SummitPost.org

Hi!

I did a search but couldn't find anything. The Teide page also does not give me all the answers.

I'm going to the Gran Canaria island in late December. Since I'm there, I thought I'd take the ferry to Tenerife and climb Teide.

Has anyone got any info on climbing it during this time of the year? General snow conditions, weather conditions, need for crampons etc. ?

Thanks!
Ivar

I'd be interested in finding out any information as well. The current weather at 2390m is pretty warm even at night - with the extra 1400m to the summit you'd expect it to be between -5 and -10C at the summit.

I'd feel like a bit of an idiot rocking up with a 4 season sleeping bag, ice axe and crampons if it's there's no snow and the cable car is running!

I'm lacking information on the refugio - we'd like to stay at the top. Rumour has it there is a basic emergency shelter there as well as the main refuge. It sounds like it shuts at the slightest snowfall. But then you get (rare) conditions like this:

I was on Tenerife the last week of December and first week of January two years ago - no snow at all.

I was on La Gomera in the same time frame last year - a little on Teide, though it seemed to be very little.

I was on La Palma in February 2004 - big snow and ice - I think the picture above is taken from that year. Actually I think you might have required crampons and ice axe in that year.

Bottom line - you can never be sure but in General Tenerife is pretty weather proof during the holiday season. You might find rime on the roads to the Canadas and this might already turn you back because the rental cars you get on the island never have winter tires. You'll most likely won't need any winter equipment except for warm windproof garments. Even when it is 25°C at the coast you'll have freezing temperatures up there and almost always fierce winds.

What you need, however is a permit. Oherwise the rangers won't let you climb the remaining 150 m from the Rambleta, where the cable-car ends. You also will have to try to acclimatize. Living at sea level, driving up to 2100m and then climbing to 3700m all in the course of 3 - 4h will take its toll. My body always revolts by producing incredible headaches so you might want to bring a pack of aspirin and lots of water to drink. Water is rare in the Canadas - the whole crater is a desert. Don't expect to be able to buy anything at the cable-car or anywhere in the Canadas, the nearest bar / restaurant is at El Portillo in the nort of the crater.

Accommodation: There is only the Refugio Altavista and there is no service there, at least in winter. So bring your sleeping back, climb to the refugio at night, stay there for the night and climb Teide in the early hours of the morning. That way you might be able to bypass the permit problem - plus yoou''ll have the most beautiful sunrise of the Canarias.

Other mountains in the Canadas could serve as substitutes if Teide should be covered in ice. Just go to the Tenerife page and click the mountains in the left sidebar down to Roques del Cedro.

For an impression of what the weather was like two years ago see the following Trip Reports:

Dancing on Lava
Crossing the Desert

Tenerife in December last year:

Gangolf Haub wrote:What you need, however is a permit. Oherwise the rangers won't let you climb the remaining 150 m from the Rambleta, where the cable-car ends.

Are the rangers there 24/7 then? Because I circumvented a similar problem on Etna a few years back by just lingering around the 3000 metre area from where further access was "guide-only" until the rangers fucked off and summited afterwards. I suppose the same thing should work on Teide if the rangers are just there, say from 7-19 or so...

Proterra wrote:

Gangolf Haub wrote:What you need, however is a permit. Oherwise the rangers won't let you climb the remaining 150 m from the Rambleta, where the cable-car ends.

Are the rangers there 24/7 then? Because I circumvented a similar problem on Etna a few years back by just lingering around the 3000 metre area from where further access was "guide-only" until the rangers fucked off and summited afterwards. I suppose the same thing should work on Teide if the rangers are just there, say from 7-19 or so...

They are there during the opening hours of the cable-car. So if you're early you can avoid them.This means staying at the refugio overnight. As for the nights - I'm not sure whether they round-up everyone on the Rmbleta before heading down.

Having said this - I also witnessed people climbing the summit from the back side - out of view from the rangers. But believe me - that's no fun in the 45° scree at 3700m.

And finally - unlike Etna, the cable-car takes thousands of people up there each day and the rangers actually do an important job, restricting summit access and ensuring that everybody gets back down safely. You wouldn't believe how some people come up in their flip flops, shorts and bikini top - to find themselves blasted by sub-zero winds. Teide, after all, is still active by emitting fumes of sulphour and you certainly don't want to be on top of the crater when one of these clouds go off.

One more consideration I just remembered: At Christmas Eve and New Years Eve the cable-car closes at 2 p.m. I guess you would have a good chance to summit then. We didn't make it last time around as we still had a long way to go and the additional hour would have had us stranded among the lava flows on the Teide south face.

Thanks for the info Gangolf. When the refugio has no service, is there a source of water?

What's the refugio like when it is open? Some of the photos I have seen show a well equiped kitchen, and the text about the renovation says it has running water and power.

Can't answer your question, since I have never entered the building. One of the times I went by it was under construction but I don't recall when that was.

Seems like it was 2007 See here

And I found a German site saying that you have to book the refugio as well and that with this booking you're entitled to go to the summit as well. And they seem to have water and everything.

The Phone number and addresses are on the link I posted above. There also is an English version but that seems to point to the cableway.

Ha - got it:

English Link to the Refugio page

Hi,
I climbed Teide Dec. 29. 2001 and my experience was added to the Teide page on SP
The summit was pretty icy. I just managed without crampons. A few times I had to sprint to cross icy steps. Once I did not manage to grab an icicle, slid back some 10m (glad nobody saw me) and had to try a second time with even more speed. No danger here, plain fun
Good luck,
Henning

It is for sure a great experience to spent a night at the refugio, but to my point of view for this mountain one better applies the "rush"-style i.e. doing the whole thing in one day. To my surprise we had no problems regarding altitude during this daytrip, whereas spending a night at +3000m would need some basic acclimatization.

Asccending the west side of the teide IMHO is a quite serious undertaking and could be hard to stuff into one day as one has to circumvent/traverse Pico Viejo and the whole terrain is very rugged.

This leaves either an early or a very late start from montana blanca as the best solution. I would prefer the first.

Martin

The western side of Teide is only good for descending. It is a pile of cinder, horrible to ascend. I would bet you'd only make it to Pico Viejo. Above the rock gets more solid, however you'll have to do the lava dance to get to the top. You're walking on light boulders which will tilt this way or that as you step on them.

I also would suggest the "rush ascent" from Montana Blanca. Have done it twice and can recommend it.