 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
I'm pretty sure andorra is open all year
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
rambotion, ok you can have that one 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| bobinch wrote: |
| Looks like you've got some great terrain there! |
yes great terrain. A bit little, but nice one, specially if you want to do some "efforts" (aka hiking or skinning) to make your own line.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
JasonW, Soldeu el Tarter is scheduled to close this season on the 18th April.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the Val D'Aran, we had some fresh today over in Bonaigua and it's raining this evening in Salardu. Fingers crossed for tomorrow. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
andorra closes mid april, though has stayed with limited snow to early may.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AlTom, Fab - stunning photos as always.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Hi AlTom
Will be staying near Mont Louis and planning to ski Puigmal or Formiguères for a day, which resort would you reccomend and which is easiest to get to
(we are both intermediate on piste skiers)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
From Mont Luis to Puigmal is only 15-20minutes by car, Formigueres maybe 30minutes.
Puigmal is more alpine feeling and steeper; Formigueres is more sweet, all the resort into the trees, and smaller than Puigmal.
Maybe the landscape is better in Puigmal,....I think both are a good option, more easy slopes in Formigueres.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
"Hard conditions" in altitude. Saturday rained so high, at about 2500-2600m, then refrozen, so difficult crusty conditions. Happily below 2300 high temperatures softened the snow enough to ski in lovely spring conditions.
Today winter returns and temperatures fall some degrees, so maybe hard conditions in general around Pyrenees waiting next storm cycle on Wednesday.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
I'm thinking of visiting Formigal for a day or 2 shortly - Is it worth a go ?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
perfect 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oh have a brilliant time. I've skied at La Molina/Masella and love it there. It all looks good for my son who's off to Andorra next weekend.... Enjoy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wow, the powder on Tuesday was awesome, superb quality, dryness and lightness, the stuff of dreams!!!  70cm on the edges of the pistes and much more off-piste... and a beautifully sunny day with not a cloud in the sky (though a very strong wind on some slopes later in the day). As I'd hoped, the trusty train overcame all hurdles and took me and a tiny handful of other equally foolhardy souls all the way from the transport chaos of Barcelona to La Molina in the Eastern Catalan pre-Pyrenees, running just one hour late. The three-hour journey was breathtaking, more like travelling through Lapland than Spain, and since literally the whole of Catalunya was snowed in, with many roads impassable, there were only 50 or so people on the mountain all day! Magic And yesterday was almost as good, according to friends who went up, with the powder still in great condition despite us having chopped it all up the day before .
It's really, really cold again across the North this week, which is keeping all Catalan and Andorran resorts in great condition despite the very welcome sunshine. Even the minor resorts such as Vallter which usually struggle are enjoying almost two metres of snow! The forecast looks great for the weekend too, so expect some crowds. Masella's now talking about two full months more of skiing, which could mean opening until mid-May like last year's record-breaking season. The Pyrenean gods are truly smiling on us, after the appalling 06/07 and 07/08 seasons.
Hope you all manage to get up to the hills very soon! And hope the ankle thing is only temporary, Ski Guide
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Baqueira pretty sweet at the moment. Plenty of fresh and I think everything open. Staying cold so the snow is keeping well and most of the itineraries are open.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Really amazing conditions all over Pyrennees, and finally we can have a whole week of "good" sunny but cotld weather. Specially we need it to stabilize all S orientation that was quite unstable with lots of wind slabs formed. For the new week the forecasts looks like spring conditions. I hope it, we can attempt some S facing descents in spring snow that are waiting us.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AlTom, Enjoy! Please send some powder to LDA for this coming week.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Brilliant spring conditions this week! Yesterday we skied Alt Couloir in Comapedrosa, maybe the best descent in Andorra, 900m of SE facing couloir, that we skied in the correct time to taste that nice spring snow. I'll put later some photos in a "proper" report.
But today things change and f*****g rain and too high temperatures hit us this weekend, so not the best conditions to ski, maybe tomorrow a bit better.
The good news are that after the front will pass us the winds will change and the cold and snow will returns. We hold tons of snow in the mountains, next week I hope will be better.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Heading out to Ax Les Thermes next week and getting slightly concerned about the warm weather - is there going to be any snow left to ski?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
The last two weeks of high temperatures in the Eastern Pyrenees have taken their toll, at least on the Spanish side, and a good half-metre of snow has melted off all slopes. Thanks to the intense snowfall three weeks ago, however, we're merely back at the levels we had beforehand (more or less 90cm on lower slopes and 150cm on upper slopes).
There's no doubt that we're currently into serious spring conditions, with the snow turning slushy by lunchtime, and almost unusable by 3pm. (Great for the tan when the sun's out, though!) It's only snowmaking that's keeping the high-volume pistes alive, and even that's impossible with high night temperatures; La Molina's had a particularly bad run of things, and it's more suitable for rafting than skiing right now. Sensibly, the smaller resorts are closing pistes that are not covered by snowmaking to try to preserve them for this weekend and Easter. Don't get me wrong; there's still nice skiing to be had… I even found a thin layer of fresh on a little-known piste yesterday at Masella, thank to the minor snowfall the night before. But it's the typical spring thing where you have to pick and choose your runs depending on time of day, so some familiarity with the resort helps.
Looking ahead, it seems that sub-zero daytime temperatures and new snowfall are predicted for the middle of next week, so the resorts must be breathing a sigh of relief as they prepare for the Easter weekend.
nickr, the French side seems to have got luckier with the temperatures than the Spanish side over the last week, and Ax has held out ok given that it's a pretty low resort. The predicted snow would certainly freshen things up a bit from its current 60cm–70cm levels.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
AlTom, I was chatting to some guys the last time I was out your way and they suggested that there is a route down from the Aneto Glacier giving maybe 2000m of descent. Do you know if that's correct ?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| david@mediacopy wrote: |
| AlTom, I was chatting to some guys the last time I was out your way and they suggested that there is a route down from the Aneto Glacier giving maybe 2000m of descent. Do you know if that's correct ? |
Not exactly, if they speak about descent by the south face, in winter you con reach the valley at 1400m of Plan de Senarta. But the route isn't obvious, and isn't a direct descent. If you descent for Vallibierna valley when you arrive at Refuge of pescadors at 1950, then you only have a track (and normally barried for several avalanches, so lots of rest of debris, trees, etc...). Yes, at the end you finish with 2000m of vertical, but not the best vertical that you can do from Aneto.
The good side of Aneto, is the glacier side, you ski down Plan d'aigualluts at 2000m, giving a nice 1400m of vertical, plus 250m to reach llanos del hospital, but really flat this part and need some walk. But in my opinion is a must do!! Park your car in Llanos del Hospital at 1750m, then in the afternoon skin up to La Renclusa refuge (2140m) in about 2h; eat and sleep there, and the next day in about 5-6h reach the top of the Pyrenees. Then direct descent to Plan d'Aigualluts, and add 2hours more to reach the car....
You can see it from past year here:
http://berniboom.blogspot.com/2009/04/o-rei-aneto-3404m.html
One of the longests descents of the Pyrennes is the Posets (3375m) directly to Viadós side, arriving at 1680m, so about 1700m!!! 
We will try to do in the next weeks...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AlTom, Cheers for that. The glacier side is the one I fancied after looking at it from afar for so long. I'll see if I can talk my mates into it !
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
AlTom, Good work !
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
