Mountain Layout—Skiing

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Closest to the capital city of Andorra la Vella is the enclave of Canillo that provides the name for the main valley. Canillo is being developed for individual tourism and has established a club concept that limits the number of skiers on their section of the mountain. A massive and modern base lodge/gondola station is the portal for this section of the resort. The slopes of Canillo also can be reached from the main Soldeu-El Tarter ski area via a drag lift. Canillo has newly cut swooping trails slicing through thick forests and provides an excellent place to ski when visibility is poor. The trails offer something for everyone and were designed by the same resort architects who have created many of the trails in Courchevel, France. Here at Canillo there is also a dedicated ski school with a magic carpet and individualized instruction.

After the village of Canillo the road winds upward to El Tarter, which together with the next town up valley, Soldeu, anchor the main ski area. El Tarter is filled mainly with Spanish visitors and has two chairlifts and one gondola taking skiers above treeline to the Pla Riba Escorxada hub. From this hub, lifts rise to Cap de Clots. From Cap de Clots a snowcat (included in the lift ticket price) takes skiers to off-piste adventures down ungroomed vertical. Also from Cap de Clots a drag lift links El Tarter with Canillo. One new six-seater chairlift brings skiers from the Riba Escorxada hub to the top of the resort at 8,398 feet where the entire Soldeu El Tarter area spreads beneath the summit.

Soldeu is the main group tourist town and is invaded by British skiers during much of the season. From January through March there is a better chance of hearing English spoken than Spanish, French or Catalan. Gondolas depart directly from the rear of hotel and apartment complexes and other older chairlifts rise as well to Pla dels Espiolets that serves as the hub of the Soldeu section. From Pla dels Espiolets several high-speed chairlifts take skiers to an elevation of more than 9,186 feet and serve almost 850 meters of vertical drop in virtually any direction. The fields of snow are dramatic when viewed from the peak of Alt del Griu.

At the French extreme of this region lies the town of Pas de la Casa with its linked lift hub of Grau Roig. The Pas de la Casa/Grau Roig area has a total of 100 km. of terrain and is linked by a gondola from the village of Encamp. Despite the fact that Pas de la Casa/Grau Roig and Soldeu El Tarter are adjacent and seemingly have interconnected lifts that would make transfer between Pas de la Casa/Grau Roig and Soldeu El Tarter relatively easy, they are separate areas that require separate lift tickets. Before you plop yourself on a lift, check to make sure your lift ticket is valid for the area.

Mountain rating
Grandvalira has a bit of something for every skier or boarder. Beginners have an excellent learning area near the main restaurants with a long looping trail back to the base area that can be negotiated with difficulty because of zigzagging skiers barreling down the same trails. A safer bet may be to download on the gondola. In Canillo, return to the base area is via gondola for most skiers.

Intermediates have the entire mountain. There are only a few off-piste areas where they can get into trouble, and most intermediates won’t venture that far off the trails. Experts can push themselves as far as they want to go.

In an area this large, any expert worth his or her salt can find challenges. Next to the lift connecting Soldeu with Canillo there is a free snowcat that carries off advanced and expert skiers and boarders for excellent off-piste adventures dropping down from Pic d’Encampandana to Pla Riba Escorxada above El Tarter.