It is caning it down here in the village so that will mean a ton of fresh powder up top tomorrow... Maybe worth putting those snow chains in after all.

Re: snow chains : we drove up from Toulouse yesterday: roads perfectly clear.
snow forecast for end of week; so difficult to tell if you 'll need them or not for the way back; I would think they're pretty good at keeping roads clear because their businesses depend on it.

Day 1 on the slopes : fantastic... we have barely scratched the surface of the runs available here but they've been great. The ones on the Arinsal side nearest to the top of the gondola are big cruisy blues and reds; good for getting up confidence. Snow is in great condition and there is more here than any of the other main Andorran resorts - ha. And the free toasties with your apres ski beer at El Cau at the end of the day are really good.

Hoping someone can advise who's there at the moment. Did you use your snow chains on the way in to Andorra?? We have asked that our hire car company provides us with some just in case. We are driving in from Perpignan. Cheers

PS for Swaino - there is a cable car from Arinsal across to Pal... but from the look of piste map you cannot ski or board between the two... so just watch the time at end of day so you don't miss the last cable car back over.

Yay - we're here in Arinsal! Not skied yet as only arrived this afternoon but we've had a good walk round the village. Good service and good food in the bars and restaus tried so far, and we'll certainly try El Cau later in the week. Weather looks pretty stable for rest of week and there is snow down as far as village, so really looking forward to burning up the slopes tomorrow.

I meant do the vouchers have to be printed off in colour hah!

Brilliant! I'll have to leave a little room in my luggage for gifts/cheaper clothes! From Arinsal, is there a ski lift which takes you over to Pal? I've heard you can only get to Arcalis by bus, but how long does it usually take, given the ski lifts aren't busy, to get up the mountain and over to Pal from Arinsal? Also do the discount vouchers on this site have to be printed off in ink? Can't resist the free beer coupons I know it's abit dubious to answer this, but will it be busy the first week of Feb? I've seen the webcams and Steve's photos and it looks like we'll have the piste to ourselves! (which will be good as ill probably be travelling down them on my ass) Look out for me, i'll be wearing a cow hat :D!!

Me again - just to say if you can tear yourselves away from the powder it is definitely worth a trip into Andorra city on the bus. There are literally hundreds of shops, electronics, sports stuff, clothes, cigarettes, alcohol, house stuff, etc. Considerably cheaper than here in France. For clothes there are several big stores like Zara, Mango, Billabong etc and outlet stores too.

Steve's put some bus times on the shopping page (in the Resort menu), its only 10 km away and easy to do. Buses every hour.

Also check out the allowances on the same page - there are limits on what you can take out of the country.

en.vallnord.com/servicio-4-ski-snowboard-schools.aspx - this is the link to the ski school page on the Vallnord site - the official site for the ski area of Pal-Arinsal-Arcalis.

I can't see anything on there about opening times, so maybe email Steve (info@arinsal.co.uk), he should know. I would guess between 9 and 10 am...

For Swaino - you are incredibly brave to learn without lessons, just prepare to fall over a hell of a lot until you sort out how to stop. But it is such a buzz when it clicks - promise !

Safe journey all and enjoy those first JD and Cokes !