Baqueira-Beret buying powder

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Baqueira-Beret buying powder

Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. When you register, you get our free weekly -ish snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in Username:- Password:. Or: Register to be a proper snow-head, all official-like! Prev topic :: Next topic. Poster: A snowHead. Evening, I'm looking for advice the best place to hire skis from in Baqueira or Vielha I'll be staying in Viehla next to a bus stop, is it a hassle to schlep up and down with kit or am I I best hiring in Baqueria itself? Any advice is much appreciated. Also, any restaurants or bar recommendations much appreciated. Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person. Come on you lot. Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? Plenty of hire options up at , from the bus stop. Otherwise it will be the case that you just put them in the under store for the bus on the drive down. You need to Login to know who's really who. We did a cracking 4 day boys long weekend in March We stayed in the Tuc Blanc, so across the road from the bottom of the main Baquiera gondola. I seem to recall there was a ski hire shop on the ground floor underneath the hotel, just to the side. I had my own kit with me but others hired from there and were happy, one so much so had made the shop an offer and bought the skis at the end of the trip he enjoyed them so much. For lunch on the mountains we ate twice at the San Miguel Refuge now called El Refugi I think on the piste between Baquiera and Bonaigua which was good and good value, compared to French mega resort prices on both occasions. Once at a typical self service ie. An apres ski beverage at the Moet Winter lounge, on piste between Beret heading back to Baquiera, if you've got the cash for a bottle, is a worthwhile hour at the end of the day if the sun is out. There's also usually a bit of atmosphere for an hour or so at piste closing at the bar right at the base of the piste by the Baqueira gondola. Very good. However assume you will be Vielha in the evenings. There were a couple of restaurants bordering the open space just above the Hotel Monarto, one was a fondue place, one was a grill, we ate in one of those. The place was pretty quiet in March to be honest. We operated on the 'locals' clock! So a few drinks at 5pm, then kip until 10pm, get up, shower, go for late dinner. We popped into the nightclub 'Tiffanys' on the main carpark, it was still dead at midnight. By 2am a few folk had started to turn up but it was still dead and we left. If it snows we had fantastic fresh snow 3 out the 4 days make sure you are up for first lift - you have the runs almost to yourself for the first hour. Fantastic, if it's dumped powder on top of the groomed pistes. Birreria Eth Refugi is worth popping into if you like micro brewery type beers. Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. There's ski storage and lockers at the Baqueira base station. Either below the chairlift or the gondola, I can't remember now. They were very friendly, gotta love the Spaniards. You'll need to Register first of course. Attracted by lower cost than the Alps and better food we were there mountain biking in October and it looked great. Last year spent a week in Barege. Any experience? I'm guessing few British skiers as almost no-one running trips. Then you can post your own questions or snow reports After all it is free. I went to Baqueira with Ski Miquel years ago and they are still offering the resort. They must be doing something right. You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. I was there last January, stayed in Vielha and rented in Baqueira. There's an Inter Sport at the base of one of the apartment block, 20m further down the hill from Boutique Moga. It's owned by an old fella, Antonio, who is probably in the region of After asking a few questions about my skiing and sizing me up, he recommended some excellent skis, brand new Atomic Redster something or other and offered a very fair price without any haggling. He's yer man. Ski the Net with snowHeads. It's good but a real ballache to get to on public transport, next time I'm hiring a car. The food in Vielha is excellent and cheap, loads of restaurants and bars and a very large supermarket. Baqueira is pretty limited for lunch in comparison - Hotel Tuc Blanc 3 courses and a couple of glasses of wine for 20euro. Antonio, the auld ski Yoda I mentioned in the above recommendation for ski hire, seems to eat there every day. My advice would be to stay in Vielha and take the bus up the road in the morning. Hotels are good, cheap and some have spa facilities included. The booze is top notch, really nice wine and cheap. There's also plenty of good modern locally brewed beer. My days of giving a surly Savoyard 25euros for a school dinner spagbol and a freshly pished pint of pisswater are over. Check out Ski Inspired. They run a chalet in Baqueria, slightly up the hill, one minute walk to a lift into the main system. They also run a ski school. Have stayed stayed there with a group of old crocks for the past two years. Great skiing and as above great food and booze. And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. Seconded, plus