March 6, 2020
One of the benefits of staying in a mountainous micro-state is the easy access to great ski slopes. We decided that it would also be a good opportunity for Heather to learn how to ski for the very first time. But first, brunch!
After a delicious meal and V60 coffee from The Orange Goat Cafe, we loaded up the car and began the windy drive up to Ordino Arcalís. We passed beautiful mountain scenery and it even began to snow as we approached the summit.
Since we had reserved our lift ticket and gear rental ahead of time, we breezed through check-in procedures (minus converting to metric weight and shoe sizes). Heather was a bit apprehensive of skiing at first, but within a few minutes we hopped on the main ski lift to hitch a ride all the way up the mountain to Les Portelles, at 8,300 feet elevation. Slope map for reference below:
Since this was Heather's first time skiing, we took the beginner route, La Megaverda, all the way down the mountain. Even though it took over 2 hours and many falls, by the end of the run, Heather was able to confidently ski down the steeper slopes and turns on La Megaverda.
While Heather recuperated from the run, I decided to hit some of the steeper slopes - La Coma, El Mur, and La Canaleta. At the top, I realized the wind and heavy snow would make this run a bit more challenging. 10 minutes on the this run was more than enough time to exhaust myself speeding down the mountain. After a quick break, I tried a different lift and came down La Font and L'Hortell. Heather was waiting at the bottom with some snapped photos and a hug.
With the storm picking up, we returned our gear and drove down the mountain back to town. We passed a cool looking stone bridge on the way as well.
Since it was Friday evening, we decided to spice things up with some wine and fondue! We slept well that night.
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