Arinsal Andorra

SNOW AND BARGAINS GALORE

You will have read elsewhere on this site that we are enjoying the best snow for years but have had the fewest visitors for quite some time. I have heard my first complaint about the amount of snow. This came from a local resident, who takes visitors for walks in the summer. He fears that a lot of his walks will be closed due to lying snow well into midsummer.

We have just finished with the British half term week, usually our busiest week of the season. I had a good week with two groups. My intermediate group was particularly nice. They made friends with each other and if one fell, the person behind usually stopped and waited until they were assured that everything was O.K. and that the faller was up and had their skis on. Most of the group met in the evenings in one of the bars and watched a video of that day’s lesson. I had a London policeman in each of my groups. A coincidence, as I am a retired London Policeman.

We are expecting fewer visitors for the remainder of the season. Because of this, some of the hotels are already offering discounts. For example the Palarine Hotel has sent out an email offering two days half board and two days Vallnord liftpass for 120 euros and 30% off ski hire. This is aimed at the British living in Barcelona or on the Costa Brava but I am sure that they will be able to match it, or even better it, for longer stays. The ski shops are all offering deals. For example, the shop 5150 is advertising 20,30 40 % of clothes and equipment.

I am aware that on this site you will find information on how to get to Arinsal but I think it is worth repeating. Obviously booking with a tour company is the simplest but with the internet and budget airlines you may be able to organise it cheaper by yourself. There are about 5 airports approximately 3 to 4 hours drive from Arinsal. they are: Barcelona, Toulouse, Reus, Gerona and Carcassonne. There are 5 busses a day from Barcelona and two from Toulouse and Gerona. There are no busses from Reus or Carcassonne. If there is four or more persons in your party you may consider hiring a car for your journey to Arinsal. Bear in mind that you may need snow chains.

I hope to see some of you enjoying the good snow and open space.

ANY SNOW DUE?

I was asked this question by a visitor five days after the resort had been closed because of avalanche risk. There is about two metres of snow at the top of the mountain and I was unable to use the ski rack outside the café, as it was almost buried by snow. Yet we have people wanting more. We have had injuries at night, due to people slipping on the snow in the village. Some did not fall because they were drunk, but if they had been more sober they may have prevented themselves from falling.

We have had complaints from parents that their class is too slow for their child and some young British children are skiing without crash helmets, although it is illegal for Andorran children to do so. Some parents do have the wrong priorities.

ALEX and MICHELLE are delighted to be in the top class with MARCUS, (Arinsal’s Tony Blair). VICKY is happy travelling at a more leisurely pace with KEVIN. In fact, they have been so tired after the skiing they have had a couple of early nights. .Something the girls are not used to.

We had St Valentine’s day last week. Regular readers may have seen that STUART (BBA) is having a price war with Wetherspoons. .when I pointed out that they were offering two steak dinners and a bottle of wine for £14-99, he immediately responded by offering two pints of Stella, a packet of cheese and onion crisps AND a Snickers bar for 7 euros on Valentine’s day.

The snow is great and there will be a lot less people here next week, so we are all looking forward to some superb skiing..

I AM BACK

As I have not submitted a report for some weeks now, some people thought that maybe I had died. If I had, there would be rejoicing in the ski school as all the other instructors would move up one place in the batting order. No, but my computer died. Thanks to the skill of one of the instructors, KEVIN, it is now working again.

During the past few weeks we have had a lot of snow. This meant that the instructors have not been asked the most common question, after “What do you do in the summer?. That is “Any snow forecast?” We have so much snow that guests have been asking “Any sign of sunny days on the forecast?” This is great for those arriving later in the season. We have so much snow that I have heard a director of Vallnord say that he wants to stay open until the 3rd of May, to catch the Spanish May Day bank holiday.

