Pyrenees in December?

[Karenfrances]

Hello everyone -- I am belatedly figuring out our Christmas holiday plans. Back story is we used to always visit my father in the Sierra foothills and ski at Sugar Bowl and/or Northstar. But he passed away a couple of years ago and of course there was the pandemic, so we are still figuring out a new tradition. We have no where we really need to be for Christmas and last year we skied in the Dolomites (Tofana/Alta Badia/Faloria) the week before Christmas, which was a terrific experience. We also got very lucky with snow, as in there was enough of it, which I think was not the case for other parts of Europe for much of last winter.

I had been loosely planning on Colorado for this year, but then started thinking about returning to Europe, and the teenager is much more enthusiastic about Europe than the Rockies. I would happily go back to Italy but was also contemplating Spain (my daughter has a host family we would visit if we extend the trip a bit). Does anybody know what early season snow is like in the Pyrenees? Are there resorts that would be better (or worse?) for Christmas? We would likely fly into Barcelona (rather than Toulouse) to facilitate visiting the host family, who are in Valencia.

Many thanks!

 

[santacruz skier]

Paging @SkiGAP

 

[Chuyi]

It depends on the winter. There may not be enough snow. I have only been in Andorra at GranValira & French side (Peyragues+Piau). Gran-Valira is very large & mostly flat. Andorra is VAT free so lots of shopping but they charge for parking. If u r flying into Barcelona (one of my favorite cities) I would advise staying there. Lots to do in Barcelona & if u go north on the coast don't miss Figueres.

 

[BReeves215]

My daughter has spent the last several months in SW France and hiked in the Pyrenees with a local family. They pointed out various ski areas to her, and she reported the areas she saw were very small. There may be larger ones but she was underwhelmed. On the other hand, dining and scenic beauty were fantastic. I’ve never skied Spain but highly agree with visiting the Costa Brava villages if in the area.

 

[Chuyi]

My daughter has spent the last several months in SW France and hiked in the Pyrenees with a local family. They pointed out various ski areas to her, and she reported the areas she saw were very small. There may be larger ones but she was underwhelmed. On the other hand, dining and scenic beauty were fantastic. I’ve never skied Spain but highly agree with visiting the Costa Brava villages if in the area.

Small is relative not as big as Vail or park city. Peyragudes is composed of 2 mountains (19 lifts) u have 2 take a bus to the other side if u r on the wrong side when the resort closes. it's famous because the Tour de France usually includes the climb of Col du Peyragudes. GranValira is even bigger u can enter through one town in Andorra & exit in another small town.

 

[Karenfrances]

I was eyeing Baqueira-Beret and Grandvalira (while in Andorra, even closer to Barcelona than Baqueira), both of which look plenty big! Still worried about snow, though, and we need to make a decision before logistics like housing and flights become even more expensive and hard-to-find. Returning to Italy is also on the table .... Thank you all for your input!