Arinsal Andorra

Last Wednesday I was in the RED X listening to TREVOR, playing his guitar and singing requests from a rather lively group of Irish skiers. During that evening I danced with a lovely blonde Irish girl called Debbie. She was wearing a figure hugging terracotta dress and calf length leather boots. She looked stunning. This made me think about an earlier report, when I complained, that for five months, I do not get any real ale to drink. Another thing that we miss out here is ladies’ legs. On the slopes they wear ski pants and in the evenings sensible trousers or jeans. Ladies, if you pack a dress and bring suitable shoes that you can carry in a bag to the bars, I can guarantee that you will receive a lot of attention from instructors and other deprived workers.

Every Friday, weather permitting, the ski school holds slalom races. Each instructor has a “gold?” medal to award to the member of his group, who completes the slalom course in the fastest time. The intermediate course is set on Les Fonts, by the very popular Floppy, who trains Argentine boy racers during our summer. The beginners’ course is set near the nursery slope just above the Refugi restaurant and is much easier. These races are filmed and shown in various bars in the evening. This is a very popular event and the bars can get quite crowded during après ski. Many people go on to the Seventies night above El Cau, to hear sounds from the seventies and to watch the Full Monty. Sometimes there are not as many people on the ski slopes on Saturday morning, due to a little over indulgence. But that is another story.

Today, Sunday is change over day for the British and Irish. So there is very little work for us. Steve the horse, the lovely Corinne and I went skiing and enjoyed the quiet slopes and the good condition of the snow. We all enjoyed the black and red gullies down from the Pic Negre. The weather has been warm for the past week and the conditions are similar to March. Firm to start with, then very good until late afternoon when it becomes very heavy. We stopped about 3pm.

In the ski school race on Friday, special K did win her fifth medal by narrowly beating Chris, a young man with the potential to become an instructor. Well done Krystyna, not bad for a young glamorous grandmother. During my free time I enjoyed several runs with her and Jake.

There are a few more clients here this week. The numbers tend to build up until the school half term. If you do not have children try to avoid going skiing on the 10th and 17th February. Either come on the 3rd or wait until 24th. The atmosphere is entirely different during half term. The slopes are very crowded and the bars have children in them in the early evening and are very quiet at night. There are very few young single people in the resort during than period, except for a few groups of teachers.

We could do with some new snow or a few cold days so that we can make some.

On Friday we had a very successful Burns Supper in the HOTEL PALARINE. The dinner was fully booked and some others arrived for the dancing and poetry. Stuart, our convivial barman gave a spirited rendering of Burns’ “The Henpecked Husband”. The Burns Party at the RED X BAR, was much quieter, which made the dancing much more comfortable. Those that did attend enjoyed their evening and I was grateful for a fairly early end to the night.

This week I have had a group of “advanced beginners” and a few private lessons. This had me thinking, which is best? Group or private lessons? Being in a group is very good for someone on their own. It is a great way to meet other people of a similar level. However to improve your skiing there is no doubt that a private lesson is best. YOU will have the undivided attention of your instructor, rather than it be shared with a dozen others. The speed will be suitable for YOU, not constantly being adjusted to suit the inevitable difference in abilities of 12 people. There is no pressure to keep up with the others, the only objective would be to improve your own standard of skiing.

There was a lovely lady in my group who skied well but lacked confidence in her own ability. She booked a one hour private lesson with my good friend, the very attractive Corinne. The next morning this lady was skiing as well as anyone in the group and not staying at the back, a long distance behind the others. I am positive that it was that one hour lesson with Corinne that totally transformed the lady's skiing.

I had a private lesson with a client in his 60's. He had been skiing for some years and had become used to skiing around the mountain safely and enjoying himself. But his parallel turns were a succession of skids. Before the lesson had finished, he was edging his skis and carving his turns instead of skidding.

