This doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Neanderthals were supposedly adapted for cold weather and if you follow this Journey Of Mankind you'll note that modern humans arrived in the Iberian region as early as 45,000 years ago and apparently survived all the cold that is supposed to have killed off the Neanderthals.
A large part of European DNA has it's origins in the Iberian refuge (along with the Balkan and Ukranian refuges). Then there's a 26,000 year old (Cheddar Man-1) skeleton found in Cheddar Cave in the UK (not to be confused with Cheddar Man-2 who's 9,000 years old).
BTW, Brian Sykes (Seven Daughters Of Eve) said that migrants around Europe were driven back to the refuges during the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM) (18,000-23,000 years ago) but Stephen Oppenheimer says that some weathered the LGM in northern regions of Europe and the UK.
I just don't know?
I wish I'd read your post before I asked the same question in #23.
Big Chill Killed Off The Neanderthals
New Scientist | 1-21-2004 | Douglas Palmer
Posted on 01/21/2004 6:26:51 PM EST by blahttp://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1062478/posts
Neanderthal Man 'Never Walked In Northern Europe'
The Telegraph (UK) | 8-22-2004 | Tony Paterson
Posted on 08/21/2004 10:25:32 PM EDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1196571/posts