 Poster: A snowHead
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@Pyremaniac, where abouts are you based?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Is there a bit of a SnowHeads off piste session brewing next week in Baqueira then ?
We're thinking of heading to the mountains, but the OH wants to stay in Andorra as she's low on Nivea and Vodka !
I'm sure I can tempt her back to Baqueira though.
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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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@mortonia, possibly somewhere? Just need to decide how early I'm willing to get up and how willing Mrs Pumba might be to get up and do the school run!
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Some great powder today in Les Angles, not a bad station for a day or two, no queues and very easy to reach from Barcelona
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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They mentioned on Eurosport during the FIS World Cup race in Soldeu that they'd had 30cm overnight
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@Pumba, I'm in Barcelona, so it's a long old drive to your neck of the woods!
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I'm seriously considering going up to Baqueira tomorrow.. most of the Peülla runs (Bonaigua) are closed this morning, which should mean fun in the sun there tomorrow. peter w, if you see this in time, let us know what today's conditions are like! In theory it's going to be sufficiently cold that the snow doesn't transform today.
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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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Heading up there tomorrow too. Will need to ski with the OH tomorrow, but up for a bit of guiding on Wednesday morning if anyone else is up for it ? But will base ourselves around Bonaigua area as tapas lunch there was in the plans,
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Thanks to @Pyremaniac, we drove straight up to Bonaigua this morning after he mentioned it had been closed yesterday. First lift up and fresh tracks all morning. The snow is excellent compared to 2 weeks ago. All runs open down to 1500 whereas they'd been a single icy snow track and grassy meadows on our last visit. On piste the snow is pretty much perfect and off piste there's still plenty of unskied snow to track up. More snow forecast so hopefully good conditions will continue.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I'm gutted that in the end I couldn't join you guys. I can imagine exactly how good it was!
Reminds me of some of my best days when I was doing a season just 10 minutes' drive from the Peülla lift: do 8 laps of Peülla and then home to work. Combining fantastic skiing with getting paid is good for the soul 
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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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Just back from a long weekend skiing at Ax Les Thermes and half a day heli-skiing near Baqueira. Conditions were fantastic - knee deep powder on Monday, best conditions of the season so far according to my mate who lives there. Anyone heading out there this next week will have a great time.
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You know it makes sense.
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@nickr, what was the heliskiing like? Do you know more or less which mountain they took you to?
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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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@Pyremaniac, it was good as an introduction to it - was the first time we'd been. If you know where the heliport is we went up the ridge line behind that and skied down through the trees for the first two runs and went further to lookers right on the last run and came down a large shoulder then into an open bowl. The runs were probably around 600 to 800m vert at a descent pitch (nothing too steep). All done it only lasted about 2 hrs but still great experience for £275 pp.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Looking snowy yet again on the webcams of the Eastern Pyrenees! Nice top up before I head out in just under 3 weeks. 3 weeks ago though was a lot more worried about snow than I am now!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Snow looks great this week. I'm heading to Baqueria on Thursday, what are the roads like there in heavy snow? Will we need chains to get to Salardu?
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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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Conditions this weekend just gone were excellent all across the Pyrenees, with pretty cold weather but full sunshine. The snowfalls of the previous week had done a good job, and the resorts are looking more respectable now. On the Spanish side, Baqueira was looking really good, but we opted to give the neighbouring resort of Boí Taüll a try instead, to ring the changes a bit. Most pistes were open and in an excellent state, although the wind had torn the snow off of the eastern slopes resulting in closures there. Looking at the photos now, they don't really do it justice, as there was also a reasonable amount of off-piste available.
Looking south-west (with what I would guess is the Peña Montañesa at the top right), straight out of the Pyrenees towards the Aragonese pre-Pyrenees:
Looking west, just under the line of the Pyrenean axis:
The views from the top of the highest lift (which, at 2750m, is the highest lift-served piste entrance in the whole of the Pyrenees - though the lift on the Pic du Midi de Bigorre which forms part of the Grand Tourmalet resort on the French side serves a higher freeride zone) are spectacular.
From that point, looking north-west across the Pyrenees, with the range's highest mountains (Aneto and Posets) in the distance, as well as the peaks of the Aigüestortes National Park (of which the Besiberri Sud mountain looks highest in the photo because it's much closer):
Happily, the red run into the "hidden valley" was open, which it often isn't. It was the first time I've been able to ski it, and I was really impressed with its variety and length. I think it's right up there with the very best reds in the Spanish Pyrenees!