The choice is yours. You can enjoy the company and fun of a group lesson or if you want to improve you skiing rapidly, go for private lessons. After all it is YOUR holiday, so enjoy yourself

We had a nice fall of snow on Friday night and some on a blustery Saturday. Sunday was my day off and when I awoke, there was a bright clear blue sky. I had a quick breakfast and rushed up to the slopes. The snow was light and powdery and there were very few people on the pistes, so I had a great morning’s skiing. All the gullies from the top of the PIC NEGRE were open and we made the most of the quiet slopes. I finished early and went to the HOTEL PALARINE for a late Sunday Lunch. Roast beef and roast pork with all the trimming, washed down with a couple of bottles of Fuller’s London Pride. I felt very pleased with my day and I still had time for a quick “siesta” to refresh me for the evening.

If there are any “Jocks” coming to Arinsal for next week, we have a treat for them. There will be two nights to celebrate the birth of Robert Burns. On Friday the 25th The HOTEL PALARINE will be holding a Burns’ Supper with Haggis , Roast beef, smoked salmon and other Scottish fayre. There will be live music and Scottish country dancing. It is surprising just how many instructors are now expert at “Strip the Willow” and “The Eightsome Reel”. It would only be fair to point out, that they all ski a lot better than they dance!

On Saturday 26th, the RED X bar will hold their long established Burns’ Party. This is a very informal occasion, where people are encouraged to bring finger food to share. Haggis, by it’s nature, does not make good finger food so plates and forks are provided. There is usually wild and energetic dancing, fuelled mainly by Whisky and San Miguel. Last year we had six nationalities dancing in one Eightsome reel. Both nights promise to be great fun.

Last year we held a very successful Burns' Night in the RED X bar. Two clients, who attended this party are returning this year. Due to a gap in TV production JAKE, who was here with his brother also called JAKE, is going to spend two weeks here to include Burns night. He will arrive on Sunday. His stay will overlap with “SPECIAL K “, who is another fan of Burns night. This will be SPECIAL K's 5 th visit to ARINSAL. This remarkable and popular lady has won her ski school race on her 4 previous visits. Can she make it 5 in a row? Watch this space for the answer. This year she is bringing her man on his first ever skiing holiday. The ARINSAL Ski School are excellent at helping first time skiers to enjoy the sport. We all hope that Steve becomes another fan of ARINSAL and will return on many occasions in the future.

ARINSAL has a large amount of clients returning each season. This is particularly the case with our many Irish guests.

Now for some information for our first time visitors;

A frequently asked question is, “What group should I join? “

The answer is fairly obvious if you have never put on skis. You go to the beginner's class.

If you have skied before and when you stand outside the ski school and look to the right, you will see a 4 seat chair lift. If you can safely ski underneath it, you should go to the intermediate groups, where you will be graded and put into a suitable class. In Arinsal we have levels 1, 2 and 3 for intermediate skiers.

The problem group are those people who have skied before but do not feel confident enough to join the intermediate group. They should go to the dry slope/ advanced beginner's group. This applies to people who have had two hours on a plastic slope or went skiing 35 years ago with the school and anyone in between.  I have this group this week.  We spend a little time classifying these clients to make 3 or 4 different levels.

Skiing is like knowing how to fall of a bicycle or eating cucumber.  It soon comes back to you.

New Year week is now over. I saw the New Year in at the Palarine Hotel. We had a magnificent buffet followed by an inclusive bar and fancy dress party. The hotel helped with the fancy dress and I think that less than half a dozen were not in costume. I wore my infamous Speedos as a beach bum. No one abused the bar, I did not see anyone totally drunk, but then I did not see anyone over 18 totally sober. A great night.

I met my morning group at 9-30 am. All 12 were waiting for me. Well done guys. Most of the group were Irish and I think that was a great turn out for New Years day.

Wednesday and Thursday brought some welcome snow. On thursday the roads were very slippy. In fact I walked back to my hotel and in my 20 minute walk I saw 4 vehicles (including the ski bus) in various ditches.

The skiing on Friday was superb. Fresh snow and a clear blue sky. Absolutely marvellous.

The first real week of teaching has just finished. All the instructors had work. As it was Christmas week there were a lot of children in ski school. The younger ones and beginners were kept in childrens groups. I had an intermediate group which consisted of 5 well behaved older children and 7 adults. They were a nice mixture of Dutch, Irish and English.