I had a visit from my wife, Barbara and my lovely daughter Alexandra last week. They did not want to ski as they came for the Sun, Shopping and Saunas. Well two out of three isn’t bad. They had plenty of snow instead of sunshine. However they enjoyed their visit and the food in the PALARINE. They were well looking after by a new member of staff, ALEX, who would like to be called SBBA (Second Best Barman in Andorra). STUART is training him well.

Next week is half term, the busiest and most expensive week of the season and the least popular with the instructors. Everywhere is crowded and lots of pushy parents wanting their child to go higher and faster than everyone else. Please remember, whatever your priorities are, the instructor’s main concern is the safety of the children, not their speed.. We must be aware that there are lots of anti-social and inconsiderate snowboarders charging down the slopes and thinking that everyone must give way to them because they are on a board. I would like to apologize to those considerate boarders who have taken the time to read the F.I.S. Rules of the Piste.(The highway code for everyone involved in snow sports). The one bright spot for instructors amongst all the families is the arrival of three very vivacious and glamorous ladies. I refer to ALEX, VICKY and MICHELLE. This will be their fourth visit. They always arrange to be in the 12 o’clock ski school, as this fits in with their social life, much better than a 9.30 am start..

Now that my computer is working I hope to resume my weekly reports. Meanwhile I would like to say that I had a great day’s skiing today, with good snow and sunshine.

A DAMP END

Unfortunately, we have had a wet and windy end to the week. It is no consolation to this week’s clients, telling them that the people last week had wonderful weather. Like a beach holiday, there is not much that one can do about the weather. This time of the year, we usually enjoy good conditions. It may make feel bette,r that I have been hearing from home that the weather in the UK has been foul. Most people here enjoyed the skiing with a taste of the new snow.

Now, for a bit of random news: the PALARINE had a flying car in the garage this week. A group of very nice people are driving this car from London to Timbuktu and hope to fly it across the straights of Gibraltar. They stayed at this hotel before driving through Spain. Their progress can be found online at skycar expedition.

I may be in for a hectic social few days. Tonight I am going to a 21st birthday celebration for Ciara, one of my beginners, in the Derby. Then tomorrow, it is a Burns Night Party in the Barsolana. Next Thursday, there will be a grand Scottish Dinner Dance, to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns. There will be roast Scotch beef and other Scottish dishes, including haggis. There will be jigs and reels, and dancing to music by TREVOR, who will be accompanied, this year, by the beautiful IRENE on her flute. It sounds like a great evening but I will have to keep reminding myself that I shall be working on Friday, with the weekly ski school race.

A GREAT WEEK

We have just finished a great week of skiing. I had a class of intermediate level 1. They enjoyed a whole week of near perfect conditions, with cold but sunny days and even a little covering of snow on Wednesday. The group mixed well together and spent several evenings chatting after watching on T.V. a recording of our day’s skiing. There were two incidents that marred an otherwise perfect week. Firstly, a very talented skier called Clare, was knocked out by a snowboarder on Thursday. She suffered no lasting injury and was able to come up the mountain on Friday to collect her well earned Diploma. This raised the ongoing question, should skiers and snowboarders be segregated? A few boarders with an appalling attitude and disregard of others give the whole sport a bad name. I do not believe that any lift company here would ban them from certain runs, because they want their money. The other incident involved the fastest skier in the group and favourite to win the end of week slalom. She failed to attend the Friday class and race due to an overdose of alcohol on Thursday. I will not mention the name of this lady for obvious reasons. Come back next year S???Y and win the race. The fastest skier on the day was the ever cheerful, Karen. Well done you deserved your medal.

I would like to mention that on Saturday 24th in the Barsolanna, we will be celebrating the 250th birthday of Robert Burns. This is a new venue for the Annual Arinsal Burns Night. It has a good dance floor, so we hope to have the Longest “Strip the Willow” in the history of Arinsal. It is usually a fun evening, so if there are any fellow Jocks here that week remember that there will be a free drink for anyone wearing a kilt.