missile

so we are in agreement

Andorra is closer to him and in my opinion a better option than Sierra Nevada

sabian

Hello Guys,

Many thanks for all of your replies

Hi there, I know that as an expert skier that there are far better places in the world to go skiing but as I have a property in Calpe it's just nice that I can jump into the car and be within a ski resort in under 4 hours. I know Andorra is a far better resort with 468KM of pistes which is astounding and compared to the likes of Verbier in size but not anywhere close in difficulty of runs. Verbier is the icing on the cake. Also Andorra is not closer to me, it's 362 miles from Calpe whereas the Sierra Nevada is 275 miles in the other direction from Calpe. I plan to visit both places, but that extra 87 miles of driving to go to Andorra isn't something that I am actually that keen on until I been on every run in the Sierra Nevada.

Hello, Many thanks for your reply...You seem very knowledgeable in this area.

I hope you don't mind but I have a number of questions that I hope you can please take the time to answer...Thanks

Can you tell me please do you know how many KM of pistes there are in the Sierra Nevada? I read somewhere that it's 137KM, another site says 98KM plus 2 cross country trails one of 5KM and the other of 2.5KM bringing the total skiable area to 105.5KM. Then another site said there is just 60KM of pistes. I don't know which one holds true. 100KM to miles is 60 miles. Unless the site suggesting the 60KM made a typo with the KM instead of the mile. I don't know and wonder if you can please give me an answer?

One other thing, I read somewhere that the Sierra Nevada has 46 red runs and 33 or 36 black runs if I remember correctly which some are vertical drops, is this true?

I have read that the Sierra Nevada starts at 2100M and the highest point is Veleta which chairlifts get up to and that point is 3348M. Then you can walk further up to 3548M, is this true?

I was doing some map calculations on google maps and the Sierra Nevada is only 20 miles from the center of the city of Granada. Do you know if chairlifts start from there and get right up to the top Of Veleta?

To extend the skiiable area can you ski from one mountain to another mountain that is outside the ski pass region?

Do you know if there is a glacier in the Sierra Nevada and Andorra? I have read that Verbier and Kitzbuhel have glaciers where you can ski in the summer is this possible in the Sierra Nevada or Andorra?

I got my self a digital camera about ten years ago, it's one of those super thin 3.2 megapixel cameras, the model was the Casio Exilim and I have never used it up in the mountains and wondered if it's safe to do so, I ask as I heard that after you reach a certain height the lens and shutter of the camera can malfunction because of the cold and it can damage the camera, is this true? I would like to know an answer to this as this time I want to take a camera with me and take some amazing photos of the landscape.

I have a friend that will be coming for a little holiday visit to me and he has never been skiing before, he wants to try and well with his budget he doesn't want to buy all the ski clothes just yet. Do you know if Andorra and the Sierra Nevada is warm enough to just where some jeans, a woolly top and any ordinary jacket? I know falling over is a problem with just jeans on as your going to get quite wet if you do it too often. But from videos I have seen in the sierra nevada it does seem to be very hot from the way the sun is shining, I don't know about Andorra, any way so what do you think?

Lastly, I have never done off piste skiing and wondered if I went with a guide and did some heli skiing, would you say that the Sierra Nevada then definitely becomes the ultimate playground even for expert skiers?

Sorry for all the questions but I really do hope you or someone else can answer them please.

Any help much appreciated

Many thanks in advance

Veleta

Wow. Lots of Qs! I don't know the answer to all of them but here goes.

1. I would get my stats from the official web of the SN which is www.cetursa.com and they say there are 102KM of pistes.

2 There are only 9 blacks, but 50 reds. Yes, some of those blacks are near vertical!

3 My map has Veleta at 3398 metres. Not sure about being able to walk up higher, although I do know that the chairlift does not go to the very top of that peak.

4 Granada, although only a short distance away, is significantly lower than the ski station. There are no lifts from the city itself. All the lifts start in Pradollano. However a lot of skiiers stay in the city as the accommodation is much cheaper than on the resort. There are loads of buses that can take you up to the village.

5 I'm not sure about skiing from one mountain to another...there is still a lot of the SN that I haven't explored yet.

6 There is no summer skiing - season is from about Nov - Marchish.

7 I always take my digital camera with me and I've never had any problems (apart from falling on it whilst it's in my pocket).

8 Yes, it can be very sunny in the SN. They claim to be the sunniest ski resort in Europe. However, I still wouldn't wear jeans. Especially on the chairlifts where the wind can really get at you. Weather permitting, I usually ski with the proper trousers but then just a polo top or something.

9 I'm not sure I would ever describe the SN as the 'ultimate playground'. You're never going to beat some of those Alpine resorts. However it's big enough to keep you busy for a few weekends a year. The main reason for going to the SN, as you have mentioned earlier, is because it is convenient and cheap to get to (compared to say Austria) and you can spend several short weekends there, as opposed to a full week elsewhere. For what it is, it serves the purpose well. But for your "ultimate playground" I'd still go to somewhere like the Alps.

I always pick the SN if I want convenient skiing as it is the closest. Andorra I never bother with as it is a bit further to travel, but not good enough to warrant the extra journey in my book. If I want great skiing then I still go to France or Austria, but of course it costs me 5 times more!

Sabian, I think the answer is to just go there and make up your own mind...it's not a life altering decision that you are trying to make here, just a weekend away.

sabian

Many thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Lot's of useful information. I will defintely be going to both the Sierra Nevada and Andorra. I had looked at that site you linked me to but unfortunately it doesn't have English language.

So 9 blacks and 50 reds, I believe the Sierra Nevada has in total 125 runs, is this true?

Am I right that Andorra has 468KM, I can't believe you haven't been there. I would imagine it is well worth the extra distance as it's right on your door step and better than to go to Alpine resorts that have the same skiiable area but are far farther and more expensive, plus I here that it competes in some ways with Alpine resorts in terms of some of their runs?

The season is Nov-March, I heard that it's late November and goes onto till end of April?

Do you know if the Sierra Nevada is on the same level as Seefeld in Austria. Seefeld is a small town I think about 60KM of skiing. It had hosted the winter olympics back in the 80's. I been there several times and didn't explore the whole area but found it to be more for beginners. But if the Sierra Nevada is better than Seefeld then I think I am in for a treat?

Again sorry for all the questions

I hope you or anyone can answer them please

Many thanks in advance

Veleta

On my map there are 115 pistes in the SN, however that does not include the nursery slopes or the "Dreamland" area so perhaps that explains the difference.

I have been to Andorra before, but that was when I was still living in the UK. Now Andorra for me is an hour's plane journey away. If I am going to go to the effort of getting on a plane then I would rather stay on the plane a bit longer and end up in the Alps which I much prefer.

Yes, the season does go into April but I think the snow quality is a bit risky in April.

I'm afraid I can't compare Seefeld to the SN as I don't know Seefeld. I used to go mostly to Kitzbuhul which I much prefer.

I'm going to try and attach the piste map to this post, I'm not sure if it will work, but here goes.....

sabian

Hi Veleta,

Many thanks again for your excellent reply. Lot's of great information, I will try heading up to the Sierra Nevada and thanks for linking me to the piste map, just checked it out and it looks big and pretty amazing. Thanks again!

Veleta

De nada.