Snowshoeing and Igloo Building

Snowshoeing and Igloo Building

Snowshoeing and Igloo Building in the Pyrenees. Two days of snowshoeing and one night sleeping in your own self-built igloo. Get ready for a unique experience! Extend your trip to three days and two nights and improve your igloo on the second night.

Snowshoeing

Plentiful snowfall in the high Pyrenees provides ample opportunities for snowshoeing, which is a great way to explore winter wilderness conditions on foot. Snowshoeing is a form of hiking, winter hiking through the snow. It's a wonderful low-tech activity that allows us to easily visit snow covered areas which may be inaccessible otherwise. The feeling you get when snowshoeing through a tranquil snowy coniferous forest is both soothing and exciting. To make your own tracks in fresh powder and do so in a safe manner without provoking avalanches is incredibly fun.

Snowshoes function by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area. This minimizes sinking into the snow and makes walking through light and fluffy snow more efficient. Snowshoes were invented between 4000-6000 years ago. Native Americans and many ancient civilizations utilized snowshoes for hunting and survival during cold snowy winters. Today, we have the luxury of using snowshoes for recreational activities and simply for pleasure in the mountains.

Igloo Building

You will learn how to build your own igloo or snow cave. Then you'll sleep in it that night! Snow is a great insulator and therefore if you know how to build an efficient igloo you can sleep surprisingly well. When outside temperatures plummet during the night and blizzard conditions ensue, you'll be happy to have built a proper snow igloo. Inside will be calm and warm with temperatures at approximately 4º C or 40º F. The silence and tranquility inside your snow cave will surprise and delight you. With the proper insulation you will definitely have a surprisingly comfortable and restful night inside your own self-built igloo. You can build your own personal one person igloo or a multi-person igloo with your companions. Get ready for an incredible experience!

Contact us today for more information or to plan your snowshoeing adventure today!

Summary

Duration: 2 days & 1 night  or  3 days & 2 nights

Next Dates: December 1, 2021 - March 31, 2022 (dates may vary depending on conditions and availability)

What is Included?

  • Certified mountain guide: Spanish Mountain Guides Association (AEGM) and Union of International Mountain Leader Associations (UIMLA). Native English, fluent Spanish
  • Planning and logistics
  • Liability Insurance
  • Accident Insurance
  • Basic First Aid Kit

What is NOT Included?

  • Transportation to and from the start/finish point
  • All food and drink

Prerequisites

  • A positive attitude and desire to snowshoe in the mountains! This is an active vacation so be ready to move your body, feel the excitement, and visit some extraordinary places!
  • No previous snowshoeing or igloo building experience is necessary. This is a very unique trip. We will teach you how to snowshoe and how to build an igloo.
  • This is a multi-day winter adventure trip in the mountains, be prepared for varying meteorological conditions and variations in terrain.
  • Each participant must be properly prepared for this cold weather adventure. This includes physical and mental preparation and arriving with the proper gear. A material list will be included in the trip dossier.
  • Each participant must be capable of snowshoeing for extended periods (4-5hr per day) and be accustomed to spending extended time (2-3 days) in mountainous terrain.
  • A medium to high level of physical and mental fitness is necessary for this trip.

Customize Your Trip!

  • This snowshoeing and igloo building trip is customizable to fit your schedule, energy, fitness, or desire. That means that we can adjust the length of your trip depending on what you want. Two days and one night is the minimum duration for this snowshoeing and igloo building adventure trip.
  • Lengthen your trip! Can't get enough of the beautiful Pyrenees and want more days of snowshoeing? Add them on! Tell us how many days you'd like to snowshoe and we can design a trip to meet your desires.
  • Multi-day hut to hut snowshoeing. Interested in multi-day snowshoeing but not building your own igloo? No problem, we can stay at non-serviced huts for as many nights as you'd like. Contact us for more information and we will design a trip just for you.
  • Do you want more adventure in the Pyrenees? Combine this trip with another activity such as rock climbing or via ferrata. During the winter months the high Pyrenees are covered in snow. However, it is usually dry and warm at lower elevations. Winter is prime rock climbing season in Spain, why not add on a few days of climbing in tee shirts or scaling a via ferrata in the sunshine? Single day adventures or multi-day adventures are available. Contact us for more information and we will customize a few more days of activities just for you.