That valley also offers a ton of off-piste potential, and makes the resort feel much bigger:
As always, the photos don't show it well, but this is a steep resort in which reds and blacks dominate. The Vista Aneto double-black in particular is pretty terrifying! (Fortunately it was closed, being on an eastern slope, which saved me from having to do it  ) Overall, we enjoyed Boí Taüll a lot!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Sweet looking treeless terrain. I see lots of sharks lurking in that snow...
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Yeah, for me the one pity is the lack of trees (I love trees, not only dense ones for real tree skiing but also sparse ones for just brushing around or using for slalom posts!) But there's a lot of that sort of terrain below the level of the carpark in the second photo above, which is fun in better winters than this one if you can get organized with a group of mates and a car pickup system!
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The snow certainly seems to be starting by the look of the webcams around the Pyrenees Orientales- a few cms of accumulation already. Here's hoping the promised 40 cm builds up by Friday morning. With very little wind around, there is a good chance...
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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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@Pyremaniac, Nice photo's 
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Just back from 2 days in the Grandvalira. Snow conditions were excellent on piste, and off piste I would describe as powdery chop. Cold temperatures meant the conditions were remaining good. As we were leaving it started to absolutely throw it down with snow, which should should mean conditions should only improve.
Really enjoyed getting into the itineraries off the top of the Pic d'Encampadana and Portella. Plus the shoots off the ridge above the TSD4 Llosada chair, if you like it steep and don't mind the additional pressure of being on show to the chair below !
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@mortonia, yeah those Llosada chutes are fun! Much like the harder-than-it-looks El Tarter snowpark with its birds-eye chairlift, I found them to be great for quietening down cocky mates, what with the peer pressure of the chair audience 
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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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Well it has definitely properly snowed overnight! At least 20 cm, possibly over 30, according to my webcam snow spotting eye but I'm sure those on the ground will be able to confirm!
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You know it makes sense.
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Just did 3 days in Baqueria-Beret, my first time there and I loved it.
Some great off-piste in the Beret sector and Bonaguia is really beautiful, it was nearly empty on Friday and a bit busier on Saturday but not too bad.
Great restaurants and lovely towns in the area too, I think it's my new favourite place, can't wait to get back..
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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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Just popped up to Le Mourtis today. Looks like very good snow conditions on the pistes, but unfortunately there's a 'y' in the day, so it was closed. 
So off we drive, back down the mountain, wasting an hour, back up to Luchon Superbagneres (which was open).
Pretty much A1 conditions everywhere. Even the off piste is nice, bumpy but softish.
Not many people on piste (many pistes were empty), so some drags & their short pistes were closed. Otherwise a great day to ski. Some cloud cover, which meant frequent switching of clothing settings from warm sunny conditions to cloudy and chilly.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Coming towards the end of my week in the Pyrenees (Les Angles, Font Romeu, Espace C'Ambe d'Aze) Had a nice smattering of powder at beginning. Runs hardening up somewhat now but not particularly icy, snow quality very dependent on altitude (well preserved above 2000m, slushy with little snow in between runs below). I have a feeling most small resorts expecting Grandvalira in this region are closing after Easter Sunday which is a shame as there is very little in the way of bare patches on the runs themselves. For anyone in Catalonia wanting an Easter break before the resorts close, I would definitely say it's worth visiting.
At least I achieved the objective of getting my 6 year old son interested, highly recommend the instructor Ludovic at Font Romeu. Within just 2 hours of private lessons he had progressed from being a bit wary turning down a nursery slope to casually skiing a blue under good control! Will certainly help persuade the non skiing wife to let me keep on taking him skiing...Font Romeu is fantastic by the way for non threatening selection of gradually more difficult runs not far away from the ski school and restaurant.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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@Pyremaniac, Le Mourtis would probably be more popular (it is lovely) if, when it was closed, they put a big banner on their website's front page saying it was fricking closed - instead of "Domaine Skiable Ouvert" and "Ouverture: Ouvert" and "Acces au col: ouvert", which is what it shows now.
It's only when you read weeny print somewhere on the lifts page that you discover it's closed until Easter.