they will sort you with transfers. So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much. Yes, found SkiInspired. I've seen a few recommendations to stay in Vielha here and elsewhere now better food and life. Ski Miguel's chalet gets some bad reviews now and the food in that part of Spain is excellent and cheap - I don't want to be eating crappy chalet food. It seems to be cheaper to rent a car than use the transfer services unless theres a charge for parking when you get there. You know it makes sense. Free open-air parking at all entrances to the ski area. The covered parking in Baqueira village Ruda is not too outrageous, and many consider it worthwhile on bad weather days. Vielha is a real town, whereas the other villages are, well, villages. Different atmospheres, of course. The Val d'Aran is more of a restaurant place than a party place, so do explore the many excellent dining options. When it's time for a few drinks, Vielha is the better choice. But in fact there are surprisingly many drinking holes hidden round and about. All the villages have sights worth seeing but you have to go exploring a bit It's something I like a lot about the place, in fact. Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:. I thought I'd update this thread for future searches. We went as a couple for the last week of January and had a great time. Sunday was grim but the sun came out the on Monday and though it was icy in places I've skied far worse. We got a decent dump at the end of the week and had two days of powder skiing even if vis was poor. Stayed in Viehla in the Tryp Hotel next to the car park. Rented a car at Toulouse - it's an easy 2 hour drive from there. On the Sunday we tried the public bus - 1. There's only one bus an hour, there was no shelter so coming back we were waiting in the rain or sheltering under a bin store. The 8am would get you in 40minutes before the first lift, the 9am maybe half an hour after. If you miss that you're losing most of the morning. I'm amazed the resort doesn't run a free shuttle up and down. We drove up to the free public car park the rest of the week and paid 20Euro each to keep our skis and boots in the storage under the lift. Parking in the underground car parks is 10 euro a day if the weather's bad and you don't want to clear snow off your car at the end of the day. Quite a few of the hotels in Viela and other villages seem to run shuttle buses - worth asking about if you're booking and I'd say a must if you're not driving Viela has a stack of good places to eat. We tried two places for Pizza on the main drag and both were disappointing - everything else we ate over the week was good. The limited choice in Baquira mentioned here was echoed by a few people we met staying there. On the hills each place has 3 parts - a fast food joint baguettes , a self service canteen and a restaurant. The restaurant are most expensive but seemed the best value for money to me - a couple of Euros more than self service got a much better meal. The week was really quiet - sometimes we had a piste to ourselves. The weekend was a lot busier but still never had to queue for a lift for more than a minute or two and could shortcut those using the single person queue. We'll be going back! Hi b33k34 , thanks for your update and all the other information I'm thinking about doing exactly the same trip but over the feb half term. Reasonable flights from London plus reasonable airbnb. I wanted to ask who you used for car hire in Toulouse and did you need to specify winter tires and chains? This will be the first time driving in a ski location, on the other side of the road, possibly on snow so I'm interested to know how you found it. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks djf. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks djf I hired with Avis from Toulouse, ordering winter tyres and chains. Got to the car in the rental garage, no winter tyres. That was a big issue as I was arriving at the end of a monumental three day storm so I knew roads would be difficult and I wanted to avoid using chains if I could. Went to the Avis desk in the garage and they informed me that the grade of car I booked C, IIRC, one up from economy did not have winter tyres and if I did want that kit I would need to downgrade to an economy car. Was a bit cheesed off, but accepted that then had to wait 20 minutes until they found the correct size chains. Altogether unsatisfactory, but I got the impression that was standard practice for all the rental companies at Toulouse which gets far less traffic heading to ski resorts than, say, Geneva. Glad I made a fuss as the drive up was tricky for the final couple of miles so much snow had fallen, plus ongoing high wind blowing even more fresh on to the roads , and without winter tyres I would have to used chains, putting them on in the dark in bad weather. Skiing was epic the following day Wow rob rar , that sounds like a right pain in the. Sounds to me like they were pulling a fast one on the car, who'd only limit those tyres to economy. One of those things though, in that situation how can you possibly argue it because if they don't have the right tyres on that vehicle you have no choice. Very helpful