 Poster: A snowHead
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First time in the Spanish Pyrenees and things got off to a bad start when some t*** took our main suitcase and set off on his coach to Andorra....the opposite direction that we were travelling! We eventually caught up with him an hour and a half later! I stayed in the car so that I didn't kill him while the g/f and a mate sorted out the exchange.
Had been worried by weather reports before setting off suggesting 70 mph winds. Sunday the snow fell from the early evening. Resort closed on the Monday! Tuesday they opened up the slopes in Baquiera only from 1800 down! Four runs. Big deal. Wednesday, the same four runs. We didn't bother buying a pass. Thursday and Friday about two thirds of the area was open and Friday in particular was fantastic. Saturday, the weather changed again and visibility was poor. Although the report said 60% of the runs were open, we took the view that we could see bug all and didn't buy a pass...we were lucky that we were too late to buy a 6 day pass on the Sunday and as the Monday as closed we took each day as it came. Did I forget to mention that it only failed to snow on the Friday? We must have had 50 cms of new snow in the week.
The good news? Well, freak weather can happen and this is the first time in 10 trips that we've had such bad luck. The Aran Valley is gorgeous, the food great, prices good. Baqueira Beret's ski area is a real find. Enough for a wee's skiing to suit all abilities. Off-piste easy to find and accessible. I'd go again and probably will. Surely we can't have such bad luck second time around???
Stayed in a little hamlet called Tredos. BB itself is purpose built but nice....Tanau up the road a little posher.
On the plane back I met a guy who had been on the coach with the guy who'd taken our case. He'd caught a taxi from Andorra to catch his flight as the holiday companies were re-routing everything to Barcelona!!! It cost him 700 Euros! Therefore, my mate with the case fixation would soon know the feeling of driving around the mountains needlessly!!!
People travelling to BB the week after this will probabl have a superb time! If you need further advice/tips, let me know. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Mike, interested to hear your report. I've got some flights to Toulouse on the 10th March for the weekend, yet to decide which resort to book. Have you any hotel or B&B type recommendations?
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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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Marty, there is so much to choose from. It also depends on your budget. We stayed just down the road in Hotel de Tredos...see www.hoteldetredos.com......when you're there it'll be classed as low season I think; we were there in middle. £70 per double room for B&B. Very nice. There's another one literally next door called Hotel Orri which is a litle cheaper and pretty nice. Get on www.baqueira.es and go to accommodation section. Although the resort tries to get you to book centrally, all the info and phone numbers of each hotel/B&B are there. Just make the effort to phone/email or fax directly and they'll respond. It's also a straightforward 2 hour drive from Toulouse as opposed to Andorra which is 3. I would heartily recommend it even though we had a bit of bad luck. The snow they've had to date will last a while yet!
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Mike, thanks for that, i've sent them an email. How easy is it to get to the slopes/hire shops etc from Tredos?
The resort and snow look great.
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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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Easy as pie Marty...I assume you're driving. It is literally 5 mins to resort and all of the hire shops are easy to find too. I'm pretty sure you'll get the benefit of the snowfall and better weather. Enjoy....the ski area is very good. Talk more later. Gotta dash.
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Perfect thanks
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I'm back again!!!! If Tredos is beyond your budget (sorry to be potentially insulting) then there are loads of places to stop to suit all pockets. If you stay at Tredos everyone is very nice and being a Brit gives you novelty value! Make sure you have a Gin and Tonic from the bar (great measures!). Pop down to Salardu down the road and Arties is lovely also. I'm jealous because we didn't see it at its best. The walk from the main car park in Baqueira to the main lift is a bit of a pain but that's the only gripe I have, and in better weather you can drive to Beret or Bonaigua and access things from there. Let me know how you get on. 
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The budget issue not too much of issue, with going for 2.5days skiing, convenience and facilities more important! The Tredos have come up trumps, 3 of us in a room but that's ok. One of us is likely to want to at least visit a couple of haunts/bars etc so will probably use the local taxi/bus in the evening. Are ther many bars/restaurants etc in the Tredos area? I'll post an update when everything sorted. Cheers
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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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mikehall58, sorry to hear you had such a weather-crapped out time! I liked Baqueira too, we had one top day (Friday) then two rather grey, windy and snowed out, hangovery ones. But excellent lift system and organisation. You mention good food. I take it you didn't eat on the hill? Anyone else, don't go beyond hamburgers and hotdogs, it's not worth it. But that's the only bad point in an otherwise brilliant set up. We were staying with friends so didn't sample local village cuisine but am assured it is excellent.
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don't go beyond hamburgers and hotdogs, it's not worth it.
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unless, of course, you happen to enjoy Catalan cuisine!
