Taking advantage of the chance to stock up on posh make-up at the airport, I hand over my boarding card to the cashier in the duty-free shop at Gatwick. “Huh?” says the guy, pointing at the destination of my flight. “Where's that then?”
You've be forgiven for not having heard of Huesca. But it's a place you might want to take note of as it's the gateway to one of Europe's best-kept snow secrets – the Spanish resort of Formigal.
If you get a map and look at the French/Spanish border you'll find Formigal halfway along the border, in the Pyrenees. It's a sympathetically developed resort town with some pretty stone and wood hotels. Its focal point is an 11th century church which was dismantled and moved from its home in an abandoned village and rebuilt in Formigal.
Huesca is about an hour and a half down the valley and its shiny new airport, complete with one (count em!) luggage belt, is an easy way to access the resort.
Formigal has 137 km of runs (to compare with other resorts - Flaine has140 km, Mayrhofen has 157 km and Pas de la Casa in Andorra has 193 km). There are 97 runs in total including seven green, 18 blue, 33 red, 23 black and 20 freeride runs. It's not as big as some of the Alpine mega zones which link up several resorts but there's a fair amount of terrain – and this season it's had a bumper covering of snow – with the base sitting at 220cm in some areas in early February.
The ski area is developed around four base stations and the French border is just a couple of hundred metres beyond the base furthest from town (although you can't actually ride into France). The largest base - the Sextas area - has a rental shop, ski school, medical centre, lift pass shop, cafeteria, restaurant, coffee shop and a cute new apres bar – the Marchica – which just opened this season.
The Anayet base is an impressive set-up too – with childcare facilities, a cafe, the longest magic carpet in Europe and a fabulous bar serving a great selection of wines (starting at just 11 euros a bottle) and gorgeous traditional tapas. Of course if you want to get busy with the drinks, you can catch a bus back to town as all the bases are accessible by road.
Formigal has been around since the 60s but in the last four years it had more than 100 million euros spent on it – and it shows. It's slickly branded and the restaurants/ticket offices are slick, modern and clean. Looking at the chairlifts, I only saw one that wasn't uber new and shiny – the rest are new, large, fast people movers. On saying that they weren't particularly challenged on our visit – it was very, very quiet.
Formigal is primarily a weekend resort. It's massively popular with Spaniards who live within a few hours drive – and this is evident from the steady stream of cars pouring down the mountain towards nearby cities on Sunday evening as we climb towards the resort. There are also day trippers who take the 'white bus' from the city of Zaragoza but they're out of town by 5pm every day.
As a result Formigal is a pretty relaxed and mellow place during the week – perfect for skiers and snowboarders keen to escape the queues and ski-school snakes and enjoy uncrowded, well maintained pistes.
Given its focus on Spanish clientelle, English isn't seen as an essential language for all menus, signs etc but you'll be able to get by – just don't expect everyone you meet to be fluent. There are some instructors at the ski school and child care facilities who speak English. The locals really seem to appreciate any effort you can make to speak their language – so check out our guide to the most important words to know in a Spanish resort!
We spent a couple of day with the local English rep Al – who looks after visitors who have come on package deals with the UK operators.
We spent the morning riding across the resort to the furthest away base station at Portalet. There's barely a soul on the blue runs and when we get to the base station there's just us and a group of soldiers on rescue practice. The car park is virtually empty too – apart from a family who are unloading sledges from their car to take their toddlers out on the tobogganing area.
The terrain is rolling and the pistes generally wide and clean but it does get a little flat in parts. But there's not much you can't get over without a bit of straight-lining apart from one cat track which requires little walking (or a pull from a friendly skier).
The red runs are equally nice – in fact not a lot steeper than the blues - and are equally quiet and great for hooning
along. There's not a patch of ice in sight – in fact the snow was so deep in one place, when Al stopped to show us where we were on a piste map, we found the map buried almost to the top in snow.
There's also a fair amount of steeper stuff – the resort is hosting one of the FIS's downhill contests this winter. There are also several unpisted freeride areas which are within bounds. These are classed as black diamond and double black diamond and can be reached by a short hike or by following a rope tow on the back of a piste basher. You can also use the piste basher/ rat track to reach a red run. We watched a multiple pile up of snowboarders fall off the end of the rope. A little tricky but worth it!
Our second day was pretty windy and the lightly falling snow was deceptive – by lunchtime a tasty stash of powder had built up just off the side of a few very accessible and easy runs – a perfect fluffy playground with not a soul to play in it apart from us. Heaven.
We stopped for a breather in one of the cute mountain hideaways sprinkled all over the mountain. This one is an igloo (unfortunately not snow) with seats covered in warm sheepskins and a fine line in mulled wine.You could also pick up a plate of sushi and two glasses of champagne for 20 euros if you were feeling flush and fancy!
There are cafeterias at all the base stations serving both fast food and proper Spanish cuisine. Drinks and food on the mountain do seem to be cheaper than at other resorts. A bottle of water is about 1 euro 60, a Coke 2 euros 30 and there are some good meal deals available. A main course (something like paella, roast chicken or a made to order stir fry), bread and a drink is about 9 euros. You can also get a three course version for about 15 euros. It makes sense to fuel up at lunch time as, being Spain, dinner isn't usually served in the restaurants until 8pm and you might find yourself famished when you're done for the day..
There's one properly set up terrain park which has a couple of blue and red kickers. There's also a selection of good quality boxes and rails. Early in February it hosted the Quiksilver and Roxy Radar contest – part of a series to find the next generation of freestyle talent. There's also a boardercross course (although this wasn't open when we visited).
It's probably not a resort for riders looking for a week of epic, hardcore extreme action but if you like to mix up a bit of piste, freeride and freestyle action, there'll be plenty to keep you occupied in Formigal.
A trip to the Pyrenees is also a chance to add a new snow destination to your repertoire, enjoy some great snow conditions and relax at the end of the day with some great tapas and Spanish hospitality.
CHILD CARE
Spain is a very family and child-friendly country. Most hotels have a children's playroom and junior menus at dinner. There are also several kinds of childcare available during the day. There's a creche in the town which takes children from just four months. On the mountain, you can take your children to the Snow Garden for full or half days. Children aged two and a half and up are taken – but they must be out of nappies. The centre has a lovely indoor play area and an outdoor area where the children can get used to the feel of skis and ski boots (but formal lessons are not included). The resort's ski school takes children aged four and over.
APRES ACTION
Spain is well-known for its cosy, friendly bars and Formigal is no exception. We visited a couple of great bars – including the Five Elks. We also found the apres cheaper than other European countries. A gin and tonic will set you back about 5 or 6 euros – but being Spanish measures, they'll freepour a whopping great Bombay Sapphire which comes in a massive wine glass and will last you several hours. A beer is a couple of euros and a glass of wine about the same. The bars and bar/clubs are open late – so beware if you're looking to make first lift!
ACCOMMODATION
Where Formigal differs from other European resorts is in the style of accommodation. There are few chalets - it's mainly hotels which are usually packaged up as part of a deal which includes half board. We checked out all the hotels available as part of package deals.
The Aragon Hills Hotel is a swish modern hotel with a lovely warm bar area with panoramic views. Breakfast and dinner here are grand buffets and there's a proper spa (but it costs extra to use).
The Nieve Sol is part of a Spanish chain but is wonderfully rustic and run by the warmest, friendliest woman who seems more like the hotel mother than a manager! It's popular with families and has free supervised child activities every day during the week from 5 to 8. If your kids are over 6 you can leave them here while you go relax or if they're younger you're welcome to take them along and join in if you stick around.
We were also impressed with the indoor and outdoor pools at the Salliecho and the classic style and antiques in the public areas of the Abba hotel – the oldest hotel in the resort.
GETTING AROUND
Getting around is pretty easy – the hotels are all within an easy walk of the central area of bars, restaurants and shops (although the Melia is a little further up the hill than most). There's a free shuttle bus service that starts in town and visits the four base stations. However the hotels all offer a shuttle bus service which operates for a couple of hours in the morning and evening to get you to and from the slopes. These buses usually only have about eight seats but it's a short run to the slopes so you won't have to wait long if the driver has to come back to get you.
HOW TO BOOK
Thomson have a weekly flight from Gatwick to Huesca every Sunday. It leaves Gatwick at 15.55. The return flight leaves Huesca at 19.55 so you most of Sunday in the resort too.
Crystal, Neilson, Thomson, Igluski.com, Ifyouski.com, Ski World, Ski Tracer, Zenith Holidays and J2Ski.com. Flights to Formigal from London Gatwick can be booked through Satellite Travel.
Crystal has packages including seven nights half board and flights. They're also offering two for one lift passes – working out at a mere £147 for two passes (if you bought a six-day locally you'd pay 174 euros. More info at
www.crystalski.co.uk
If you're on a tight schedule Ryanair also fly to Zaragoza, two hours from Formigal. You'll need to hire a car to get to the resort though if you take this route.
Essential words for snow trips to Spain
Please – por favor
Thank you – gracias
Avalanche – avalancha
Beginner – principiante
Powder – polvo
Wax – cera
Screwdriver - destornillador
Mulled wine - vino caliente
Beer – cerveza
French fries - patatas fritas
Swimming pool - piscina
March 8, 2010 - 08:24
Hey Lucie, Ian here from the fam trip. Great article! Really enjoyed Formigal, and from what I gather, it's a little underrated. It's clearly a winner for parents, and the apres is good value too. Those G&T's are HUGE!
February 14, 2010 - 20:47
Looks A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Lucie! =)