though, never thought to actually check them if they're on your order. Thanks for the info. Calafate Ski hire in Tanau is excellent and they have lockers. Just at the bottom of the Esquiros chair - very slow. I think there is a small car park there just by the return piste that comes over the river. Not sure when this thread posted but I have skied Baqueira a number of times. I lodge my own skis and boots , about 15 euros a week, just below the access Gondola where you can also conveniently hire and return good equipment at a similar cost to other places in the valley. There is a large free car park with free transport to the Gondola. The bus up to Baqueira from Vielha gets crowded at peak times but only costs about 1. Advice would be to get to the access Gondola early on the first morning to get kit and book storage. The other good factor is a free lift pass, apart from a few euros local tax, if you are old enough! Thanks for that, I wondered how much those lockers were to rent for the week. That restaurant is now pretty good after last year's big renovation, if you're looking for a decent quality self-serve place. Ah yes Little Martin I think you are right now I think about it. Large chunky barriers block it off but leave enough space to drop off only. Dorset Mogul wrote: Large chunky barriers block it off but leave enough space to drop off only. That's right. Parking seems a bit tricky around the resort from what I've seen, but the big free? Yeah, after my first day near the ski rental, I parked at the bottom, we were getting there before 9 before it got busy. There are other lift served car parks around, depends how far you are willing to drive. We had a ski locker in the bb ski school office, which is just up the road from the main gondola, not sure if they rent them out to the public though or just people on courses. Selling it more and more to me. Having some issues finding any of the car hire places that will offer winter tyres. We'll be arriving on a sunday after 8 so no luck with local snow chain purchasing so that'll be needed with the car. I can select chains but no option for tyres, have emailed most of the in airport suppliers. I'm coming to conclusion Rob rar that you were lucky to get them at all Going to google street view the comments above so I can work out the options. One of the airbnb places offers free daily transfer so thats another option too. Cheers djf p. The plan is to take all our own gear but will def look at locker options. New Topic Post Reply. Snow Snow Snow! Solo Skiers v Groups - Orga Archives Lost and Found Ski Club of Great Britain To one side secret Mountain Hideout snowShops You cannot post to forums until you login You cannot read some forums until you login Read about snow conditions : snow conditions And leave your own snow report : snow report Find advice to help plan your ski holidays : ski holidays The snowHeads Ski Club : Ski Club 2. Terms and conditions Privacy Policy. Snow Reports. After all it is free After all it is free. So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much. Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:. Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Mon ; edited 1 time in total. Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. I lodge my own skis and boots , about 15 euros a week, just below the access Gondola where you can also conveniently hire and return good equipment at a similar cost to other places in the valley! Dorset Mogul wrote:.

Ski Val d'Aran | Spanish Pyrenees

Baqueira-Beret buying powder

This website requires Javascript for some parts to function properly. Your experience may vary. Learn more. During the two-hour journey from Toulouse to the Val d'Aran, snow is in short supply. The opposite awaits us in Vielha, the main town in the Val d'Aran. The streets here are narrow, winding and can sometimes lead to a flight of steps. The mighty Romanesque bell tower of the church of Sant Andreu attracts our impressed gaze, while a subtly mystical lighting makes the masses of snow on the roofs of the densely packed medieval stone houses appear in a golden light. At almost three o'clock in the morning, the hotel manager welcomes us cheerfully and politely to the 'Valley of Valleys' German translation of the name Val d'Aran. We decide on the ski resort for the first day. Spain's largest ski area is called Baqueira-Beret, which is divided into three sections. Numerous lifts and spacious pistes, some open, some surrounded by forest, characterize the area. Winter sports have been practiced here since the s. We are accompanied by Lionel, a local mountain guide. One of the advantages of his home region is its diversity. This is expressed in the combination of many kilometers of slopes of all levels of difficulty with almost limitless freeriding opportunities. Most winter sports enthusiasts stay on the pistes or in the terrain in between. However, with a little creativity and knowledge of the terrain, it is possible to cross over and make lonely descents into remote valleys. With the appropriate touring equipment, there are great tours from there. We cruise through the ski resort and initially focus on exploring the area. On closer inspection, however, a few lines catch our eye to such