Arinsal Andorra

After last week’s report someone accused me of knocking the Decades. On the contrary, I was praising the event but I still think that the venue lacks charm. You enter the build by way of a long corridor lined on both sides by beer kegs. But when inside the atmosphere is terrific, this may be due to the fact that a pint of beer costs €1 before 10 pm. Perhaps that is why they need so many spare kegs.

Now to the skiing; we had a couple of days of light snow fall, otherwise the weather was excellent for skiing. I had a great group of Dry slope/advanced beginners. Most of them had only skied on a dry slope or in a Snow Dome. After the first lesson, one lady asked me an intelligent question. Can you ski anywhere or are there rules? Yes, there are a set of guidelines set out by the F.I.S. I do not have a copy in front of me but I will try to explain what I can remember.

1. The skier further down the mountain has right of way. The skier above must take avoiding action and when overtaking a slower skier they should pass behind the slower skier and not in front of them

2. Do not stop on a narrow path. When stopping on a wide piste always stop at the side. You may often see a great gaggle of snowboarders cooling their anal passages in the centre of the piste. This is particularly dangerous, should a out of control skier or snow boarder collide with their backs.

3. Before starting after a stop, always look up the hill to check that the way is clear and someone is not about to pass you.

4. Choose a slope suitable for your ability

5. Ski at a speed that will allow you to avoid any slower skiers.

I am a little late in writing this report, as I normally do this on Saturday; however I went to a marvellous BBQ instead. It was held at a barbecue site just below the top car park. It was the birthday of Liz our beautiful Directski rep. The invitation was for 12 noon. I arrived a little late as I have been to Andorran barbecues before. This was a good decision as the first meat was severed at twenty five minutes to three. This did leave us with plenty of time for a prelunch drink. The chef and organiser, had enjoyed a very hectic night at Decades on Friday night and went over to a quiet corner, was sick then fell asleep on the grass. Several volunteers took over the cooking but I felt that some had not done the Health and Hygiene in the Kitchen Course. The guest list included the Crème de la Crème of Arinsal society. Had we all been struck done with illness, there would have been no one to pull pints, put clients on coaches or teach skiing in Arinsal. It was a lovely day. The sun shone briefly and I saw two whole sides of lamb being butchered then thrown onto the fire. There were very tasty pieces of chicken that the chef had marinated and dusted with herbs, before passing out. I enjoyed the food, drink and company. Shortly after we left the mountain it started to snow. The timing was perfect.

The guests this week have enjoyed great spring skiing. The only problem is that it is only the second week of February. Every day has been bright and sunny, the nights have been cold enough for the snow cannons to operate and the piste machines did a great job grooming the ski runs overnight, so we were able to ski on smooth firm snow from nine o’clock. When the sun warmed up, the snow became perfect until about three o’clock when the lower slopes got very slushy. I had a difficult intermediate group, as there soon developed a split in abilities. The faster ones wanted to stay together and I was unable to find another instructor with room for all of them. Two of the slower ladies went to a slightly more suitable group. I pointed out to the class, that they had booked group lessons and someone is always the fastest in that group and of course someone has to be the slowest. Life is like that; look at Formula one racing. The only way that the lesson will be entirely suitable for your pace, is to book a private lesson. Two ladies did just that and greatly improved their skiing. I have discussed this point many times before, so some of you will have read this already. “Group lessons for the social side but private lessons to improve your skiing

I went out on Friday to the Princessa Parc Hotel to meet some of my class for a drink. The lounge bar is very tranquil, with Ian West playing the piano in the background. This bar is one of the very few in Andorra to ban smoking. Next to the lounge is Bogart’s bar, which is very attractively decorated with livelier background music and has an efficient extraction system, this is very important as Andorra still permits smoking in bars. After a very comfortable hour in fairly luxurious surroundings, I decided to move on to the Decades Evening. This is held above El Cau in what is actually the village hall, a large barn of a room with no aesthetic appeal whatsoever. The floor was awash with spilt beer, the music was loud and raucous but did this place rock. I met several fellow instructors, some local residents, a couple from my class and quite a few new friends that I had met earlier in the week at various bars. I had a few hugs and dances with some of our very pretty girl reps. I had a very enjoyable time there. When the show finished about midnight I started my usual walk home. As I passed the Derby (the Irish Bar) I heard the sound of live music, so I popped in for a small Guinness to sustain me on my long walk home. The Ragamuffins’ were in full swing, playing to a crowed dance floor. It was a very lively and jolly atmosphere.

I do not know why I was reminded of the old quotation, by someone whose name I have forgotten but I think that it was the sort of thing that Oscar Wilde may have said,

GO TO HEAVEN FOR THE CLIMATE BUT HELL FOR THE COMPANY.”

