Skiing in Spain, seriously...



The Mediterrenean Sea and Morocco
are off in the distance



When we first considered moving to Spain, we certainly didn't give skiing much thought. Perhaps if we were lucky or ambitious we would make a quick trip to the Alps or the Pyrenees to get in some European skiing. But then we learned Granada has a local ski area only 45 minutes away, with some of the best skiing in Spain. Funny, I never put snow and Spain in the same sentence together. Until now. Turns out this local ski area, in the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains, is wonderful! (in fact, I just learned that they are the second highest ski slopes in Europe).

Upper village (mid-way up the hill)

Our local area just opened on Saturday (NOTE: first ski resort in Europe to open this year as the altitude is quite high). And although it is still early season there are plenty of runs open and the village itself includes 2 gondolas, 15 chairlifts and 2 T-bars as well as all the amenities you would expect at a destination ski resort (hotels, condos, restaurants, bars -- there's even an ice rink, climbing wall and luge run, although they are not open yet). And did I mention it's only 45 minutes away? It's amazing to leave our ancient neighborhood and a half hour later find yourself at a typical ski resort that could be anywhere in the world.




Area ski map

Nat and I talked to friends who were up on opening day and decided it was worth it to re-schedule our Spanish class and hit the slopes on Tuesday. We had so much fun, we re-scheduled class once again and pulled the boys from school on Thursday (it was a quiet day for them, no Spanish tutoring) and headed back up. With a quick stop in Cena de la Vega (nearby village) to pick up rental gear (it's cheaper there), we were on the hill before 11am and skied until the lifts closed at 4:30.

Boys on the highest ski hill in Spain: ~10,000'

Both days were clear, sunny and lovely. Although it hasn't snowed all week, the stuff left behind is still light and powdery due to the dry climate and high altitude. In fact, at the very top (~10,000 feet) you can see all the way to the Meditereanean Sea as well as Morocco if you're really lucky. And having the sun out all day made it feel like real Spring skiing for us, in somewhere like Utah or Colorado.

Boys on the T-bar

So we played hooky and spent the day checking out all the different runs and chairlifts, doing some racing and enjoying a late afternoon Spanish lunch. But there are no free tapas up here. You even have to pay for parking (!) but the lift tickets aren't bad, by American standards (32.50E for us and 22E for the kids and ski rental is cheap - 10E for the day) but if you add it up it is an expensive outing. We hear the weekends have horrendous crowds so we may just try a few more mid-week getaways at the New Year.

Spanish lunch: we dined outside
in the sunshine

Stylish Americano