A new year has a way of sharpening the senses. The days begin to lengthen, maps come out of drawers, and thoughts drift towards quieter valleys, high paths and places where walking still feels like a privilege rather than a pastime.

Adventures and information on the Spanish Pyrenees
Adventures and information on the Spanish Pyrenees

A new year has a way of sharpening the senses. The days begin to lengthen, maps come out of drawers, and thoughts drift towards quieter valleys, high paths and places where walking still feels like a privilege rather than a pastime.
There have been changes in the Hike Pyrenees office over the last year, as last summer we converted the office into an English Academy called 'English with Anna'. Obviously, with us not being able to run holidays last year, we needed to cut costs. With us all working...
With the fantastic snow in the Pyrenees at the moment, last weekend I took Isabel and Christopher on their first snowshoeing trip and also went out with Gustavo up Pelopin. Christopher was desperate to go snowshoeing with me last winter, but his feet are too small for...
With the perfect snow conditions we've got in the Pyrenees at the moment we've headed to the ski resort of Astun a couple of times in January - once on my own and once with the kids. Astun is in the Valle de Aragon, north of Jaca, right on the French/Spanish border....
Since Christmas, we've had a huge amount of snow in the Pyrenees and even down at Biescas, we had huge falls of snow every day between Christmas and New Year. It made everything look very Christmassy which was nice as this has been a holiday without as much Christmas...
Last weekend, I got the skis out for the first time this season. We've had some really heavy snow here in the Pyrenees over the last ten days, but Sunday was one of the first clear days to get out and enjoy it. The first winter outing of the season - whether on skis...
On Sunday, La Vuelta cycle race is starting the stage in Biescas. It's a gruelling days riding with the route heading north up the Valle de Tena over the Portalet pass into France and then tackling both the Col d'Aubisque and Col du Tourmalet. I've done the Col...
In the last week of the summer holidays, we had a family hiking trip up to Refugio Goriz in the Ordesa National Park where we camped for the night. Isabel and Christopher are only 9 and 6 so we cheated slightly and took the Ordesa 4x4 taxi up to Punta Acuta. From...
Another fantastic hike with Juanma. This time we explored the area of Bujaruelo, crossing over into France for views of the Cirque de Gavarnie before tackling the spectacular border ridge and the spiky peak of Gabiet at 2716 metres. We started at the Refugio of San...
Last week, Juanma and I had an adventure in the Ordesa National Park and bivvied on the summit of the three thousand metre Punta de las Olas. It was by far the highest I've ever bivvied and I have to admit to a little nervousness about being that high up without a...