Let Loose with Adventure

Let Loose on Snowshoes.

Escape Britain's winter with a week of winter walking and snowshoeing in the French and Spanish Pyrenees. Crisp fresh snow, blue skies and sunshine, and a whole host of fun!

2012 will be Let Loose with Adventure's fourth year running snowshoeing holidays in the Pyrenees, the mountains that sit between France and Spain. One of the highlights of our year; getting out on beautiful mountains with stunning views and with lovely people - as our guests always are! We have a lot of fun, and the snow and sun have a great way of energising, so a good start to the year. This year we are running holidays over a four week period, as we have some freelance work committments, so if you are thinking of joining us, we suggest booking early especially as we keep our groups small. This is what's on offer. Airport transfers from Toulouse; seven nights bed and breakfast, six evening four-course meals with wine, five packed lunches for the walking days; five full days on the mountain with your qualified guide; snowshoe and safety equipment hire; local transportation - £710 per person.

I have just returned from a week spent hiking and snowshoeing with Kevin as part of Let Loose. I had such a fantastic time. Kevin is very interesting and has a lot of knowledge to share. Snowshoeing was great fun and Kevin was a very thorough instructor. The food and accomodation were A***. Highly recommended! Overall a very relaxed and enjoyable week. Thank you.  

 Your accommodation... 

Option 1.
At our accommodation in Eup, we have three guest rooms, a double and two twins with shared bathrooms. The house looks out onto the impressive mountain of Pic du Gar. We have plenty of space to relax in, central heating, log fire and five minutes from the town of St Beat. Last year we had plenty of compliments for our food. 

 

Don't want to snowshoe but do want the accommodation? Click here.

Option 2.

As an alternative, our friends Ron and Carole McGregor offer their lovely accommodation in St Beat at Chalet Le Chapeau Bleu.  They can accommodate up to 13 guests in their comfortable rooms, with a mixture of singles, doubles and triple rooms. A hearty breakfast is included; you'll be supplied with a filling packed lunch, and dinner is a four-course affair with aperitif, wine and coffee. 
   
What's Not Covered?
What is not covered on either option is your transportation from/to the UK, and holiday insurance, which needs to cover rescue from the mountain. If you need advice on these things, feel free to ask. We cook for you on six nights but invite you on one evening to enjoy one of the local restaurants.

Anything else?

We aim to remain completely flexible with our holidays. Ideally, you'll come for seven nights, and we'll provide you with an itinerary for the five days guided walking. This also leaves you with a free day to do another activity, if you wish. There's plenty to do in the area with downhill and cross-country skiing, parapenting, dog sledging and of course those relaxing thermal baths that this area is renowned. 

We can cater for shorter holidays, and day walks if you are already in the area. A day's snowshoeing with equipment hire, is €35 per person.
Email or telephone/text on  00 33 (0)6 06 415 815.

Is this for me?

This is a common question when looking for a holiday. Let us help provide some answers. Firstly, walking with a guide brings many benefits. You'll be well looked after, and won't have to worry about where to go and what to see. All levels of fitness will be catered for, and we tailor the day's itinerary according to ambitions of the group. Your snowshoes and walking poles will be provided as will all safety equipment but if there's anything you need to buy we can provide you with 15% discount in the outdoor retailers Cotswold Outdoors Ltd
You'll meet new people; there'll be plenty of fun and laughter, and you'll probably go home wondering why you hadn't thought of doing a snowshoeing holiday before.

                                              
Your guide, Kevin Albin, is a fully qualified International Mountain Leader. He holds the legal papers to operate in France; full liability insurance, and is first aid trained. He speaks French. He knows the area well and will be carrying all the necessary safety equipment. "Taking people out snowshoeing, and into the mountains is something special to me; it's your holiday time and your experience, and I'll do everything I can to make it special for you."


I'm convinced, what do I do now?

Excellent, we look forward to meeting you!

