I'VE always liked the thought of skiing: racing down the piste by day before relaxing in a bar at the bottom of the slopes sampling the famous apres-ski by night.
So when I was offered the opportunity to do just that in Andorra, a country of which my knowledge was limited to Peter Crouch and Co defeating its football team 5-0 in England's Euro 2008 qualifier last September, I jumped at the chance.
There did, however, appear to be two major obstacles to me having a successful trip when I arrived in the tiny principality nestled in between France and Spain in the heart of the Pyrenees: An inability to ski and, more significantly, a lack of snow.
advertisement
And, while my skills on the slopes improved as the week progressed, albeit slowly, there continued to be a complete shortage of the white stuff which, you don't need to be an expert to realise, can make life difficult.
The season had been one of the worst on record in terms of snow fall across Europe, leaving thousands of skiers in the hands of the snow gods and there was no shortage of head-scratching going on during my stay.
Although to say there was no snow is unfair, because there was plenty of the fake stuff. All the resorts have canons which produce artificial snow and, for the first-time skier, it serves the same purpose.
Enthusiasts consider the man-made substitute to be vastly inferior but that didn't really matter to me. I was having enough trouble staying upright to worry too much about whether what was under my feet was real or not.
Having never skied before, apart from the obligatory trip to Ski Rossendable as a child, I was starting afresh. Fortunately, our group of five were assigned two ski instructors, so there was plenty of individual tuition, which I would definitely recommend if you are a beginner like I was.
The price of one-to-one tuition is obviously more than ski school, which will often consist of 15-20 people, but the advantages far outweigh the costs and I really benefited from the closer attention the instructors were able to give.
Our time in Andorra was split between the popular Soldeu and the more easy-going La Massana and, as a result, I came under the expert tutelage of two instructors, Prisha, a young Andorran student, and Bethol, one of the many British ex-pats who had settled in the mountains.
Both were superb and very helpful but there was something all together more authentic about being taught by a local than someone from Barnsley.
By the end of the week I was making real progress and, as my confidence grew, which is the real secret to skiing, I was cursing all those years I had thought about going but never actually got round to it.
If, like me, you have considered taking to the slopes then Andorra - snow permitting - is an excellent destination for a beginner, as well as the more experienced skier.
What makes it so attractive though is undoubtedly the price. It's a much more affordable choice than the upmarket resorts of France and Austria, not least because of its duty-free status which makes shopping unbelievably cheap, whether it be for retail goods or the essentials like cigarettes and alcohol.
And there are no shortage of things to do even if the snow is in short supply with numerous other activities available to keep you amused from snowmobiles to dog-sleigh rides to relaxing in one of the many thermal spas on offer, the most impressive of which, Caldea, rises up out of the capital of Andorra La Vella like a gigantic space ship, though it's doubtful if Buck Rogers ever wallowed in a bath full of grapefruits to improve his sense of well-being.
With plenty of luxury hotels (the new five-star Hotel Hermitage where we stayed was fantastic), excellent restaurants and a lively nightlife, particularly in Soldeu, where there are no shortage of fun-loving ski reps to keep you amused and help ensure you wake up with a hangover of colossal proportions . . . if you so wish, this is an excellent place to stay.
Indeed the only negative (with the exception of the four-hour transfer from Toulouse airport which makes travelling a day-long chore) was the lack of snow but, even despite this obvious setback, I thoroughly enjoyed my first time on the slopes and, with snow now coming down in bucketloads, I'm eager to return.
Liam Chronnell travelled to Andorra with leading online ski tour operator, Directski.com which offers departures from Manchester to Andorra, France, Austria and the USA.
For more information visit www.directski.com or call 0870 600 1579.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
