 Poster: A snowHead
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@Cardo, Canillo makes a gentle start and then work your way to Soldeu and Grau Roig. It takes about an hour to get from El Tarter to Pas de la Casa if you want to explore more.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I’m reading all these snow reports and considering a sneaky little trip - but never skied Pyrenees before.
Resort/area recommendations for experienced solo skier would be appreciated ? Cheers
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Soldeu without transport, Baqueira with (stay in the town and drive 15 minutes daily).
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Orange200 wrote: |
| Soldeu without transport, Baqueira with (stay in the town and drive 15 minutes daily). |
Or Pas de la Casa if you like it lively... I know of people that have gone solo and had a great time partying.
A bit of drizzle this morning on and off. Looks to be snowing lightly now ahead of a temperature drop and another little top up coming along.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Boring question: where can I park for free in Soldeu?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks!
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@mrvinegar, I think there might be a tiny bit of free on street parking up on one of the small village streets but finding an empty space will be challenging. Otherwise the nearest easy free parking would be El Tarter or Grau. I'm not sure about leaving a car there overnight though.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Looks like another 7 to 10 days of snow on and off, maybe 2 or 3 medium falls during that time. I know others will not agree, but it's getting to the point where I want it to stop and a nice, stable high pressure system to take control!
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Joining an extended family trip to Arinsal for a few days at half term.. wasn't expecting too much when I booked - now it looks amazing!! Much better conditions than PdS in early Jan 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Soozm, if you’re an experienced skier, you might get a bit fed up with Pal-Arinsal. Check out Arcalis for a day. There’s a free bus one day. I think you can get one to Grandvalira for a day too.
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Sun 1-02-26 10:13; edited 1 time in total
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Ah thank you for the tip! Well I’ve been skiing quite a lot, but I learned in my 40s, very cautious and a “true blue” skier. I think with plenty of snow and lots of family to chat to it should suit me fine I’ve been to some of the biggest resort with my kids and friends who are good skiers and it’s always a bit wasted on me!
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Driving up to Soldeu Saturday evening, hopefully it doesn't snow too much on the roads! Sunday and Tuesday look like great days, Monday might be a windy whiteout?
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You know it makes sense.
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@mrvinegar, how did you get on? We drove up yesterday evening at about 18:30 (and back down at 23:00). It was interesting getting around a few struggling vehicles.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Well it continues to be a miserable rainy period in Lisbon, no respite for my solar-supplemented washing machines. And satellite predictions show all that precipitation blows across Iberia and should hit Pyrenees a couple of days later, so it looks like you’ll continue to get dumps or top ups this week and next. I dug around the Portuguese historical data for Lisbon and January 2014 saw an exceptional amount of water; and it was Feb when we first turned up in Andorra to find roads indistinct and cars with 18in of snow on the roof, which we haven’t seen in maybe 6 visits since. Guessing this year could be exceptional. Enjoy it!
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Poster: A snowHead
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| hammerite wrote: |
| @mrvinegar, how did you get on? We drove up yesterday evening at about 18:30 (and back down at 23:00). It was interesting getting around a few struggling vehicles. |
Yeah it was interesting , we went up the wrong Coll before the tunnel and it was closed ! Got there in the end I was impressed the snow socks handled it , was a nightmare taking them on and off going in and out of tunnels tho
Fantastic days riding today !
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@mrvinegar, is that a thing? Removing for every tunnel? Can’t say I’ve seen many doing that before.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Arcalis looked stunning today at the Freeride World Champs.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Orange200 wrote: |
| Well it continues to be a miserable rainy period in Lisbon, no respite for my solar-supplemented washing machines. And satellite predictions show all that precipitation blows across Iberia and should hit Pyrenees a couple of days later, so it looks like you’ll continue to get dumps or top ups this week and next. I dug around the Portuguese historical data for Lisbon and January 2014 saw an exceptional amount of water; and it was Feb when we first turned up in Andorra to find roads indistinct and cars with 18in of snow on the roof, which we haven’t seen in maybe 6 visits since. Guessing this year could be exceptional. Enjoy it! |
That's interesting, I've often been watching forecast in Alps and noticed similar conditions at home and wondered is there a set up where the same broad conditions are at different parts of a given front
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| hammerite wrote: |
| @mrvinegar, is that a thing? Removing for every tunnel? Can’t say I’ve seen many doing that before. |
Yeah if you drive the socks on tarmac they fall apart!
