Judith's blog

We went skiing today at La Molina. The forecast was for variable cloud, so we didn’t know what to expect. It was dreary and grey as we left home, but we climbed above the cloud as we went over the pass towards St Joan de les Abadesses. As we got closer to La Molina we could see, hear and feel the wind. It was going to be a cold day…

On arrival, I supplemented my five layers of clothing with another three and waddled up to the ski lift looking like the Michelin Man in black. The highest lifts were all closed due to the wind, but it was rather nippy up there anyway, so we elected to ski the bottom half of the resort.

Geoff’s new skis have made a massive difference. He’s a different skier. We did the big black run before our first cup of coffee, he was so confident on the Dynarods (as he calls them – Dynastar, really!). On any flattish bits he was sailing past me shouting  ‘My skis are faster than yours!’. He must like them… he wouldn’t let me have a go on them at all.

So it started off sunny, but soon big wave bars started to appear. One spread into a sort of lentistratus and blocked out the sun. The temperatures dipped immediately. The other issue was that you can read the snow well when it’s just shade, but the clouds made this really weird light which made the snow look really uniform and flat. The snow quality was excellent, but it was harder to ski than usual because of the light and the wind made your eyes water too. Still, lots of fun and nice to be out after so many days stuck at home.

See photos of today.

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Glorious day, so we went skiing at La Molina. We stopped off at the Snow & Mountain shop on the way for Geoff to pick up some new skis to try. We had completely forgotten that there is the female slalom world cup on at La Molina this weekend and a few of the pistes were blocked off both for the racing and the spectator stands.

It was windier than we expected, but by lunchtime the cable car to the top of the mountain was open. I loved Geoff’s try-out skis (Dynastar Contacts, or Dynarod, as Geoff calls them). We both tested them and they turn beautifully. I was trying to persuade him to let me have them and he can have my skis, but he wouldn’t part with them. We handed over the cash on the way home.

See photos of today.

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Another fab skiing day. We drove up to Masella through various layers of cloud. Wayne assured us that the cloud would break and the sun would shine, but I was a bit dubious. We skied in cloud for a few runs, not being able to see much, but then the sun did come out and it was glorious – warm out of the wind, fantastic views and great snow. Everything skiing should be about. We had a brilliant day, exploring more of the resort, going down runs we had never skied before and racing each other down the pistes. Apres-ski beers on the way home as usual and off for big nosh-up and boozing tonight.

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We got up early to make the most of the skiing. We drove up to Masella and got Wayne and Michaela kitted up and then it was off into the white stuff. The forecast was for cloudy weather and it was cold!

Both Wayne and Michaela are skiing better than ever before, so we went up to the higher red slopes and due to there being more snow than in previous years we managed to ski lots of pistes Geoff and I have never skied on. The snow was great, really fantastic skiing conditions. We had lunch outdoors and skied until the lifts closed down.

We stopped off for a beer on the way home and then went to the restaurant opposite the house for steak and wine (although I didn’t come along due to a horrible headache).

See photos of today.

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First skiing day of the season! Yipee!

We collected our season tickets for La Molina and headed out to the pistes. The cable car was closed due to high winds and it was bitterly cold on the higher runs, but if you stayed half way up the mountain it was quite pleasant. The sun was shining all day and it was warm, once you got out of the wind. We even had our lunch sitting outside.

Geoff made me promise faithfully that I wouldn’t ski like a maniac, as it would be a bit ironic if my first day of the season would also be my last. I did take it easy for a while, but was pleased to see that by the end of the day I felt like I have started where I left off and the snow quality was so good that I did zoom down the last run without delaying myself by turning (much). I’d forgotten what a buzz it is!

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Our last day of skiing for this season.

When we got there they had slightly over-groomed the pistes and the snow was hard and icy. Once the sun got on the snow it fluffed up and was excellent quality. The place was deserted and we had most of the runs to ourselves.

There was plenty of snow and the sun was shining. Really nice day.

See video of Judith skiing today.

See video of Geoff skiing today.

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We went skiing at Masella. The forecast was for perfect skiing weather – sunshine and clouds. It was overcast from the word go and on the lift up for our first run it started snowing. Once we got back down the mountain it was back to the car for waterproofs and bigger sun glasses to keep the snow out of our eyes.

As we skied the snow got thicker, the cloud came down and visibility became worse and worse. It was cold and wet and it all came as a bit of a shock to us, being wimpy fair weather skiers. Snow was good though! We really enjoyed the skiing.

We went up to the top runs but cloud and steamed up glasses made me loose my way and I ended up skiing into a snow drift and getting my skis stuck – much to Geoff’s amusement.

When we left it was still snowing hard, although it was warm and sunny in La Garrotxa. Hopefully it will keep till next week, although forecast is for warm weather for the weekend.

See photos of today.

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