Formigal eases the biggest pain in skiing!

Agreed, Wetherspoons are usually v cheap. Just not particularly nice.

£425 is what I paid for a weeks catered chalet in St Anton. I havent paid more than £300 for a week half board anywhere before.

A couple of things got me looking into Formigal, one being the ski show, and the good brochure they have produced for the resort. The other was this years tour op brochures which include it.
Looking back £425 HB looks a good price, as cheapest in this years brochure that week is £605 and it doesnt look the best!
Looks a really interesting ski area though. Anyone else been here?

Tony_H wrote:Looks a really interesting ski area though. Anyone else been here?

Yes - had a long weekend there two years ago.

It makes for quite a different skiing experience if you're used to The Alps. The half dozen resorts that make up the Aramon group have had huge investment over the past few years, so the lift infrastructure, facilities and roads are all very modern and efficient.

Formigal is not a huge ski area but it's well connected and there's a good variety of runs. IIRC the piste layout has been planned so you can get everywhere on Blue runs - i.e. there's an easy alternative to every route, so it works well for mixed groups and families. Some of said Blues are a little narrow in parts but the pistes are generally a good width.

We lucked out with the snow on our trip so the off-piste was no fun - although there looks to be a lot of easily accessible terrain that would be superb when fresh. There's a dedicated freeride area with indicated routes but no pisting. Snow record is pretty good and last season was epic with Formigal reaching 4m depths I think.

Also had a day in Panticosa which is nearby; again with some great runs and interesting terrain. The pic on my avatar was taken there (thanks Jon!).

The quality of the food and accommodation was very good, and much better value than the Alps (especially drinks). Formigal itself lacks a little character due to the overwhelmingly modern development but it's not ugly. Panticosa is more traditional and varied.

We flew RyanAir Stansted to Zaragoza (99p for the flight, £10,000 for optional air on-board, etc.) which is around a 2.5 hour transfer, though now you can fly to Huesca which is 90 minutes.

That was all part of the experience; flying in over parched, almost desert, landscape around Zaragoza. Off the plane in sweltering heat made quite a contrast to the usual late-night arrival in a Geneva snow storm! :D

I'd like to go back when they have better snow (which is most of the time I think!). Overall I'd rate it pretty highly for families; freeriders and mile-munchers (in red salos) will need good snow to avoid running out of piste in a week. 8)

Admin wrote: Overall I'd rate it pretty highly for families; freeriders and mile-munchers (in red salos) will need good snow to avoid running out of piste in a week. 8)

Hmmmmm

Tony_H wrote:

Admin wrote: Overall I'd rate it pretty highly for families; freeriders and mile-munchers (in red salos) will need good snow to avoid running out of piste in a week. 8)

Hmmmmm

He can't be talking about you, shirley :lol:

bandit wrote:

Tony_H wrote:

Admin wrote: Overall I'd rate it pretty highly for families; freeriders and mile-munchers (in red salos) will need good snow to avoid running out of piste in a week. 8)

Hmmmmm

He can't be talking about you, shirley :lol:

You line em up, I'll knock em down.


DONT CALL ME SHIRLEY.

Formigal has rattled the 'locals' with the announcement this week that UK skiers can buy lift passes at 2 x 1 prices for the remainder of the season from their TO's. The comments posted on nevasport.com are along the lines that Formigal is trying to become the Benidorm of the Pyrenees, or that the promotion is 'discriminatory'. All a bit OTT, but I wonder how many Brits would be swayed or tempted, at this point in the season, to ski in Formigal by this offer?

bandit wrote:

Tony_H wrote:

Admin wrote: Overall I'd rate it pretty highly for families; freeriders and mile-munchers (in red salos) will need good snow to avoid running out of piste in a week. 8)

Hmmmmm

He can't be talking about you, shirley :lol:

Not now I've got me nice new blue ones innit :wink: