Last week I attended an instructor’s refresher course in the nearby resort of Soldeu. This course was both enjoyable and informative. When the course finished, we like many other skiers, decided to go for an “après ski” beer. We went into the Aspen Bar, an ordinary bar but very conveniently situated in the main street. I was shocked to be charged €6 for two bottles of local beer. Back in Arinsal you would have been charged €2-50 for the same round in the Palarine during après ski. Two pints of the same beer on draught would have cost you €3 in Cisco’s and there, they would have offered you free nachos. Soldeu has an extensive ski area and is a much larger village. Many people have said that it is not as friendly as Arinsal. Now I have decided that it is also a lot more expensive.

Enough of me complaining about the price of beer in Soldeu, let me tell you about the great spring skiing that we have been enjoying in Arinsal. The past week has been very warm and sunny. This means that the snow is very slushy by the late afternoon but we have enjoyed great skiing in the mornings and higher up the mountain during the lunch time. We had a fresh fall of snow on the 1st of April and it was a lot colder, so the skiing was great for the whole day. We have very few British skiers in the resort but quite a few Spanish enjoying the Easter holidays.

Next week is the last of the season, and then it is back to England for the summer. I am always sad at the end of the season but I am looking forward to seeing my family again.