A weekend skiing in the Sierra Nevada

It was a long time since I had a long weekend somewhere. Me and my friends decided to go skiing in the Sierra Nevada (which means snow covered mountains in French). It's the name of the mountain range next to Granada, about 20 km. You have to drive there or take a bus to Granada. However if you go for a long weekend like we did, there is a big queue of people waiting for the bus so I would advise you to drive (you do have to pay for the parking). I'm going to try and tell you my weekend as in as much detail as possible so you can imagine what the Sierra is like, what the prices are like and what to do/what not to do...

The journey

We left, like I said, by car from Murcia. We split the costs of the journey (petrol and car insurance) which came to 20 euros maximum per person because there was four of us.

All in all, it took just over 3 hours to get to Sierra. The Sierra Nevada is at the top of Grenada which is another half an hour from the centre of Grenada. We had to divert from original route because a para-glider had got caught in the electric cables. Maybe if that hadn't have happened, we would have arrived sooner. On the way back, we stopped in Grenada but personally, I wouldn't recommend it if you're only stopping for an hour (we only ate there) because you have to park, work out how to get there etc. it is a waste of time. As well, the cost of parking there is very expensive.

Renting an apartment

We rented an apartment in the centre of the village walking distance from the cable cars. It cost 200 euros for one night for a 4 person apartment! So it was very expensive. There was a sofa bed too so could say it was for 6. But the kitchen was tiny, with only 2 hobs and not many utensils. And we were in fact 9 people! And amazingly it was all fine and we didn't get in each others way. And especially because we were couples and 2 slept in a one person bed. There were three small rooms: one very narrow with a double bed and a fridge in the corner, the kitchen and a square room with two bunk beds. And the bathroom which surprisingly wasn't that small.

Like I said we were walking distance to the resort, where the ski lift was. So we were also paying for the location. As well as the price, we also had to take in account the cost of parking and it was located quite far from the centre of the village. Luckily we had negociated this so it could be incldued in the price of the apartment...

It was in a great location anyway, to be able to go straight home for a shower after skiing so quickly was really good. Downstairs, there were lots of bars but the windows were insulated well so we didn't hear much noise from them. But if you're a light sleeper, take ear plugs just in case.

Ski hire and buying a ski pass

We bought the ski passes on the internet 48 hours before we went. If you buy it this far in advance (you can buy it later on but you won't get your card in time to go skiing) you will get a discount of 10 euros. You can buy it from the Sierra Nevada Club website. First you buy a membership card then you pay for the ski pass. It is a little annoying because you have to upload a photo of a specific size and format. So you have to repeat the process a few times before you get it right. But I advise you to do it if you want to save five euros per day of skiing.

Then you have to pick you card up from the office situated at the bottom of the ski lift. There was a ten minute queue when I went. After, you can use the ski lift straight away, it is already activated. It is rechargeable too.

We rented the skis from a little shop for 10 euros. We looked around a little to find the cheapest which was 10 euros for all the equipment. Don't forget to bring your sunglasses, sun cream, gloves, scarf and hat. From the shop, you will get skis, ski poles (essential, even if the guy tells you otherwise! ) and ski boots. I put two pairs of socks on so I wouldn't get sore feet (the guy told me again that it was useless but I didn't agree). You have to leave some form of ID there as a deposit.

On the pistes

If you are staying in the little village at the bottom of the ski stations, it's easy to get to the pistes. You just have to take the ski lift. There are two lines for the ski lifts: one for Borreguiles and one for Al-Andalus. The Borreguiles line is busier but you can sit down on this lift. Coming down from Borreguiles there isn't as many people so it's better if you choose this one. Going up the mountain, there are rush hours between 9 and 10. 30 in the morning. So try to get there earlier so you can make the most of the day and not have to queue. You can see a plan of the resort on this website.

Once you get to the top of Borreguiles, there are lots of pistes around you. The green ones are on the right and the more difficult on the left (the blues and the reds). If you are a beginner like me, I advise you to start on the 'tobos' (the tubes) on the far left. You can ride a tube or two of you can (the other is behind) and make the mini-descent and learn to turn and how to slow down (facing your skis inward and bending the knees). It is also there where you have your first lessons from an instructor. Then you can use the second piste, from the Emile Allais chair lift, or the one on the right but I have forgotten the name. If you take the Emile Allais lift, you have to head left and walk a bit (removing your skis). If you take the other, you go straight ahead and it is on your right. The first descent is a bit steep for beginners but if the weather conditions are good, you will get down without any problems. The worry is the length of the queues!

For those who have been before or skiers of an intermediate level, you can take the ski left on the left from Emile Allais, Veletta II (Velette I takes you to another green) and then after Veletta. There is also the 'Stadium' piste which is more difficult and more to the left. Some advice is that if there are a lot of people, go down the 'Rio'(frozen river). It goes from the Borreguiles station to the bottom. Then if it still isn't the rush hour, you can quickly go back up and there are still only a few people on the slopes. It's really great for those who haven't been skiing before.

The second day, there were a lot of people on the slopes. So we chose some random slopes to ski down which weren't very well sign-posted, they were called 'Jara'. To get there, you don't take the Borraguiles ski lift. You go left, past the Al andalous piste and go towards the left of the village. There, there are more ski lifts to take. It is a green/blue piste. I did it twice. The blue part was a little scary but once I had been down it once, I got used to it. There are a lot less people on the top and the snow there was much better when I was there because you are less high-up so it is less icy when it is nice weather and less foggy when it is bad. It joins the 'Rio' then finishes towards the left at the bottom.

Hiking routes

It is also possible to not ski but just go walking. It's quite simply magnificent and it is really worth going to the Sierra Nevada if not just only for the views and landscape.

I would advise you if at a push, you're just going there for the hiking, to rent a room in Grenada and take a bus to Sierra. The only negative is that there didn't seem many buses to me and they were small. So there could be a big queue to go back to Grenada in the evening and you could be waiting for a while.

Leaving Jara, just below there is a path which goes towards the 'Monte Bajo' café. It is a very beautiful there and you can climb up the mountain that way. It is equally possible to walk to Borraguiles. There is an ice rink too, next to the 'Monte Bajo' café. The view is fantastic, it's nice to have a coffee there too which is served in plastic cups. XD

To finish...

I hope this information will help you to get to know the resort, and that you have a great stay at Sierra Nevada!

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