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Product Description
Product Description
The Pyrenean High Level Route takes the highest possible route through the centre of the Pyrenees, crossing the French/Spanish border many times. It is probably the most beautiful, spectacular and challenging walk in the Pyrenees, and this new guide from Ton Joosten breaks the unwaymarked 800km route into 42 stages in five groups.
About the Author
Ton Joosten grew up in the Netherlands, and in 1986 visited the Pyrenees for the first time. The range captured his imagination, and since then he has returned every year. In the 1990s he made a series of long backpacking expeditions in the Pyrenees and started to write walking guides. This, Ton's sixth guide, is about the long-distance route that he considers to be the most difficult, but also the most rewarding, walk from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea: the Pyrenean Haute Route. Ton has walked all stages of the GR10 (through the French Pyrenees), the GR11 (through the Spanish Pyrenees) and the Haute Route. He has walked every stage of the Haute Route more than once, all the stages in the high mountains at least three times, and has walked all the variants in the guide over the years. To date he has spent over 900 days in the Pyrenees, and the magic isn't over yet!
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the definitive book on the HRP. Although Kev Reynolds' "Walks & Climbs in the Pyrenees" is useful (especially in giving the daily distances in kms -- a surprising omission in Joosten's guide) -- its HRP section is shorter, less useful and deviates a tad too much from the classic route.
Joosten's guide is a mine of information on routes, refuges, bad weather variants, transport, the lot. Don't go without it.
As with all these guides, the timings (without allowance for stops) are challenging, at least initially, and allowance needs to be made for this especially on the very long days and if walking at the end of the season when the days are much shorter. Personally I always walk with a tent + sleeping bag for safety, flexibility and to avoid snorers in some of the older refuges where you still sleep 'sardine style'.
Walking at the very beginning of September avoids the crowds (important if you want to turn up to the refuges on spec) and the snow. Joosten rightly points out that the weather is changeable but this is perhaps an acceptable trade-off for the aforementioned benefits plus cooler weather.
Happy & successful walking should be assured if you follow Jossten's advice.
Joosten's guide is a mine of information on routes, refuges, bad weather variants, transport, the lot. Don't go without it.
As with all these guides, the timings (without allowance for stops) are challenging, at least initially, and allowance needs to be made for this especially on the very long days and if walking at the end of the season when the days are much shorter. Personally I always walk with a tent + sleeping bag for safety, flexibility and to avoid snorers in some of the older refuges where you still sleep 'sardine style'.
Walking at the very beginning of September avoids the crowds (important if you want to turn up to the refuges on spec) and the snow. Joosten rightly points out that the weather is changeable but this is perhaps an acceptable trade-off for the aforementioned benefits plus cooler weather.
Happy & successful walking should be assured if you follow Jossten's advice.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a remarkable book and nobody can really contemplate walking this route without it. The book is durable, concise and mostly accurately written. Be sure to buy the current (second) edition though! The route there is different, and better.
I have given it four stars, because it is not perfect:
- it has either been written or edited down to the absolute minimum number of words possible, and in some places the clarity suffers. Directions frequently omit useful phrases such as for example: "10 km further on" thus leaving you with the erroneous idea you are to turn left and then immediately, or soon, right..
- like all Cicerone books it is quite heavy for its size at 415g.
- it has at least one *extremely dangerous* bit on p78 where you are told to leave the ridge leading to pic d'orhy on your left whereas you *must* leave it on your right, ie descend to the left side of the ridge. The right side is impassable. There is a plaque there to a walker who fell and died, hopefully not clutching a copy of this guide.. I wrote and told cicerone but got no acknowledgment.
- I found Joosten slightly intimidating in that he is evidently superbly fit, can walk fast all day and uses adjectives like "interesting" where I would use "challenging," and "challenging" where I would write "bloody dangerous" - so I never went on those parts of the route he describes as "dangerous!"
Otherwise though this book is really good and as I say, pretty much indispensible. If your French is good, buy Veron's guide as well, and compare the two before you go. Mine is not quite that good!
I have given it four stars, because it is not perfect:
- it has either been written or edited down to the absolute minimum number of words possible, and in some places the clarity suffers. Directions frequently omit useful phrases such as for example: "10 km further on" thus leaving you with the erroneous idea you are to turn left and then immediately, or soon, right..
- like all Cicerone books it is quite heavy for its size at 415g.
- it has at least one *extremely dangerous* bit on p78 where you are told to leave the ridge leading to pic d'orhy on your left whereas you *must* leave it on your right, ie descend to the left side of the ridge. The right side is impassable. There is a plaque there to a walker who fell and died, hopefully not clutching a copy of this guide.. I wrote and told cicerone but got no acknowledgment.
- I found Joosten slightly intimidating in that he is evidently superbly fit, can walk fast all day and uses adjectives like "interesting" where I would use "challenging," and "challenging" where I would write "bloody dangerous" - so I never went on those parts of the route he describes as "dangerous!"
Otherwise though this book is really good and as I say, pretty much indispensible. If your French is good, buy Veron's guide as well, and compare the two before you go. Mine is not quite that good!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
very thorough
6 May 2007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Ton's 42 day itinerary of the PHR seems very good. Again, I may field test it this july.
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