Alto Campoo Webcam – Check the Snow on Cantabria’s Slopes

The Alto Campoo Webcam looks out from the Tres Mares sector of the Alto Campoo ski and mountain station, 2,175 meters (7,136 feet) up in the Cantabrian Mountains of northern Spain. The camera faces east, down a long, steep flank streaked with rock bands and gullies, to the apartment blocks of Branavieja at the foot of the slopes and on along the Hijar valley toward Reinosa. Gravel tracks zigzag across the foreground, and on clear days pale sheets of water show on the far horizon. Banks of cloud can drift along the slope below the lens, turning a sharp panorama into a grey wall within the hour. In winter these slopes carry the pistes. In mid-October they are bare and brown-green, and the base village stands out clearly against the hillside.

About Alto Campoo

Alto Campoo lies in the municipality of Hermandad de Campoo de Suso, at the head of the Hijar valley in southern Cantabria. Its base is Branavieja, a purpose-built resort village at 1,650 meters (5,413 feet), roughly 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) east of the camera. The nearest town is Reinosa, about 18 kilometers (11 miles) further east as the crow flies. The station lists 23 runs served by 10 lifts, and its marked pistes add up to about 28 kilometers (17 miles), which puts it among the larger ski areas of the Cantabrian Mountains. The second tab on this page carries the Calgosa camera at 1,650 meters, which looks across grassy lower slopes to a ridge under a wide sky. Vayawebcam streams both feeds courtesy of CANTUR.

Pico Tres Mares, whose summit the upper pistes reach, is the only peak in Spain that drains to all three seas around the Iberian Peninsula. Rain on its west side runs into the Nansa and on to the Cantabrian Sea. The north side feeds the Hijar, which joins the Ebro and ends in the Mediterranean, and the south side drains to the Pisuerga, a tributary of the Duero, which reaches the Atlantic. The summit also marks a meeting point of three territories: the Polaciones valley and Hermandad de Campoo de Suso in Cantabria, and Aguilar de Campoo in the province of Palencia.

The long sheets of water on the horizon line up with the Ebro Reservoir, which spreads east of Reinosa across 6,253 hectares (about 24 square miles) of Cantabria and Burgos. Its dam was completed in 1945, and the dam crest stands at 840 meters (2,756 feet), more than 1,300 meters (4,265 feet) below the camera.

Weather and Climate in Alto Campoo

Ten-year averages for 2015 to 2024 at the 1,650 meter (5,413 foot) base give January highs near 3 C (37 F) and lows near -4 C (25 F), and average nights stay below freezing from December through March. Each winter month brings around 100 millimeters (4 inches) of precipitation, and at the camera, some 525 meters (1,722 feet) above the base, much of it typically falls as snow. April warms to highs near 9 C (48 F) with nights around freezing, and May reaches about 12 C (54 F).

Summer is short and mild. July and August average highs of 19 to 20 C (66 to 68 F) and lows around 9 C (48 F), and they are the driest months, at about 36 millimeters (1.4 inches) each. Without snow, the frame shows the full spread of green and brown hillside, with the base village and the valley floor clear below on dry days. Autumn turns wet again: October averages 12 C (54 F) by day and 4 C (39 F) at night, and November is the wettest month at roughly 116 millimeters (4.6 inches). Because the camera faces east, early-morning views look toward the rising sun.

Things to Do Near Alto Campoo

In winter the station itself is the draw, and the Tres Mares sector in front of this camera holds its highest and steepest groomed terrain. The station also runs Campoo Estacion Sonora, a cultural project that pairs acoustic concerts with the high mountain setting. Down the valley, the village of Fontibre, popularly known as the source of the Ebro, lies about 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) east of the base, and the Ebro Reservoir begins just beyond Reinosa.

Reinosa’s old town has the Church of San Sebastian, one of the finest Baroque churches in Cantabria, and a group of 16th and 17th century stone buildings on the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. Near the town are the ruins of the Roman city of Juliobriga and the Romanesque collegiate churches of Cervatos and San Martin de Elines.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

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• Abetone Webcam
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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Alto Campoo located?

Alto Campoo is in the Cantabrian Mountains of southern Cantabria, northern Spain, in the municipality of Hermandad de Campoo de Suso. Its base village, Branavieja, sits about 18 kilometers (11 miles) west of Reinosa, the nearest town.

What can you see on the Alto Campoo Webcam?

The main camera looks east from 2,175 meters (7,136 feet) in the Tres Mares sector, over a steep mountainside to the resort village of Branavieja and down the Hijar valley toward Reinosa, with distant water on clear days. The Calgosa tab shows the grassy lower slopes at 1,650 meters (5,413 feet).

What is the weather like in Alto Campoo?

Cold and wet in winter, mild in summer. At the base, January averages highs near 3 C (37 F) and lows near -4 C (25 F), while July and August reach 19 to 20 C (66 to 68 F) by day. November is the wettest month, and July and August are the driest.

Why is it called Pico Tres Mares?

Tres Mares means “three seas”. The peak’s slopes drain to the Cantabrian Sea through the Nansa, to the Mediterranean through the Hijar and the Ebro, and to the Atlantic through the Pisuerga and the Duero, which makes it the only summit in Spain to feed all three.

How many ski runs does Alto Campoo have?

The station lists 23 runs and 10 lifts, with about 28 kilometers (17 miles) of marked pistes between the base at 1,650 meters (5,413 feet) and the upper slopes around Tres Mares.

How far is Alto Campoo from Reinosa?

Branavieja, the resort’s base, lies about 18 kilometers (11 miles) west of Reinosa in a straight line, at the head of the Hijar valley. Fontibre, the village known as the source of the Ebro, is on the way, about 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) from the base.

Is there more than one Alto Campoo webcam?

Yes. This page carries two live views from the station, the Tres Mares camera at 2,175 meters (7,136 feet) and the Calgosa camera at 1,650 meters (5,413 feet). The station’s website lists four webcam points in total, including one at El Chivo.

Source: Vayawebcam