A sign at the foot of the winding mountain road saying the resort was closed would also be nice.
I suspect that skiing being a tad on the luxury side of things, the belt-tightening budget audience of the Pyrenees is drying up, while the Alpine resorts continue to enjoy the better heeled with bigger budgets.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Yeah, I would have been seriously irritated too! I note that some of the small resorts on the Spanish side are no better with their website. (What is it with ski resort websites anyway?! They mostly look and behave like they were built by the next-door-neightbour's 10-year-old  )
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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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| Pyremaniac wrote: |
Great to read reports of such a variety of resorts!
If Spanish/Andorran skiing is off the beaten track, skiing in most of the French Pyrenees can only be described as "quaint" . |
Hmm! You could certainly say that of Espace C'Ambe d'Aze, their website does them no favours showing barely more than the snow depths that were on paper poorer compared to the neighbours. However what should have been clearer was that most runs were perfectly skiable (even a semi off piste gully) as it does hold its snow well and should really shout louder of the quality of the runs themselves, rolling with dips, plenty of camber and bending round the mountain,tree lined and a decent steepness that are pleasure to ski even on little snow. Despite being one of the area's biggest fans almost didn't visit it this week due to low advertised snow depths. It was only by making a detour to physically drive there on the way back from Font Romeu one day to see for myself what the snow physically looked like was I able to decide to spend a day there! I just hope the resort doesn't go the same way of Puigmal due to poor visitor numbers and debt.
However I wouldn't say Font Romeu and Les Angles are particularly quaint, they have their disadvantages (Font Romeu- lack of long runs, Les Angles- a bit drag heavy and samey on the right side of the sector), but they have plenty of modern lifts and general facilities and the visitor numbers seem to be holding up.
It's a pity that a company such as Altiservice that runs Font Romeu and a few other Pyrenean ski areas wasn't able to step in to stop Puigmal going under,with its free ride and altitude drops would have been quite a good 'sister' resort offering possibilities terrain wise that Font Romeu doesn't possess. Obviously couldn't be physically linked but a shuttle bus between the two might have been popular....
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As far as I recall Puigmal was owned by a co-operative of the residents of the nearby village (?Saillagouse) and had not that long ago invested in a new express chair that resulted in a considerable debt to repay. With the economic downturn they ended up being really exposed to a season of low visitor numbers It may be that the outstanding debt made it difficult for a management company to take it over.
Interestingly in Font Romeu and Les Angles I kept on seeing various instructors and ski club members in Puigmal branded clothing so hopefully the personnel got absorbed to a degree by neughbouring resorts.
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Hey Snowheads,
I am just finishing up a season in Ax les Thermes and am now looking for some spring skiing elsewhere in the Pyrenees. Any advice from those in the know? Andorra is close but also considering Pic Du Midi if people recommend it. A ski buddy for the day would also be great1
Thanks in advance
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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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integral, welcome to sH!
Pic du Midi is a great option. Many French resorts are closing now, although Saint Lary and Grand Tourmalet (of which Pic du Midi is a part; not sure if it closes later like in previous years) go on for two more weekends, and Gourette and Cauterets continue even longer.
Baqueira also closes next weekend, Formigal (without Panticosa) and the Andorran resorts the weekend after, and nearby Masella has both the longest season of all and the best value rest-of-season pass at this time of year.
Another option to consider would be Sierra Nevada, which also has a huge season and will be cheap for you (see below) - and it has with the great town of Granada right next door.
All closing dates can be found here
How did you like Ax? I've only visited once but it gave me the impression that there would indeed be enough lines for a season there! I guess it had a poor start this year though.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Sun 27-03-16 20:50; edited 5 times in total
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Sierra Nevada seem to be at the vanguard of the mission to persuade the Spanish that spring skiing in April is usually a better option than insisting on trying to grab some snow time at the start of December for that damned bank holiday; they're raffling off 3000 day passes next week, to use until 1st May, for €20 a piece!
And if you're a season ticket holder at any other ski resort anywhere in the world, or work in the ski industry, then the day pass from 11th April onwards will cost you just €25.
Funny to think that there might be more April skiing available in southern Spain than in the non-glacier resorts of the Alps! And where else has an annual end-of-season ski descent in bathing costume with a view over Africa?!
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FAQ
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