Skiers on a ski lift in Andorra, the Pyrenees in background, Pas de la Casa ski resort
INTRODUCTION Pas de la Casa has been a spectacular success over the 50 years since it was first envisaged and a drag lift installed by the high border crossing with France. The combination of skiing at a snowsure altitude and duty-free shopping rapidly proved popular and Pas de la Casa was soon installing a new lift virtually every year and expanding further into Andorra. By 2000 its ski area had come up against that of rival Soldeu, also expanding, and a tense stand-off ensued with both areas building parallel high-speed six-seater chairlifts a few hundred metres apart along their borders, but refusing to allow ticket holders for one to ride the other (or more often, not bothering to tell them until it was too late then billing them for a full day's lift ). All that changed in 2004 when the former rivals merged to form the giant Grandvalira area, the largest in the Pyrenees, with nearly 200km (125 miles) of piste linked by a state-of-the-art high-speed lift network, which now extends over into France. Today Pas de la Casa is officially just another part of Grandvalira and, despite a gradual move upmarket, it maintains its strong independent identity and reputation as a base for hardcore snow fans and après skiers. MOUNTAIN FACTS Resort elevation: 1,710m (5,610ft). Top elevation: 2,640m (8,661ft). Base elevation: 1,710m (5,610ft). Number of lifts: 64. Number of runs: 110. Average annual snowfall: ().WHERE IN THE WORLD? Pas de la Casa is part of the Grandvalira ski resort which takes up much of the northeastern half of the small principality of Andorra. Andorra is sandwiched between Spain to the west and France to the east in the Pyrenean mountains and is about 160km (100 miles) north of the Mediterranean Sea. HIT THE SLOPES The season typically runs from mid December until mid April. Pas de la Casa has an excellent, English-speaking ski school and wide, sunny slopes on which to learn, so it's a good choice for beginners.
Size: 5146px × 3417px
Location: Andorra
Photo credit: © Zuzana Dolezalova / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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