Arinsal Andorra

We are entering the second half of the winter season now, and after the half-term rush we expect the slopes to be a lot quieter. Many of our UK and Irish visitors seem surprised to discover that the resort will be open until mid-late April. There seems to be a perception amongst many people that the snow will disappear at the end of February. In fact Arinsal, like most European ski resorts, retains snow on the slopes until late April and often well into May. Often the best snow of the season falls in March and April, and when the resort does shut it is because we run out of customers, rather than snow.

There are many reasons why the second half of the season can be one of the best times to go skiing - here are just a few of them:

The days are longer
The slopes are quieter
The snow is more reliable then early season
Off piste the snow is generally more predictable and safer
The weather tends to be warmer and sunnier
The shops are having their end of season sales so it is a great time to pick up a bargain

Generally the conditions later in the season are what we describe as spring conditions. For the first hour or two of the day the snow is very firm. Then it softens up into perfect skiing conditions for the middle part of the day. Later on, in the mid-afternoon it tends to get a little slushy, and it is a nice time to sit on a terrace in the sun outside one of the restaurants - sipping a beer and watching the world go by on the slopes. For all these reasons, spring skiing is the best part of the season for many of us. The picture below was taken on Arinsal's closing weekend last year - as you can see there was no shortage of snow.