Sierra Nevada 2006

“I want to see lots of snow!” said my sis-in-law. And because of that, we dragged ourselves out of our comfy beds at 3.00am to catch the 7.00am flight to Granada from Stanstead. It was February school holidays and ski trips to the more famous ski resorts in France and Austria were shockingly expensive. However, we discovered Sierra Nevada, the southernmost ski resort in the West Europe.

It was another early start the next day as we caught the snow bus from Granada bus terminus to Sierra Nevada. Somehow, it reminded me of catching Express Rakyat service to Malaysia. The terminus was already buzzing at that early hour with Spanish waiters busy serving hungry commuters, us included. As recommended by the guidebook, I ordered churros con chocolate and for the princely sum of 1.60 euros, we got a huge plate of fried donut strips sprinkled with sugar and a cup of the thickest hot chocolate I’ve ever seen.

The hour-long bus trip up to Sierra Nevada was hair-raising. I was so relieved that we did not opt to go by car as initially planned. I don’t think M can hold his nerve driving while staring down at the deep valleys and negotiating those hairpin bends. Before long, the landscape started to look like Narnia – white blanket of snow on the ground and icicles dripping from fir trees.









The ski resort, Pradollano, was 2100 above sea level. Colourful concrete buildings housing ski apartment and five-star hotels hugged the mountain side while the centre are choc-a-bloc with ski rental shops and cafés. After settling the little one at the crèche, the boys and sis-in-law headed to the Taquilles to get their lift pass and then off to get snowboards and boots.




Queues for the Borreguiles gondola were snaking round the block but thankfully, it was rapid. The ride up was awesome – we saw skiers and snowboarders coming skilfully down the slope, passed what looked like a grandstand perhaps for when Sierra Nevada staged the 1996 World Ski Championships, before we get off at Borreguiles which is an additional 700m above sea level.

The snow was blinding. We are officially above the tree-line and 2800m above sea-level. If Westin Stamford is above 226m tall, we are about 12x the height of that hotel. The clouds looked very close indeed. Not far is the chair lift to the Veleta peak which at 3100m high is one of the highest peaks in Spain. So high is that peak that on a clear day, you can look out and see the sea and the Atlas mountains in Morrocco from there. My all-time favourite photo of Granada is of skiers on a chair lift with the clouds underneath their feet.

While the boys and sis-in-law were having their snowboard lessons, I was people-watching. It was certainly a busy resort with many novice skiers taking lessons. I will never forget seeing groups of small children (about 3 – 5 years old) in their snowsuits and bibs, carrying their tiny skis. With their skis on, they followed their instructors in a single file with their arms outstretched at their sides like colourful little birds.

Lunch was a quick bite of tortilla bocadillo – Spanish omelette sandwich between fresh baguette. After a few more hours skidding and sliding on the snow, they called it a day. *Tak tahan jatuh lah bob..somemore at that altitude, cepat penat. Anyway, they all happy to posing with snowboard. Hehehe..*


We fetched the little one from the crèche and as promised, tried to build a snowman. The snow was too fresh and loose that it was hard to compact them to the requisite snowman shape. However, she was happy with a small one. She had more fun sliding down the banks of snow and shaking the fir trees so that the snow rained down.

The clouds descended lower and before long it started to snow really hard. We retreated to the Telecabina restaurant for more churros and hot chocolate while waiting for the bus back. It was a huge scramble for the last bus back to Granada. Snow fell down hard that visibility was really poor. The bus had to inch itself down the mountain behind a huge jam. It was a three hour journey back down to Granada instead of the usual one. As for me, I was too tired and was fast asleep in the bus until we reached Granada

Practical Tips for Sierra Nevada

Transport - it is a straightforward drive up to Sierra Nevada but if you don't fancy tackling the hairpin bends, take the bus instead. The bus leaves from the Granada Bus Terminal - it is best to check times beforehand (both to and from Sierra Nevada) since there are only a few trips a day.

Accommodation - Pradollano itself is an expensive place to stay for the night. It might be better to stay at hotels on the way up to the resort or else, stay in Granada.

Families - Sierra Nevada is a good place for kids to learn skiing. It is well worth checking out the availability of English speaking instructors. For those too young to ski, there is a good creche where you can leave them to play happily. It is important to book ahead and they can only accept cash or bank transfer.

Check out www.sierranevadaski.co.uk which is a fab English site for Sierra Nevada