We all got along together and we often went out in the evening, as a group, to watch our video. A lot of the bars take videos of the groups skiing and show them to entertain the drinkers in their bar. No one bar could accommodate the whole ski school so you must find out, from your instructor, which bar, if any, videoed you that day. These videos are not only amusing but can be a useful training aid. The kids loved to see themseves going over jumps!

As the schools are still on holiday, I would expect a lot of children next week. We would also expect a lot of merrymakers, out to celebrate the New Year.

Still no new snow, but it is still cold, so think white.

On Sunday, the first of the British groups arrive in Arinsal. The English instructors will be glad to get some work at last. I will be very pleased to get some groups as it will give me something to write about.

Last night some of us had a very convivial meal in the QUO VADIS PUB. Each week this pub has a free raffle for customers and the prize is a pair of skis. And this week `I WON! I am now the owner of a brand new pair of Blizzard skis. Thank you QUO VADIS.

On Wednesday night .we had an excellent curry at the British run SAN ANDREU. Simon and the lovely Kirsty provide an amazing variety of curries to suit all tastes. It is help yourself, so do not be surprised if you see a lot of fat instructors this season.

We rather overate slightly, on Sunday at the HOTEL PALARINE. They provided a huge Chinese buffet. The Dingo and Steve the Horse appeared to be in a competition to see who could eat the most desserts. Jan the Swede, from Manchester, persuaded Robber's Dog and I, to sample few bottles of Fuller's " London Pride". The Palarine had managed to find a couple of crates of real ale. Something that I miss over here.

I hope that next week I can write about skiing and not just food.

The slopes were incredibly quiet on Sunday. I had a lesson with a delightful young lady, called Erica, who admitted hating hearing snowboards and skiers behind her. We took the high speed six seat chair up Les Fonts (1.7 Kms long) We chose the less popular Port Vell run and then onto the Margarita to the Obelix restaurant and had seen only two skiers and two snow boarders. It was blissful. We then rejoined the Les Fonts piste down to the bottom. Do not expect it to be that peaceful if you are coming to Arinsal for Christmas or New Year.

This story reminded me of a client, who thought that more people would come skiing if it was less crowded!

Talking of crowds, a bit of advice for visitors coming during a busy period. On MONDAYS the ski school finishes at 5pm, and a queue often forms for the Gondola down. If you are at the back of the queue, it is quicker to take the two seat chair from the Panoramix Restaurant down to the Crest Hotel. You should turn LEFT off the chair and walk DOWN the road for 150 metres, where the road turns right over a bridge. From there it is five minute walk to the Princessa Park Hotel and the other hotels in the village. The base of the Gondola and ski bus are only a few more minutes walk down.

I have just finished my first week of work. I had a very lively group from Denmark and Sweden, they were great fun on and of the slopes. They were training to become tour guides and not surprisingly skied very well. They enjoyed the quiet slopes and the very good condition of the snow.

This leads nicely to an instructors second most asked question, "What is the snow like?" (By the way, the most asked question is "What do you do in the summer?") The short answer to the question about snow is "white, cold and very slippery!". However, when beginners ask about the snow condition, they actual want to hear about the depth of the snow. We do not have a great depth at present, but it has been very cold and this means that the snow has stayed light, dry and powdery. The ideal snow for skiing.

Even if there is several metres of snow, it only takes one warm day to turn the top layer into slush. If the night time temperature is below freezing the slush will turn to ice. Not the most enjoyable thing to ski on. At Arinsal we are fortunate to have a fleet of "Piste bashers". These are specially designed machines that groom the piste at night, so that it smooth and user friendly in the morning. At present, all they have to do is smooth the snow and we then have great skiing conditions.

The machines have the ability to break the top layer of ice, so exposing the powder underneath, if required. In the late spring, when the afternoon temperatures can be very high the piste bashers will smooth the very deep slush until it is smooth. So if it freezes over night we will have a firm but skiable surface, usually referred to as "boiler plate" or bullet proof". This soon softens into a very skiable snow as the morning warms up.

I have heard that Eskimos have 14 words for snow. As a skier, see how many words you use to describe the different types that you meet during your visit.

I have heard from some clients, who have skied in some eastern european countries, that they did not have these expensive machines and found that they could not ski on the lumpy frozen slush. The huge capital investment here, means that we can usually enjoy good skiing.