From St Jean-Pied-de-Port to Roncesvalles in February?

When we realized that there was a possibility to walk El camino in February/March 2014 we first got very excited! But when the first rush of emotion wore off, I started thinking in a more practical way: would it be bearable (or even possible!) to walk the route between St. Jean-Pied-de-Port and Roncesvalles in this time of the year?

As this would be the big deciding factor, I immediately started searching for some answers on this matter. Every website stated that the best time of the year to do the pilgrimage would be on late spring or autumn, some of them referred March or April as the earlier advisable months to start. Nothing said about February!

Next I sent an e-mail to the Albergue in Roncesvalles asking if it was possible to cross the mountains on this time of the year. They told me that probably we wouldn't be able to cross through the peaks due to snow, but that there is a detour through Valcarlos that may be used is such case.

Lastly I turned to the forums and got convinced. This forum was one of the most helpful, and every time I browse around I found a little bit of useful information. Here I found lots of statements of people who walked El camino in winter time (January, February and March) and also some helpful tips on the matter.

So that's it then, it's possible to do it in any time of the year. But of course, winter carries a handful of difficulties inherent to the season. The cold doesn't really scare us, but we have to bear in mind the possibility of storms and snow, doing a lot of walking in the rain and having to carry some extra weight to face all of these.

 But doubts put aside, let's start planning!