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The walk from the main car park in Baqueira to the main lift is a bit of a pain but that's the only gripe I have,
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Isn't the 'gua-gua' still working?....like a long kiddies train.....it was used to ferry the lazy/infirm/hungover etc from the car park to the lift.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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we ate at "drac's castle" over at the far end of bonaigua, it's a tad off the piste but there's a well beaten track. It's the only place o the mountain not owned by the reosrt and as a result the only one with a slight variation in the menu
however we did get stuck as a blizzard swept in and we sent four hours in the resort restaurant across the road waiting to be ferried down once they;d cleared the roads, so my memories aren;t *too* fond!
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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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Marty, Tredos is a hamlet and possesses one little local bar and a small restaurant. Taxis (apparently) don't really exist but there is a local bus service which Tredos will have info on. Salardu has a couple of bars (behind the main road) and Arties is very nice but about 3 miles down the road. As for Baqueira itself, well there must be bars of note there but as we didn't stay in the resort we wouldn't know. Glad ou're sorted and really hope you get some blue sky days. Do me a favour and ski Dessau in Beret! It's two very nice looking long reds and a nice long black that wasn't open all the time we were there...first it wasn't pisted and then when it was the lift was closed!!! The Manaud black can be difficult if it's bumpy but the Luis Arias black is no problem. If teh weathe is good try the off-piste itineraries.
As for other matters....yes, the mountain food is bog-standard but no worse than anywhere else....no chocolate box restaurants on the slopes but it's only a small problem. And yes, Mac, the train is stil there. We used it once but in busy times it's as easy to walk. 
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I can't remember seeing any 'stand alone' bars in Baqueira at all. Most of the apres ski is done in the hotel bars. You can find some excellent eating places in Arties. Some of the best places i've ever eaten in.
I've also been there when the weather has caused the mountain to close or the bottom runs only are open. The resort staff do try to get as many runs open as soon as is possible and do a good job, but often Beret remains closed if there has been a big snow fall, purely because it is the furthest part away from the main lifts.
Snow fall there this year has been excellent with depths over 300cm at the top and over 200 at the bottom. Great conditions and it doesn't look like i'm going to get there this year 
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You know it makes sense.
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Steve, do you think the season might last longer this time around? It's just that if the conditions are still okay after Easter.......! Or will the snow more rapidly disappear because of it's geographical position. Does the resort have a history of lift closure as it may determine whether I go again. I realise that us skiers are at the mercy of the weather and last week was pretty freaky (as we're finding out in the UK) but I'd hate to go through that again! On the last day in search of better visibility we drove up to Beret and almost immediatelt turned back once in the car park as it was like ice station zebra! But, with Bonaigua, the area is the equal of some other smaller places I've skied in, better than others and possibly full of greater potential.
Check out the Lounge Bar in Arties (funky!!!) and the excellent Tapas bar there too (Unhura or something). I guess a long weekend might be better spent based in the resort for ease of access but a week's trip should be based in the valley. 
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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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mikehall58, I don't think that they will extend the season. Last year they still had a very good snow base in the last week, but they didn't seem to keep it open. As for the lift closures, they seem to close them only in very strong winds or if so much snow has fallen. It can be a bit strange. When i've gone before it's been for a couple of weeks, so the odd day of closure hasn't really bothered me, knowing that the conditions will be great afterwards. The snow does go quite quickly when it's not being prepared and may get a little slushy in the afternoon around Baqueira 1500.
The snow this year should last well, even when the temperature rises, so would think that you would be ok for after easter. There is a seven day forecast for Baqueira here
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Poster: A snowHead
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Steve, I guess what I meant was will there be good snow in late season to make it an option for a quick break given the depths at the moment. Also, how come you go for two weeks? That's seems unusual. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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mikehall58, I should hope so given the depths of snow. Might get a little limited on the off-piste though. Normally go for two weeks because I can  Just feel cheated if I don't get an extra week in.
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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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Where do you tend to stay? Is 2 weeks kind of boring in the same resort?
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The last few times skiing, there have been eight or nine of us including a couple of kids. Some live abroad, so it's sort of an annual get together. Personnally i don't find it boring as long as there is good snow and a bit of variety. The Arran valley has so many great places to go out to eat etc, that you can try something different each day (assuming you have a car of course, otherwise the same hotel food etc would make me insane)
The last time we stayed in the Hotel la Pleta, about half way up the hill towards 1800. Great hotel and facilities but let down by some of the staff. Couldn't get themselves orgainsed at all. It didn't help that the manager had a large group of his friends there and annoyingly were given priority over everyone else
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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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Hasn't La Pleta just been refurbished? Drove past it. Looks nicer than the Melia. Costs a pretty penny though!!!!
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I think so. They have now been given a 5 star rating. It wasn't that when we went, and managed to get a good deal over Christmas and new year through a spanish friend.
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Friends in high places hey? Well at least 1700 m. 
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Just got back from an excellent weekend. The weather was superb, which brought out the crowds on Saturday and Sunday. Did most of the resort in the three days, waiting for the lattic acid to subside! Spent the evenings down in Salardu, nice tapas and a v good value restaurant. The Tredos were excellent, ski bus up and back at the beginning of the day, good value and very friendly. Thanks for the recommendation.
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