an extent that we shift our focus to the hunt for the best snow and the best runs. At the end of the day, we look back and have to agree with Lionel: Baqueira-Beret is definitely worth a visit. The same thought crosses our minds and we look at each other, unmotivated. We've had enough of that! And politely, but still unmotivated, we shuffle after him. We enter a small restaurant that offers an almost unmanageable selection of pinchos and tapas. Mostly local people meet up to chat or simply enjoy a good glass of red wine. The few ski tourists take advantage of this pleasant atmosphere for a quiet end to their skiing day. On the second day, we wake up very early and set off on our tour. The temperatures are spring-like warm and we hope to find good snow on the shady slopes of the Tuc de Horno. The plan works. We find generous terrain for wide turns on the almost 2, m high summit. A second or even third ascent would give us the opportunity to extend the tour to over 2, vertical meters, but we make do with one ascent, because an alpine summit with a promising steep gully is already tempting us for the next day. Not dissimilar to the Alps in terms of their characteristics, but often extremely complex, especially when it comes to access, the Central Pyrenees are often difficult for visitors to navigate. The unusually high diurnal temperature fluctuations, even in the height of winter, and the resulting changes in snow cover need to be taken into account when planning a tour. On the third day, we find ourselves in the steep gully mentioned above. At the end of this, the terrain remains consistently challenging and, with skis on our backpacks, we climb up the rock to our highest goal of the week, the 2, m high Tuc de Estanhets. A true Eldorado for passionate ski mountaineers. In pleasant contrast to the Alps, such extended tours, which are comparable to tours in our latitudes, do not end in well-booked huts, but in stylish hotels. A tasty steak in the restaurant in the evening, followed by a few drinks at the bar and new plans and ideas for the next few days are born. The result the next morning is 75 cm of fresh snow. This obliges us to behave defensively and avoid steep terrain. The immense potential of the Val d'Aran allows us to undertake a unique ski tour even in these difficult conditions. The past snowy winter gave the Val d'Aran an unusually long winter season. A finale like the one we have just experienced describes something special and is also one of the highlights of the winter for us. The next day, the rotors are whirring. Far away from the ski area and the usual tours, the local heli-ski provider operates in a professional style. We deliberately choose this option because the snow and weather conditions are ideal. We also reach regions that are difficult to access and gain a deeper insight into the mountain world of the Val d'Aran. This day brings us five long descents with a Spanish pinchos snack in the middle of nowhere. The regulation of local heliski tourism in accordance with the boundaries of the national park is particularly noteworthy. This ensures that space is preserved for flora and fauna as well as for the various winter sports activities. We were happy to receive tips and recommendations and were thus able to choose from an exquisite selection of very different tour days. The Val d'Aran is a good choice especially for ski tourers and freeriders with exotic cravings and as a comfortable alternative to a ski touring week in the Alps. About the authors: Matthias Knaus born and Michael Astenwald born are both geography graduates with a particular fondness for skiing. Together they undertake tours mainly away from the crowds and try to explore cultural, social and socio-economic conditions in addition to purely sporting aspects. Avalanche warning service Val d'Aran. This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors. If you do not have a user account with us yet, you can register for free. This site uses cookies that need consent. Functional First party cookies needed for the website to function. These can't be turned off. Video embeds Third party cookies used for embedded video's that can possibly track you. Accept all Accept selected. Matthias Knaus, Michael Astenwald. Powder in the forest and steep gullies, tapas and red wine, crisp peaks, tours and freeriding in the national park area. In Val d'Aran, many facets of ski mountaineering and freeriding can be celebrated in style. Show original German. Related articles. The extravagant gentleman! Off to the Pyrenees, right? In the wild, sparsely populated Spanish Pyrenees, there are still wolves, a few brown bears and countless huge griffon vultures. And it is there, in the wild Val d'Aran, where a communist guerrilla fought against the fascist regime of the then dictator Franco until the end of the s, that we want to go biking. In my imagination, I see wild west-like, dry and dusty highlands and deeply cut canyons, steppe-like vegetation and tiny, crooked stone houses. We encounter almost no vehicles on the way from Baqueira-Beret in the Spanish part of the Pyrenees to Andorra. Login If you do not have a user account with us yet, you can register for free. Username Password.

Baqueira-Beret buying powder