Amazing day yesterday , sun and about 20cm of new snow on top of the incredible amount that has fallen, anyone going to Andorra soon is gonna love it!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| 8611 wrote: |
| Orange200 wrote: |
| Well it continues to be a miserable rainy period in Lisbon, no respite for my solar-supplemented washing machines. And satellite predictions show all that precipitation blows across Iberia and should hit Pyrenees a couple of days later, so it looks like you’ll continue to get dumps or top ups this week and next. I dug around the Portuguese historical data for Lisbon and January 2014 saw an exceptional amount of water; and it was Feb when we first turned up in Andorra to find roads indistinct and cars with 18in of snow on the roof, which we haven’t seen in maybe 6 visits since. Guessing this year could be exceptional. Enjoy it! |
That's interesting, I've often been watching forecast in Alps and noticed similar conditions at home and wondered is there a set up where the same broad conditions are at different parts of a given front |
I use https://www.weatherandradar.co.uk/weather-map/ and just zoom out on the map to expose W Europe. Then select precipitation today, tomorrow… you can see how the systems move. Usually coming from the west, occasionally not.
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@mrvinegar, this must be why I see so many socks jettisoned to the side of the road. The roads near me aren't often snow but I regularly hear/see cars going past with them still on.
Snowing again this morning.
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| mrvinegar wrote: |
| hammerite wrote: |
| @mrvinegar, is that a thing? Removing for every tunnel? Can’t say I’ve seen many doing that before. |
Yeah if you drive the socks on tarmac they fall apart!
Amazing day yesterday , sun and about 20cm of new snow on top of the incredible amount that has fallen, anyone going to Andorra soon is gonna love it! |
I'm out on the 15th March, the latest I've ever left it to come out to Andorra. Lets hope it sticks around.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Maort wrote: |
I'm out on the 15th March, the latest I've ever left it to come out to Andorra. Lets hope it sticks around. |
I think you'll be fine. I've skied into 20-something April the past 4 seasons even when there's been very little snow.
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| Maort wrote: |
| mrvinegar wrote: |
| hammerite wrote: |
| @mrvinegar, is that a thing? Removing for every tunnel? Can’t say I’ve seen many doing that before. |
Yeah if you drive the socks on tarmac they fall apart!
Amazing day yesterday , sun and about 20cm of new snow on top of the incredible amount that has fallen, anyone going to Andorra soon is gonna love it! |
I'm out on the 15th March, the latest I've ever left it to come out to Andorra. Lets hope it sticks around. |
Which resort you going to? I'm also heading out that week.
This is also the latest I've been on the third time going to Andorra, been twice in the first week of March in 23 & 24 and the conditions were the best I've experience in my limited time skiing.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I'm going to be in Pas and flying in from Dublin, you?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| mrvinegar wrote: |
| hammerite wrote: |
| @mrvinegar, is that a thing? Removing for every tunnel? Can’t say I’ve seen many doing that before. |
Yeah if you drive the socks on tarmac they fall apart!
Amazing day yesterday , sun and about 20cm of new snow on top of the incredible amount that has fallen, anyone going to Andorra soon is gonna love it! |
We’re heading out there for the weekend. Looking forward to enjoying all this snow! Though the forecasts seem to suggest rain tomorrow and Friday. 
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@Cardo, don’t worry too much about that. It might rain down low, but consider that most of the skiing is above 1,800m. Meteo Andorra is forecasting that this will be where the snow line is tomorrow and then lowering next week.
Visibility might be a bit frustrating though.
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You know it makes sense.
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| hammerite wrote: |
@Cardo, don’t worry too much about that. It might rain down low, but consider that most of the skiing is above 1,800m. Meteo Andorra is forecasting that this will be where the snow line is tomorrow and then lowering next week.
Visibility might be a bit frustrating though. |
Good thing we’ve both got ourselves photochromic goggles! Thanks for the reassurance on the rain, though!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Today's rain has been reasonably heavy snow down to Andorra La Vella, and very heavy snow higher up.
So far this season, nearly every time rain has been forecast up to 2,000m the actual snow line has actually been much lower.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Just returned from our quick weekend over in Andorra skiing Friday and Saturday. We had a great time. Conditions were pretty much spot on. Just about every slope was open and the snow was in great condition. We also had some nice sunny weather, most of the time. Skied from one end to the other both days.
