Wednesday 26 November 2008

Andorra

Last weekend saw the opening of selected ski slopes and lifts in Andorra. Some have remained open this week (at a preferential rate) ahead of the resort's 'grand opening' this coming weekend. A fantastic amount of fresh powder fell yesterday, so, with the dog safely esconced with our neighbour Claudine, we headed for the slopes for our first outing on the skis this year.

We were welcomed by an air temperature of -10 deg C when we arrived at Pas de la Case! It was most definitely chilly! The sun was trying it's best to break through the cloud which was forecast to clear during the day but in the meantime, temperatures would remain very low. The resort was all but empty with just a handful of skiers and snowboarders enjoying the conditions. Excellent! However, this was my first time skiing deep powder and only my second time skiing unpisted slopes, so I was somewhat apprehensive when I stepped off the lift. But fortunately, it felt natural. I had not forgotten the basic skills that I had learnt last winter. The powder was light. The skis glided well through it. It was, however, with my heart in my mouth that I set off on only my second run, down what was an unpisted red in white out conditions, unable to see more than a few metres ahead. It was 'interesting' in places, it tested my nerve but somehow, I skiied it and reasonably well, too! My confidence had taken a major boost. As the clouds cleared later in the afternoon, Andy took my photo at the top of the run as a souvenir. And yes, it was that cold!

The mountains were spectacularly beautiful when they eventually came into viewIt was fantastic to ski on such quiet slopes and to have the opportunity to practise style and technique in peace and in such a beautiful environment. It had been a very worthwhile outing. Now, when is the next one?

2 comments:

Anne said...

En francais? Sympa d'être seuls sur les pistes! On a le droit de faire du hors piste en Andorre?

penny said...

En principe non, mais uniquement 5 ou 6 des pistes à Pas de la Casa avaient été pistées lors de notre visite (l'ouverture générale aura lieu le weekend prochain). On avait donc la possibilité de déscendre toutes les autres pistes qui étaient effectivement en condition 'hors piste'!! Super!