Snowshoe Walking
For thousands of years, large and cumbersome ‘racket’ snowshoes were essential tools for survival in the eastern Pyrenees. Catalan shepherds, hunters, messengers and traginers relied on them to cross snowbound passes, follow winter transhumance routes, and maintain links between valleys during the long mountain months, when villages were cut off and the mountains ruled daily life.
Today’s snowshoes are lightweight and easy to manoeuvre, creating the sensation of floating across the snow. Snowshoeing has become a fun, low-impact activity, ideal for discovering the winter landscapes of the high Catalan Pyrenees. Frost-laden pine and fir forests, open pla swept by the tramuntana, frozen streams and distant views of sharp ridgelines form a landscape that feels both wild and deeply familiar. Silence dominates, broken only by the crunch of snow and the echo of a raven or golden eagle overhead.
Exploring these mountains with a qualified guide adds depth to every step. Learn how to read the tracks of foxes and mountain hares etched into fresh snow, or how to tell whether a squirrel is left- or right-handed by the way it eats a pinecone. Discover how finches and mallerengues tackle a hazelnut, why certain trees cling to exposed slopes, and how ancient paths once linked masos, high pastures and winter refuges.
A guide also reveals the human history of the Catalan Pyrenees. Romanesque chapels half-buried in snow, dry-stone shepherds’ huts, boundary crosses and place names tell stories of faith, work and survival. These mountains are not empty wilderness, but a cultural landscape shaped by centuries of pastoral life, belief and tradition.
An International Mountain Leader (IML) will plan your itinerary with care, animate your walk, and share an intimate knowledge of the mountains and their stories. Their role is to inspire and educate, while above all providing a safe way to enjoy a beautiful but potentially dangerous environment. Snowshoe walking here becomes more than an activity—it is a quiet immersion in the spirit and memory of the Catalan Pyrenees.