Grandvalira-Soldeu: Schneevorhersage

We first went to Pas de la Casa in 2003, shortly after the Grandvalira ski area was formed by combining two previous ski lift companies. Unfortunately, in the intervening 20 years, there doesn’t appear to have been much improvement in the ski infrastructure. Whereas in Austria T-bars have been replaced by heated lifts with covers, and new and upgraded gondolas are common place, the Grandvalira is stuck with lots of slow lifts. This is particularly a problem where the lifts connect one part of the ski area with other resorts. The Assaladors and Solanells lifts in particular could potentially cause problems at busy times. Fortunately for us, it was not too busy in the resorts so we didn’t have any problems queuing; it is just frustrating moving at a glacial pace sitting on these lifts, when you could spend more time skiing. The 4-seater Cubil lift at Grau Roig is much quicker, but it’s just inadequate to cope with the volume of skiers at any time of day. It should be replaced by a six-seater as a minimum. Incidentally, the 2023 piste map is one of the worst I’ve seen. Very confusing and indistinct, largely because most of the map is given over to advertising. We frequently used the piste map we got in 2003 which was much clearer. There’s not an abundance of mountain restaurants. In nearly every case, there’s a limited amount of seating indoors with most restaurants relying on external seating for their patrons. This was ok whilst we were there, as the weather was generally good, and we could sit outside. In poor weather, getting indoor seating at lunchtime would have been a real struggle. There are a number of snack bars on the slopes which offer pizzas, hot sandwiches and drinks. Prices are cheaper than in France, but a little more expensive than Austria. We stayed in Soldeu, which is well placed to access all sectors of the Grandvalira. Access to the slopes is good, and there are several easy return routes, although some of these get a little crowded towards the end of the day. We hired heated ski lockers in the gondola station and whilst these weren’t cheap, they were very convenient. Soldeu itself is pretty uninspiring. It’s a long linear village on the road between Pas and Andorra la Veilla, so there’s always a lot of through traffic. As for the skiing, it’s good for both intermediates and beginners, but rather restricting for those who like their skiing to be gnarly. There’s plenty to go at, and enough to keep most people interested for a week.