 Poster: A snowHead
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Hey, I'm going to Andorra for 2 days in the next week or so, I've been to Grandvalira about 5 times and I'm a bit bored with it so I'd like to check out Vallnord.
What's the best area to stay in? I hear Arcalis is the best for off-piste and more challenging riding, what's the best town to access that area, and any cheap and cheerful hotels to recommend ?
Thanks!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Arcalis is great if the sun shines, less so if the wind is blowing and it is snowing. In that case you might be better to go ocer to Pal-Arinsal area.
Frankly anywhere on the La Massana-Ordino-Arcalis road is probably good. I can recommend La Neu in Llorts, but you are going to be stuck for food options. La Cortinada which is further down the road has a number of very good restaurants (try the buffet at Font Blanca). You should also be able to walk to Arrans from La Cortinada which also have some good eating options.
A couple of things about Arcalis:
[1] It is a lot easier if you have a car, otherwise you have to rely on catching the Vallnord bus.
[2] If you have a car and it snowed overnight, you might need chains to get to the resort
[3] There is ample parking at the base, don't bother trying to drive up higher to find a parking.
I've been to Arcalis three times in the last two weeks and the conditions are good on piste, but the La Coma lift which serves the free-ride area has been closed. However there is probably enough terrain to keep you busy on and between pistes for two days.
If you want to go to Pal, you can catch the gondola from La Massana. This broadens you options for food and accommodation. The top station at Pal (Pic de Cubil) can be cold and dire if the wind blows, but you have better chance of finding lifts open on such days. There are also some good tree riding to be found from Pic de Cubil which will drop you on to the bottom of the black slope.
BTW if you buy a 2-day Vallnord pass (€76) you can go to Arcalis one day and Pal-Arinsal on the other.
HTH.
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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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+1 to everything that ysb33r has said. I'd just add that Arinsal probably has the best atmosphere, but it has the dullest skiing and the worst weather on the mountain (we call it Mordor when the bad weather sets in!).
La Massana is as good a place as any if you've got a car. From Ordino onwards and upwards to Arcalís, the villages get progressively smaller. There are very few facilities; it's about the only rural inhabited valley left in Andorra. Personally I love it... but it wouldn't win any awards for après.
Definitely save Arcalís for a day with better visibility, and if you can catch some fresh snow then so much the better. If you ski off piste and the Creussans lift is open and there is visibility, hike up from the lift top for 5 minutes to the crest to see over the other side of the mountain - it's one of the finest views in the Pyrenees. (That lift doesn't serve any pistes; only off piste (not beginner level).)
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Great info thanks!
So can you get to Arcalis via cable car / lift if you stay in La Massana?
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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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| mrvinegar wrote: |
Great info thanks!
So can you get to Arcalis via cable car / lift if you stay in La Massana? |
No,you need to take the Vallnord bus out of La Massana. Your hotel should be be able to advise on the times it runs. Since the speed limit is only 50 or 60 km/h on that road, taking the bus ride is about the same time as the car.
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Was in the Vallnord region a couple of weeks ago. Lots of good info from the posters here already. I stayed in Arinsal at the Diana Parc hotel (highly recommend but isn't cheap by Andorran standards) Also agree with the other posters about Arinsal being the least interesting of the three ski areas. We ended up spending 3 days in Arcalis using the free Vallnord bus which worked very well/efficiently whilst we were there.
Arcalis is the best of the 3 resorts in my opinion, as it has a couple of long red runs which are superior to those found in Arinsal/Pal and plenty of off piste stuff between the runs even if the dedicated freeride lifts are closed. We also found the snow quality to be significantly better in Arcalis the week we were there. La Massana would be a good place to stay as it's a reasonable size and is probably only 20 minutes on the bus to Arcalis (As oppose to 45 from Arinsal). There is a gondola between Pal and Arinsal so La Massana is the optimum spot to access the whole region.
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