Baqueira-Beret is a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

located in the heart of the Pyrenees, in the

Aran Aran m Places Azerbaijan Villages and municipalities: * Aran, Aghjabadi * Aran, Lerik * Aran, Shaki * Aran, Tovuz * Aran, Yevlakh Iran * Aran, Alborz, a village in Alborz Province * Aran, Nain, a village in Isfahan Province * Aran, K ...

and Àneu Valleys in

Lleida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as ...

, Catalonia, Spain, with the nearest airport located in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, France, approximately two hours' drive by automobile. The

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

extends from in elevation, and due to its reliable snow elevation, the typical ski seaso

starts in November and goes to late April. Baqueira is the largest and most visited winter resort in Spain. Popular amongst the Spanish royal family, royal family and the affluent Spanish and French, ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' asks if Baqueira could be "the world's finest ski resort?".

Resort

Baqueira-Beret is the largest and most visited winter resort in Spain, with of marked

piste A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French

s, of marked

off-piste Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine skiing, which ...

, and of

cross-country ski Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

and of ski area. It is located in the highest part of the Aran Valley (Naut Aran), and Pallars Sobirà (Valls d'Àneu). It has long and wide ski runs, some through trees. It is divided into three different zones, ''Baqueira'', ''Beret'' and ''Bonaigua''. Due to its westerly aspect and position on the northern side of the Pyrenees, and consequent Atlantic climate, the resort of Baqueira-Beret has a good

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

record throughout the winter. In addition, there is more than of vertical drop and an extensive skiable zone. Much of the region of the Aran Valley and Àneu Valley is made up of over 50 small rural populations, each one with stone and wood houses and ancient Romanesque churches. The resort was founded 60 years ago on the initiative of the local authorities in the Aran Valley. A group of people commanded by Jorge Jordana Pozas, Jesús Serra Santamans and Luis Arias (after whom a piste was named after he died in a dramatic accident) founded the ski resort in the municipality of

Naut Aran Naut Aran () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Val d'Aran in Catalonia, Spain. It is the second largest municipality in Catalonia in terms of surface area (225.8 km², behind Tremp), and was created in 1967 by the merger of the mun ...

due to the good snow conditions found there.

Lifts

Almost all of the resort's 35 lifts are modern and of high capacity, and consist of: * 1

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supp ...

. * 20

chair lift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

s of which: 3 six seaters, 6 four seaters, 7 three seaters and 4 two seaters. * 7 conveyor belts and 7 ski lifts.

Pistes

The resort offers 99 pistes of different difficulties: * 6 beginners. * 40 easy. * 37 intermediate. * 15 expert.

Services

The ski resort offers a wide range of services: a ski school, equipment rentals, restaurants and cafeterias on the slopes, medical services, etc. There are also hotels and apartments as well as

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

, heated

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

, and shops. There are also numerous restaurants and bars for apre skiing activities. The main activities are skiing and snowboarding. There are also other activities available such as hiking, rafting, kayaking and climbing. Museums and exhibitions are also available in the villages around the resort. Other activities that can be carried out in Baqueira are fishing and hunting, although they are both regulated.

External links

* * http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/skiresorts/resortintro.aspx/Baqueira-Beret
Guide of Vielha and Baqueira

Tour organization Baqueira Beret
* http://baqueira.costasur.com/en/actividades-...html

References

{{Ski Spain Ski areas and resorts in Spain Ski areas and resorts in Catalonia Val d'Aran Tourism in Spain