I cannot give you a report on Arinsal this week as I have been in the U.K. What I can report is that during my visit to Britain the weather was grey, damp and cold, and at the weekend very windy. This made me realise how lucky I am to be able to work in the mountains where the winter weather is frequently bright and clear with vivid blue skies. Yes, we can have bad weather in the mountains but a lot less often than back home. I am not one of those expats who constantly run down Britain. I love being at home during the spring and summer. I enjoy the freshness of spring and find that the temperatures in summer, in the south of England hot enough for me. I have no desire to go abroad when it is so hot than one spends the day looking for an air conditioned café or bar. I cannot remember the last time that I took a summer holiday abroad. I much prefer the sun and the snow; this may sound contradictory to someone who has never skied but I can assure you that it is possible to have snow and very strong sunshine. Like most other instructors, I have known clients to lose a day’s skiing due to severe sunburn. Sometimes they say that they put sun cream on in the hotel and thought that would be enough. NO! From February onwards you must top up again at least once at lunch time. It is very sad when the victim of sunburn is a child, who was relying on the parents’ judgement.

I hope to be able to write a proper report on Arinsal next week. So if you want to escape the awful British weather come and visit us but DO REMEMBER TO BRING THE SUN CREAM.

IS LIVE MUSIC DEAD?

The bar managers in Arinsal appear to disagree on this. Due to the falling number of guest some bars have done away with live music, whilst others have increased the number of sessions. In past years, the Princesa Parc Hotel had “Ian West” playing in the piano bar, most evenings“Sounds r us” played light pop rock, in Bogart’s bar, with guest appearances at weekends from “Dr Freeman” from Barcelona. The front man “Lenni”, of this pop reggae band, was a master at working the audience, he soon had the guests bopping and dancing to the band’s infectious rhythm. When the hotel was very busy they occasionally had a musician in another bar. This year they only have Ian playing piano in the lounge. On the other hand, The Derby (The Irish bar) now has more sessions by live musicians. They have a very popular Irish singer, “Matt McGinnan” playing during the après ski session. I heard this very talented singer the other night. He had a great voice and was excellent at sensing the mood of the audience and playing suitable music. The “Ragamuffins play on Friday and Sunday evenings. This has proved to be very popular, as Sunday nights are very quiet, because the guests who have just arrived are usually tired after a very early start. Another bar with live music is the Quo Vadis, where “Mike (Elvis) Jones” entertains at après ski and on Friday nights. Scott the popular ski instructor plays guitar when requested. The Palarine often has “Mike” or “Trevor & Eileen” playing in the Bambu bar. El Cau hosts the Decades party mentioned in my last report and frequently has a musician in the lower bar.

This week, I had a lovely class of timid ladies. The all completed the slalom race and used the six seat chair lift, although one lady did need a lot of comforting. Well done ladies it was a pleasure. We have enjoyed great skiing conditions this week, cold, good snow and sunshine. However it started snowing on Friday afternoon and as I write this on Friday night it is still snowing. Let us all hope that it continues.

I return to the U.K. on Monday so there may not be a report next week.

I had a fantastic night at the “Decades” party. It was the first one that I had attended this season and it would appear that it is still “a work in progress.” During the performance of “Make your mind up” by Buck’s Fizz one of the men was unable to whip off the girl’s skirt and had to bend over and use both hands before tugging it away. It was possible to recognise those who had attended dance classes when younger. In the chorus line there was a little bit of looking along the line to see what they should be doing next. Well done all of you, I thoroughly enjoyed your efforts. It was great fun. As usual, Liza looked magnificent in her blue and white mini dress and white boots. The lovely Adina moved like a hyperactive snake. She looked so sensual. The Five Pussy Cat Dolls gave a wonderful performance of “Buttons”. (OK I know there should be seven but the stage is quite small) What the girls lacked in quantity they made up with quality. However, I thought the best act was the tribute to X factor’s Wagner. This was performed by Ben the ever cheerful barman from El Cau. He received well deserved, thunderous applause. Sorry pussy cat dolls, he even out performed your great act, although you were all much more pleasing to the eye than Wagner.

Now to the skiing; we have been enjoying spring like weather for most of the week. But on Thursday the temperature dropped and we had some wind and it started snowing in the evening. It was still snowing on Friday. There was not a great depth and the visibility was poor. I decide to take my class down Marrades, the recently widened run down to the Crest Hotel. Snow cannons had been installed two seasons ago, so the snow was good all the way to the bottom, especially with the new snow. The scenery through the woods was very pleasant from the high speed six seat chairlift back to the ski station. I think that they all enjoyed the run, in spite of the last 40 metres of this “blue” run being more purple than blue. Again there were few clients in the resort this week. This of course, makes it great for those who enjoy skiing on fairly clear pistes.