Formigal, Spain

Tim Hall from UNITED KINGDOM writes:

12/03/2007. I've been to Formigal four times so far this year, using the "Bus Blanco" service from Zaragoza. All in all, it's been excellent, and this in spite of the ridiculously warm winter we've had this year. I gather that there was very little snow up until Christmas, but as soon as the temperatures dropped in the new year, the teams at Formigal were immediately out pisting the slopes and making the most of the snow available. There are new snow canons everywhere you look around the piste area, meaning snow quality can be kept high even when it doesn't actually snow much.
On one occasion, due to a prolonged period of very warm weather, the pistes were really suffering, with few runs open and large patches of slush and even mud, but as soon as the temperatures dropped again this was rectified, and since then more than twice as much skiable area has once again been opened.
In general, apart from that one occasion, the snow quality has been high, especially more recently, when it has been almost at the standard of the Alps. As I understand it, Formigal is the largest ski station around (in Spain) - with over 100km of pistes when fully open - and so there is a great variety of slopes to choose from, catering for all standards. In addition there is also great potential for off-piste skiing, including marked off-piste trails. Due to the orientation of the slopes, snow quality also tends to remain high throughout the day, with excellent skiing still widely available by 16h30 and later.
There has clearly been a lot of investment in Formigal recently, with three new chair lifts open this year, one of them carrying 8 people per chair, which now link all the zones together.
Overall, I highly recommend Formigal for anyone looking for great skiing and a wide variety of slopes and difficulty levels in Spain. If you are in Zaragoza or Huesca and want a day on the slopes, look out for the "Bus Blanco", the price of which includes bus ticket there and back as well as the day's lift pass. Equipment can be hired on arrival at Formigal.

2007-03-12