Pas de le Casa

Leah-G1

Hey,
Im heading off to snowboard in about a week to Pas de le Casa in Andorra.Has anyone been there over the past little while and if you were,was there any snow?
Ive tried looking at snow reports but as a first timer,I cant understand them.

expn

Hi Leah-G1,

went there last year around this time....... conditions weren't great ,but plenty of runs open.....! The runs were icy in the mornin' but as the day went on they became slushie , so it was alot like riding shallow powder.....! There's also lots of little freestyle areas just off the runs which are intermediate at best , but have some nice easy ledges and kickers... The great thing about it was no lift cues , or busy slopes....... I'm not sure if you can expect the same , but overall a decent weeks boarding at a great price...... We went with panorama ,and i think we only paid 220euro each for the flight and accomadation....(180 for lift pass,but huge ski area. Didn't get lessons ,so i don't know cost......!)
The night life wasn't great compared to chamonix or livingno.....But still plenty to do, and some great shops for skate and snowboard gear....!
check out: www.grandvalira.com
Have fun and goodluck, do a run for me cos i'm missing out this year after breaking my leg in bushy.......!

peace.

Leah-G1

Thanks,I will!Really looking forward to it,probably will come home with a broken bone aswell.
Is everything really cheap over there cause its tax free??

expn

Drink and smokes are cheap in the shops ,like most of europe......! Even eating out is reasonable , but skate/snow gear is probably only slightly cheaper than here....However ,they've a much greater selection of stuff , so if there's anything you need for the trip , you're probably better off gettin' it there.......
There are two great skate/snowboard shops , and one massive 4 or 5 level shopping centre ( i can't remember the names ,but if you look hard enough you'll find them....), with all the top brands and boards etc....

You'll have a blast, and remember wrist guards.......

wideangle

Was there on a day trip from spain a few summers ago,bring your skateboard as there is a skate park there,not concrete but hey something else to do if you have time off the slopes,enjoy.

gurleyboy

Hi Leah,

Just back from Pas de la Casa yesterday, so hopefully some of the below will help.
In response to your question about snow- yes there is snow, but varied greatly from one day to another. Was there for a week and on some days (like Saturday) there wasn't much snow on the grounds, mainly due to the windy conditions blowing it away, but on other days it was brilliant, it snowed heavy all day Wednesday on on Thursday there was 10-20cm of new snow and the sun was out- so it was absolutely perfect!
With that in mind make sure you wear sun screen as I got burned pretty badly (even though it was -5 degrees) and some one I know got heatstroke!
As someone said wrist guards are a MUST for beginners (the amount of people with cast on their arms around the place is shocking).
Also if you haven't got your gear yet there are some big sales on there at the moment, especially jackets, some of which can be up to 60% off (as it is near the end of the season and jackets change from season to season). You won't find as good deals on things like gloves/goggles whose fashion does not change so greatly- but still cheaper than Ireland with a much bigger selection. Most sport shops are open till 7:30-8 so if you get in at a reasonable time you can get your gear the day you arrive.
Finally there is a restaurant called la Gargantua (or el Gargantua) which does good food and is right off the slopes.
Have fun and don't hurt yourself....too much :cool:

Leah-G1

Man I must be the luckiest first timer in the world.It never stopped snowing while we were over there,on Wednesday it has snowed 80cm in 3 days!!!amazing.If anyones thinking of doing a alst minute job,book it now!Best week ever and I didnt break anything