The next thing to do is contact us through the Contact Us page and check the availability. We are running trips, Saturdays to Saturdays.

We'll confirm availability, send you a booking form, and ask you for a deposit of £150 per person. This deposit secures the accommodation and local transport, and is only refundable should we not be able to reallocate your place. We will also send you more details about the holiday, what to bring, and some general information on health and insurance matters. The balance for the holiday will need to be paid six weeks before the start of the holiday. It's as simple as that!

 Click HERE for an article on the History of Snowshoeing and 10 Reasons to Snowshoe (instead of skiing!)

What will I be doing?

Here's an example of the itinerary...

Day 1. Arrival day; where you'll be settled into your accommodation, meet the other guests and your guide, Kevin Albin, dinner and time to relax.

Day 2. Kevin will give an introductory talk on the week, and hand out your snowshoes, walking poles and some other equipment. We'll look at what everyone wants to get from the holiday, and talk about routes, weather, and great places to go. We'll then have a fine day out, perhaps in La Vallée du Larboust, where you'll see characteristic villages tucked into the hillside. We also stand a chance of seeing izards, kites and griffon vultures.
            Click on photo to enlarge.
It won't be too energetic, allowing everyone to get used to the sport, and to get to know each other. We shall also be near Luchon if anyone has something they need to buy.

Day 3. Today we'll have a look at avalanche transceivers and other safety equipment, and look at how to evaluate the snow conditions. This will be on the way to the Sommet d'Antenac at 1990m, where we should have excellent views into three different valleys. We shall zigzag up through a forest of Scots Pine, and then onto the wide ridge to the summit. 
                                      

Day 4. Today we set off a little later as we are aiming to come down in the dark. Leaving the mountain village of Artique, we walk along the GR10 to the Plan de Montmajou. Here will have one foot in France and one in Spain. Depending on time and energy, we might take in Pic de Bacanere at 2193m and a view down into Spain. We should get some great views of Aneto, the highest in the Pyrenees. We leave the summit as the sun sets, and watch the stars coming out as we take hot drinks at the hut on the way down.
Click to enlarge

Day 5. Free Day. This is a chance to try another activity such as parapenting, downhill or cross-country skiing or just to relax in the thermal baths with a bit of pampering. Spain is only 7kms from your accommodation so you could always lunch there. Tonight we invite you to eat out and try one of the local restaurants.
                                                Click to enlarge  

Day 6. We might start in Spain with a drive up to the Col du Portillon and a walk through the forest. This is a great area for having a close look at nature with some animal tracking, and what about those bears! Lunch at a mountain refuge and there will be time to take in the summit Pic d'Aubas if we want to.
   Click on photo to enlarge

Day 7. A grand day out with the northerly ridge from the Col de Peyresourde taking in seven tops. This will give views into the Valleys of Oo and Louron, the ski resort at Peyragudes and the surrounding area. We shall drop down off the tops into beech and conifer forests with a good chance of seeing deer, mountain hare and fox, and make our way to Portet du Luchon in time for a celebratory drink in an auberge.

Day 8. Departure day. Breakfast and transfers to the airport.


What will I need to bring?

Clothing wise, it's about the same as walking in the UK perhaps with a spare fleece in your rucksack. As you can see in the photos, I have on a thermal top, lightweight trousers and a waterproof jacket. Boots need to have good ankle support and gaiters will keep the snow out of them. Hat and gloves help me to regulate my temperature, and sunglasses keep down the glare from the snow. A day sack is sufficient, just large enough to carry some water, lunch and some spare clothing. Camera essential for those all important action shots. You will get a kit list on booking.

I'll supply the snowshoes, one size fits all more or less, and walking poles, which help with balance and rhythm. It takes no time at all to learn a few simple techniques on snowshoes, and how to use them efficiently.

Do have a look at some of our photos of previous year's holidays
 Click here

And if you want to see what we were up to last year, here's our