 Poster: A snowHead
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Anyone there now? Going in two weeks and wondering what conditions are like
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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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Was there last week.... pretty packed snow in Arinsal, Pal was better. Thurs/Friday it started to get drier and get carved up and powdery. Started snowing on the Saturday afternoon and Sunday looked to have been a really good dump of fresh stuff. Should be good when you go
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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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Bumping this, off on Wednesday and wondering if anyone there now? It's very warm there at the moment, rain & highs of 5º at 2,560m!
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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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Also, staying in Ordino - I know it's small but is there anything to do to kill an hour or two in the town each evening? Looks like there's a good sports centre? Any running trails?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Ordino is lovely but quiet... Yet there are several restaurants on the old street, all cosy-looking. For bar life, Arinsal is the better place of course. Have a look at La Massana too, since you have to go through there between Arinsal and Ordino anyway
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@Pyremaniac, thanks! Staying in Ordino so can't go anywhere else unfortunately, unless there's a good bus system? Worth a visit to La Massana? From what I've seen there's a couple of museums in Ordino too? Do you know if there's any running trails? When I was in Soldeu I went running around the Vall d'Incles, something like that would be great. The sports centre looks pretty good though, at €10 a visit with the pool, gym, sauna etc
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Oh, Vall d'Incles is a great place for that, yeah. (Nice that you saw something of Andorra off the beaten track! A lot of the country is over-developed but there are still plenty of nice corners to discover.) I'm not sure about running trails in Ordino, though there's a good climbing wall if that's also your thing. The pass between Ordino and Canillo is beautiful (closed to motor traffic in winter) so you could try that maybe.
There is a good local bus system although I don't know the frequency in the evenings.
That's a very good price for a one-off entrance to the sports centre. Cheaper than in Spain, that's for sure!
You sound like the kind of person who would like Arcalís (on the same lift pass as Pal-Arinsal, accesible via the free Vallnord bus)...give it a try for a day, and plan to eat in the hut at the top of the main Bassella lift.
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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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Snow conditions in Arinsal is OK. I went up for lunch-time riding on Friday, and it was decent enough, but could see the warmer weather had some effect. We had rain today, so not sure how it has affected the higher grounds. Apparantly getting more snow by the weekend.
Anyhow, if you stay in Ordino, then Arcalis is probably your best choice. However, you should check the ATV channel on the TV early in the morning. If the weather is bad in Arcalis you can always head over to Pal.
There should be a number of places to run as there are many foot paths. You just have to confirm closer to the time which of them are covered in snow.
As to bus times, the L6 will run very 60min in the evening. The last bus leaves Andorra La Vella at 9pm (http://www.interurbana.ad/linia/idMenu-2/idLinia-6). There is also a night bus (http://www.interurbana.ad/estatic/idEstatic-7).
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@Pyremaniac, @ysb33r, thanks both of you. Fingers crossed for lower temps and no rain!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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So, how was it?
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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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@Orange200, great thanks for asking! The first two days was lots of wet powder so we didn’t get much skiing, the third day it stopped snowing but the snow was so soft it wasn’t much better but then the next four days we had slightly cooler temps and harder snow, and clear skies.
We were only on the Planells side so didn’t really get to ski La Coma which was a shame because it looked really nice - wide empty pistes. Also all the tree skiing looked awesome but didn’t get to mess about as was working
Really liked Ordino too- so, SO much nicer than Soldeu! Didn’t have time to go to the sports centre but did visit a babouska museum....
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Sounds like you broke even... Not too bad for this turbulent of seasons.
You were mainly in Arinsal, or in Arcalís? (vastly different places!)
Glad you liked Ordino; it's a favourite of mine. But what do you so dislike about Soldeu? IMO it's not a bad place...a bit too "organised tourist package" for my liking, but there are plenty of uglier places not a million miles away. And it has all the basic services at walking distance. I'd happily take Soldeu over Pas or Encamp, personally speaking.
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You know it makes sense.
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@Pyremaniac, sorry Arcalis is where we were
Biggest issue was that the village is on a busy road. Also, there isn't really a village?! I remember walking up the road (from Hotel Maistre) towards the gondola car park and being confused as to where the village is - then realising that's it on the street! Aside from laundry (and I don't know if there's a laundrette in Soldeu) there wasn't anything that Ordino didn't have that Soldeu did
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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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Haha yeah that's a perfectly fair observation! It isn't really a village at all.
For your - and my - taste, you made a good choice with Ordino. Like so much of the Pyrenees, though, you need a car to make life easy (or even possible, in most places)
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FAQ
