 Poster: A snowHead
|
I just did two midweek days in Masella Catalonia.
I drove up from Barcelona in a couple of hours, arriving at about 08:30 after following the plough for the last few klicks. I drove past what I think was a "chains are mandatory beyond this point" sign and a couple of cars in the ditch. I probably hit the one storm they've had since xmas, so generally I would not worry about having no chains and a 2wd hire car like mine. In any case the Spanish police don't get up that early. Actually neither does anyone else - it seemed a bit quiet when I arrived at the ticket window. There are 4 tolls (!) on the motorway between Barcelona and Masella, although you can drive up the country roads for free and it doesn't take much longer.
My first day featured high winds, so most of the lifts were closed. I drove down to Alp in the evening, which is a much prettier place than the resorts themselves. I suppose it's a dormitory for the ski hills, and it's a sleepy place. They don't seem to do hot tubs, but they do have cafes full of old blokes and bars full of beer to fill the time between the last lift and 20:30 when the restaurants open. The local Estrella is better than the UK stuff, even when well kept here. At 20:30 you'll be the first into the restaurant, or maybe the only person there. The cuisine was "hearty country" rather than gastro, and the wine went with it. Pretty much no one speaks English, but everyone's happy to get by. Ordering from a Catalan menu is a bit random even though my French and German menu knowledge is good.
Outside the pistes the mountains were mostly brown, with what I'd guess would be wind-hammered snow lurking in the gullies. Rather you than me. On piste was fine, with excellent cover and no rocks anywhere. All the pistes bar the very top had artificial snow making, and there was some "artificial powder" here and there, so they'd been running those guns. The slopes were all bashed - not a mogul in sight anywhere. The linked hills of Masella and La Molina are basically motorway, there's the odd steeper section (marked "experts") but nothing challenging. The clientèle appeared to be predominantly local(ish), a lot of skinny skis and a lot of ski lessons. I counted 14 coaches in the main Masella parking lot. The runs were generally quiet. Mostly skiers, although a few learner snowboarders here and there.
On-hill food was basic. Sandwiches you can get made to order so they're excellent. Bread/ Croissant was good too. The hot stuff didn't look particularly clever. They have decent coffee machines everywhere, so Spanish espresso is good, milky drinks were less consistent.
Public smoking wasn't a problem: unlike Austria I didn't encounter it in restaurants, non-smoking hotel rooms, or around the resort.
--
So overall an easy place to get to from STN via BCN and enough for a couple of days. Cheaper than the Alps generally I think, although the locals said the French side would be cheaper still.
Here's a top-to-bottom run condensed to 1 minute 10 seconds.
http://vimeo.com/121837441
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Great report. And I think you've summarized Masella in a nutshell, though I don't think I've ever seen it with so little snow off-piste. It's really not been the best year in the eastern Pyrenees, to be honest. But, like you say, the snowmaking is excellent there, and the results last for ages.
(If you get a chance, you must get yourself over to Baqueira, which is probably the best of Spanish skiing, with endless off-piste plus black runs worthy of the name.)
Personally, I find Masella to be a rather beautiful place, so oddly positioned in a cold north-facing tree-packed slope above an enormous dry valley! Well worth a visit if you're in Barcelona during the ski season (Dec - April).
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Wed 11-03-15 12:56; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
It was pretty, almost in a Scottish way, especially with the "snow fences" and some of the rocks. There is clearly a lot of extra potential in this type of terrain in better seasons I think.
Based on location and advice elsewhere on this site and my limited time I thought I'd start with the easiest drive.... I'll be back for the other places in due course. But for a quick weekend this already seems more accessible/ less crazy than more obvious locations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
@philwig, Riot! Nice old-school choice!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Vimeo will detect more modern sound, but they don't have the old stuff in their database as far as I can tell.
In any case, old guys rock 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