Girona, 2 November 2019

The Cerdanya ski resort Masella kicked off the 2019-2020 ski season on 13^th November thanks to the early snowfall mid-month. The Catalan Pyrenees pioneer resort La Molina opened on the 16^th, while the rest of Girona’s alpine ski resorts —Vall de Núria and Vallter 2000— followed suit at the end of the month. For its part, the cross-country ski resort Guils Fontanera opened its snowshoeing circuit on 16^th The five resorts plan to stay open until mid-April, weather conditions permitting.

The season started with several important innovations. La Molina has two new ski lifts: the first one will extend the Cadí-Moixeró cable car as far as Niu de l’Àliga, reaching the summit of Tosa d’Alp (height 2.537 m) and the Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park. This will provide a more direct means of access to the La Molina – Masella ski area, with a 145-km skiable area, one of the biggest in the country. The second is the Lake chair lift, which takes skiers to the Pal Col from the Lake Area in La Molina. Masella has extended and developed its artificial snow network and improved its slope signs. It also offers a wide range of different ski passes and season tickets and has enlarged various eating facilities (Can Ventura, in the Coma Oriola area, and El Bandarra). It has also extended and reinforced the resort‘s WiFi network and has a new television channel, Masella TV. It should also be remembered that five years ago Masella became the night-time skiing capital of the Pyrenees, with 13 floodlit slopes and a 10-km skiable area available for unconditional ski fans.

Vall de Núria, a mountain destination worth visiting all year round, is accentuating its main attributes this year: its unique valley, its natural setting and its mountain resort. It has also presented its range of services with three different focuses: family, relaxation and active tourism. Vallter 2000 for its part has incorporated various changes and modernisations to its ski lifts and slopes this year, in addition to renewing the low-pressure artificial snow installation in the Morens area. This winter customers will be able to take part in all sorts of snow sports, including downhill skiing, snowboard, freeride, mountain activities, snowshoe outings and uphill skiing, and there are several different leisure options for kids, who can play at the L’Esquirol Mini Club or have fun sledging in the Play Park. Lastly, Guils Fontanera, the Pyrenees’ Nordic ski resort, which apart from this type of skiing also caters for snowshoe and fat bike outings, has now made improvements to the Llosa and Vedat Vell areas and to its medium and short snowshoeing circuits. It has also improved its equipment-hire service and incorporated a joint ski pass with Masella.

It is also worth noting that Girona’s four Alpine ski resorts have a schedule of competitions and a programme of events throughout the season to cater for customers and visitors which can be checked out on their official web sites.

Moreover, winter tourism in the Girona Pyrenees continues to provide a wide range of après-ski activities throughout the region, aimed at combining high-mountain experiences with cultural itineraries and visits, local cuisine, access to natural protected areas and natural parks for hiking and other outdoor activities