 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi Everyone,
We have been living in the Zillertal in Austria for the past 6 years and have now moved to Southern Europe.
We are all strong skiers and snowboarders and are looking for suggestions for a snow sure, high resort that has good long pistes, off-piste options and hopefully powder too for December and January.
We have skied in Cham, Morzine, Meribel, AlpDuez and so on but never in Spain or the French Pyranees, which seem to be the closest option for us.
We loved the zillertal for the excellent high quality lifts and gondolas, transport options to and from lift stations, and vast varierty of ski areas.
IS there anything like this anywhere in the Pyranees?
We welcome your suggestions 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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You have andorra in the pyranees. Baqueria Baret on the Spanish side.
Depending on how far South you also have Sierra Nevada.
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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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@AnnaGasser, bit of a thread drift, but as someone moving to the Zillertal this summer, would be interested to hear your thoughts on it all, things to watch out for etc etc
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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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@Gored : thanks for your comments but those resprts really aren't in the region of what I'm aiming for "looking for suggestions for a snow sure, high resort that has good long pistes, off-piste options and hopefully powder too for December and January."
Andorra is really a beginners area, Baqueria has old infrastructure and the sierra nevada is really not snow sure.
@swskier: If you're aiming for hintertux, bear in mind often there is only one piste open in the warmer weather and the park can be super slushy after 11am.
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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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@AnnaGasser, I think what you're looking for doesn't particularly exist in the Pyrenees.
For those types of resorts, you're looking at the French Alps as your nearest area.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@AnnaGasser, Val/ Tignes?
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If you have moved to Spain then is a snow sure high resort really necessary? Pyrenees and Sierra Nevada both get decent dumps and even the small stations near Madrid can work. Look at the forecasts and head to wherever is best?
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@leggyblonde, If I lived in "southern Europe" wherever that is....i'd be going where the snow was not booking in advance - for resorts with powder, Ischgl or Arlberg if east southern europe, or Italy (I don't know it well enough to offer any advice there) 3v/ EK/ La Plagne les Arcs if central and take your chance locally if in Spain and follow the snow forecasts along with the rest of the folks. All have powder some better than others so Val/ Tignes seems as good as any if not too far....comes down to location i'd think and conditions. Would be nice, instead of being 1000 ish miles too far north like I am!
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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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@Markymark29, and take the MTBs out when the snow is crap!
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@leggyblonde, Too right....and hiking boots/ camera out in any weather!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| AnnaGasser wrote: |
| Andorra is really a beginners area, Baqueria has old infrastructure |
Come on, really?! I disagree with both of those assertions.
If your threshold for what constitutes an acceptable resort is really that high, you'll need to rule out 99% of ski areas in Europe, including all of them in Spain and the Pyrenees. But you could also consider redefining your criteria. Are heated seats and weather protectors really necessary all the time? Etc.
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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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OP don't be coy. Where TF have you moved to?
It's a long way from Cabo da Roca to Cape Maleas
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@AnnaGasser,
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We have skied in Cham, Morzine, Meribel
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I've been to these 3 and the difference in infrastructure between these areas and Grandvalira is not significant enough to advise driving over the Pyrenees and 1/3 the way across France. Grandvalira is, on average, a fairly easy, moderately sized ski area which is snow-sure enough to allow booking way in advance. The lifts are fairly decent. There are a few slow 4 man non-detachables in inconvenient locations and a few pinch points but I think almost every ski area has these. There are fast 6-man chairs to summits, gondolas from resort villages and an enormous funitel from the south that takes you directly to one of the summits, saving day-trippers a lot of mountain road.
The terrain is steeper and there are further opportunities for off piste at Arcalis (always advertised as the best snow and steeps in Andorra), which is smaller but presumably also a decent weekend destination. I've not been but I'm not sure that Baqueria has significantly worse infrastructure than eg Morzine TBH.
There are many other ski areas on the french side of the Pyrenees. This one even has dedicated freeride lifts offering vertical descents up to 1500m: https://www.tourmaletpicdumidi.fr/en/discover/topdestination/grand-tourmalet-ski-resort/
It wouldn't surprise me if there are other areas with decent skiing on the Spanish side too.
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Andorra is really a beginners area
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I really don't think this is true. In Grandvalira there is an enormous expert snow park, a few long blacks (some harder than others) and a dedicated freeride area. Arcalis is a steeps only area touted at advanced skiers and there's a whole other area (Arinsal-Pal) that I presume is a decent size but I haven't been to.
If you've moved close enough to drive fairly easily to the Pyrenees, I think there is often plenty of good skiing on offer.
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