One thing I wouldn’t bother with is the food vouchers you can buy alongside the ski pass. We got the snack ones thinking we’d be able to have a burger and chips or something along those lines. We stopped at one place on Friday and they would only let us have egg and chips with it, and on the second day it was either a chicken sandwich or a hot dog. No option to choose something else and pay a top up. We did save money on what it would have cost us then and there, but we had very little choice of food, if any choice at all. So in future, we won’t be bothering.
I rather optimistically booked a hotel in St Julia de Loria on the basis we had a car so could easily drive up to Grandvalira. Whilst it was only a few miles, the traffic through both Andorra la Vella and then Encamp was diabolical. Took us over an hour both days! We had no issue parking in El Tarter on Friday, but on Saturday the big car park was full by the time we got there (0940) but we did manage to find a spot in the Nordic hotel, though probably would’ve been stuffed if we’d arrived 20 minutes later.
All in all, a few learning points, but the skiing was fantastic.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Further to my above post, we’re heading back for another weekend in mid-March. We’re taking the in-laws and have booked an apartment in Andorra La Vella. We’re also taking our 7 year old. She’s done a week’s worth of lessons and is quite happy on greens and can probably manage easier blues. The current plan is to head over to Pas de la Casa and start off around the learner area and then move on to the blues, if she’s doing well. Does this sound like a good idea? If this is the best place to get started with the little one, are we likely to find parking in the morning having driven over from La Vella? I’m slightly concerned there only seems to be 300 spaces worth of parking, according to the Grandvalira website. Appreciate any advice!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Sounds a good idea. The green area at Pas also then has the nice isards blue alongside which she could build up on. Then you could take one of the other lifts up and descend the pastora blue piste down into Grau Roig and from there there's a long tree lined, 2/3km, quiet green taking you down to the Peretol sector. From there get the lift up to Cortals and make your way back to Grau Roig and then Pas.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Why would you drive past the Encamp cable, El Tarter (big car park) and Soldeu to get to Pas?! You’ll lose easily an hour a day. Great English speaking ski school in ET (and Soldeu) for 6-12 year olds. My girls learned there.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Orange200 wrote: |
| Why would you drive past the Encamp cable, El Tarter (big car park) and Soldeu to get to Pas?! You’ll lose easily an hour a day. Great English speaking ski school in ET (and Soldeu) for 6-12 year olds. My girls learned there. |
Is there much in the way of beginner slopes by El Tarter gondola? My concern is we wouldn’t have much to do with the rugrat. Pas has quite a large beginner area with some good progression slopes next to it.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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There’s a beginner slope at the top of the gondola , then there are/were two chairs, one very short (and slow) one a bit longer, that allow you two to do quick laps provided the queues aren’t bad. My only word of warning is that it crosses a more popular run, so do accompany her as she crosses it. Hammerite or someone can correct me if needed.
Just download, do not think she can do the blue Esquirol back to base, it’s usually carnage.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Mon 9-02-26 8:05; edited 1 time in total
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Ok just checked, yes those two are still there, looking at Pi de Migdia. It says there is even another new drag.
It also reminds me of the best thing for kids, the circus. This is a loopy track through trees, with various music and things to hit with the ski pole. My two could have lapped that 10x, using the short chairs I mentioned, but I didn’t let them as I got bored!
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@Orange200, the musical thing has changed this year from the rather menacing circus theme to a car racing theme. It's much better now!
Yes, El Tarter has a beginner area at the top of the first chair/gondola. There's also another beginner lift to the side of Llosada chair/close to where the huskies are kept.
@Cardo, I wouldn't drive to Pas from Andorra La Vella. It's too far. However, if you really want to and want an instructor in Pas, my stepson and his girlfriend both instruct at the ski school there. Another place to consider is skiing in Pal or Arinsal. Both are really good for beginners/early skiers. They're much closer to ALV than Pas.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Thanks for the replies. I’m thinking we might just stick with El Tarter. I do recall seeing the quite nice area at the top of the gondola, just didn’t appreciate it was a beginner area. We enjoyed using it as our base this past weekend. The in-laws will be joining us for lunch, they can get the €19!!! pedestrian ski lift pass to come and join us.
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Lunch; get there before 1245. At 1300 there are queues out of the door.
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FAQ
