Well, the family drove from Lisbon to El Tarter as usual over Feb half term. One-bed apt close to the chairlift on booking.com, passes and skis from soldeu.com. No lessons as we expect to go to Canada at Easter and I’d save my money for there. Wife and I around 50, her adamantly inter and me attempting to progress but failing, two daughters 11 and 9 with maybe 5 annual trips and daily lessons under their belts. No-one looking for blacks or off-piste just now.
A couple of pre-trip scares. Diesel Toyota smoked REALLY badly on the way to the pre-trip service on Monday, and I was panicking (it had been smoking a bit for months) and told them; they just cleaned the clogged EGR and all seems fine (also mentioned the 5th injector). Then the night before, younger daughter who has had about 12 000 ear infections complained her ear really hurt. On the departure day, we’d hoped to leave by 9am but instead, we shot off to doc and got antibiotics and nasal sprays for the trip. Meanwhile I couldn’t find car insurance docs so emailed the broker (who replied with scanned docs within an hour.) So we grabbed an early lunch and then left. Drove Lisbon-Madrid as usual, arrive at friends in Madrid at 7-8pm.
Got up late (in Madrid; when in Rome... ), chocolate and churros with a couple of cafe leches, then off at 1230(!). Phone the estate agent to say we’re arriving after office hours and get safebox code for the key. West of Madrid, fields of snow. Youngest crying a lot as we go up and down across the plateau and her infected ear won’t pop but got it eventually. Started the antibiotics. Really windy drive, my weather app said El Tarter was seeing 60km winds, falling by tonight. Arrived in Soldeu 2030; fresh snow at the side of the road but roads themselves definitely clear. Got the keys from the safe on the wall, back to El Tarter, found the place despite the rather vague instructions - turns out it WASNT in the same block we usually rent, but it was good enough - and in. A quick pasta tuna and olives, sort everything out into the reasonable storage but unreasonable hooks for ski clothes, girls are in bed by 10 and us by 1030.
Up early to get rental skis fitted before the huge queue starts. I decided to be brave and ask for slightly wider twin tips (like I know what to do with them!) so got some Atomic Infamous, which according to the reviews are awesome. After a week with them I’ll just assume I’m not then! We also went to Espunyes to get new ski trousers for the older one. Didn’t see any Icepeak bargains for her this time sadly.
The week was variable, between great sunshine, and 3in freshies but little visibility. I was determined to make it out to Grau Roig and even Pas de la Casa for the first time in our 5 years of trips, as the children are now good enough, and we had no lessons to rush back for. That didn’t happen in the first days where wife wanted to take it easy and take recuperating daughter back at lunchtime, but we made it eventually. On the first days with the carnival holiday there were some horrible lift queues (20 minutes?) between sectors, but Wednesday on they were all gone.
I can also confess in the first couple of days to a big feeling of anticlimax. I don’t know if this is because I’d been looking forward to this through a pretty horrible October and November at work and home, or because I had some assumption that I could get on wider twin-tips and “naturally” work out how to use them, or because I’d just reverted to my cautious self without an instructor to push me. Understand that I usually do one week a year, then forget 90% of what I was taught before returning. I think one thing it taught me was to have a lesson in the first day or two just to get back into it.
Midweek we went again to the meat grill opposite Espunyes ski shop in lower El Tarter – mmmm.
Gorgeous powder on Wednesday around Grau Roig, even if visibility was, er, about 20m. I got punched in the mouth by my ski pole handle - was curving to the left, put out the pole preparing to plant it - and it hit a snow bank that I didn't see in the flat light! A confession though, I can’t actually ski in stuff more than 3in deep, I just seem to slow to a halt and I don’t really know how to turn. Horrific queue for lunch in the Italian restaurant there, but at least the 20-30min lift queues of the Tuesday had gone. On Thursday back to Grau Roig and up the far lift then back down to GR, following a mogul field next to the piste. I was determined to hit them (had a few lessons in recent trips) and surprised myself how well I got down. Whether it was the lessons, the friendly moguls, or my 167cm/85mm skis rather than my usual 177/75mm, who knows, but I was happy and my confidence started to return.
All good things come to an end and on Friday it wasn't that great, it was actually gently raining at lower levels , giving wet snow at the bottom and naff all visibility at the top. So, while we had fish and chips in the round café above Grau Roig at 2500m, and we finally made it to PDLC for the first time in 5 years, we did actually call it a day at not much past 3pm. Went home, packed and cleaned the apartment ready for inspection the next morning. Saturday; on the road by 10am, through a bit of a queue at the Andorran border but no problem, then back to Madrid. Sunday; Woke up at 9am in Madrid after a solid night's sleep, got up slowly, coffee chocolate and churros for breakfast then back on the motorway. For the first time ever I tried my new noise-cancelling headphones, on silent, while driving - it certainly cuts the background drone, and I don't know if the good night's sleep or the NCH but I didn't feel so tired afterwards.
Back home by 5.30pm Sunday, major unload, wife fired up the washing machine while I took daughters out to the shopping centre for sushi and to get milk and fruit etc.
STILL haven’t yet bought the plane tickets for Canada, but I think my next lessons will be either for deep snow or for park stuff – I seem to be able to handle piste and moguls well enough for the moment, I’d like to round out the skill set a bit more.
Meanwhile, my daughter’s film-making skills are building. I did quite a lot of filming of her, and quite a lot of criticism in the editing – but here’s the final product (which she uploaded without showing me as she was tired of me requesting corrections, and so the end is bizarre, grr!). Hope you like it, I think it gives a nice family atmosphere. And I got the product placement in
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
), chocolate and churros with a couple of cafe leches, then off at 1230(!). Phone the estate agent to say we’re arriving after office hours and get safebox code for the key. West of Madrid, fields of snow. Youngest crying a lot as we go up and down across the plateau and her infected ear won’t pop 
but got it eventually. Started the antibiotics. Really windy drive, my weather app said El Tarter was seeing 60km winds, falling by tonight. Arrived in Soldeu 2030; fresh snow at the side of the road but roads themselves definitely clear. Got the keys from the safe on the wall, back to El Tarter, found the place despite the rather vague instructions - turns out it WASNT in the same block we usually rent, but it was good enough - and in. A quick pasta tuna and olives, sort everything out into the reasonable storage but unreasonable hooks for ski clothes, girls are in bed by 10 and us by 1030.
then back on the motorway. For the first time ever I tried my new noise-cancelling headphones, on silent, while driving - it certainly cuts the background drone, and I don't know if the good night's sleep or the NCH but I didn't feel so tired afterwards.
product placement in 
