute a few euros a month. In return, you get access to extended content, discounts, the complete GR11 guide and a lively community where you can resolve your doubts or find route companions.. But, above all, you support a project that is committed to quality in an environment where everything is becoming fast, generic and superficial.

We are still working on new guides, contents, videos, etc. They will not be just another compilation. It will be a precise tool. With steps, recommendations, useful links. We don't book hotels or take you by the hand. But we give you the tools so you don't need help.

We are also expanding the editorial content sections. We want Travesía to be a reference medium, not just a guide. We talk about ultralight equipment, health en route, great challenges in the Pyrenees, personal stories that deserve to be told. We do it from knowledge, but also from lived experience.

We are exploring new ways to inspire: more videos, more interviews, more voices from the road. Because we believe that a route starts long before you put on your boots.

And we will do so on the same premise as 14 years ago: if it is not useful, it is worthless.

A final thought

Today everything is faster. Everything is more visible. But the value is still in the invisible: in answering an email with enthusiasm. In the bonds that are created between people -those often forgotten in the shadow of social profiles, likes and views-. In creating lasting bonds. And that is what we want to continue doing.

Thanks to Footprints on the MountainThanks to Jordi and Javi for the conversation. And thanks to you, if you ever opened an email from us and felt like going out into the mountains.