Fat and happy in the Spanish Pyrenees

Baqueira opened in 1964, joined with Beret soon after, and has grown almost continually since then. Thirty lifts now serve 4,749 acres — that’s more acreage than either Whistler or Jackson Hole. Snowfall averages 500-650 feet each winter – as much as powder-blessed Alta in Utah. Half the days are sunny. “Most of the land is pasture,” Roberto Buil, General Manager, pointed out, “so it doesn’t need a lot of snow cover.”

The fact that summer pastures became winter pistes is fitting in Val d’Aran. The only east-west valley in the Pyrenees, the region is geographically part of France but politically tied to Spain. Not until Franco had a tunnel bored in the mountains to the south in 1948 was the valley accessible to its provincial capital, Lleida (although a road was hewn into Bonaigua Pass in 1924, snow and avalanches frequently close it).

Modernization quickly found the valley evidenced by an eyesore of a power-line cutting over Baqueira’s flank. But the valley’s Romanesque architecture in the many small villages and its exceptional Aranese cuisine, with French and Spanish influences, remains intact.

With dinner served close to midnight, nightlife at Baqueira-Beret doesn’t mean naked dancing on tables. It’s long dinners with friends toasting with glasses of cava and arujo, the local grappa. Each village is loaded with restaurants — 150 total in the valley. At the smaller restaurants, we were welcomed like guests in a private home. Duck is a staple in Val d’Aran, which explains why fois gras is ubiquitous. And delicious.

Aranese chefs have taken the best of nueva Spanish cuisine, such as disappear-on-your tongue tomato foam, and added it to traditional dishes, like slow-cooked fall-off-the-bone Ternasco con setas (roast lamb stewed with mushrooms). Stay in Val d’Aran for more than a week, and your ski pants might no longer fit.

Back at Baqueira-Beret, we skied ourselves back into our wardrobes. The trail map makes it look like a provincial resort for skiers who haven’t yet mastered a carved turn. The map lists only seven muy difícile pistes.

In reality, the whole north wall of Cap de Baqueira is an escarpment of extremism. Off the back of the Cap is a piste called Escornacrabes, literally “where the goats go to die.” We wondered if goats are the only ones that die here.

A storm shut us down before we could check for dead goats. Instead, we dined on succulent carne de cabra (a.k.a. dead goat) in the village of Unha. As we cracked open another bottle of arujo and talked of an impending siesta, Roberto Buil stated the obvious, “The Spanish enjoy life.”

And this is how it’s done.

If you go Location:  Baqueira-Beret is located 210 miles northwest of Barcelona, 100 miles south of Toulouse, France. Both cities have international airports, with non-stop service from several U.S. cities to Barcelona. Skiable Terrain: 65 miles of marked runs on 4,749 acres of terrain. Lifts: 33, including 1 gondola and 20 chairlifts. Accommodations: Moderate — Hotel Orla or Hotel Ribaeta, Luxurious — Hotel Melia Royal Tanau (slopeside), or Hotel Sol Viehla in Vielha. Click here other activities

MORE FROM EUROPE TRAVEL

Europe Travel Section Front

Say fromage! Parisians urged to smile Tourist beware: Europe’s latest travel scams Drunken man shocks Spain with his generosity Magical experiences for spiritual people Something missing at Pamplona: Bullishness Portugal village worth its salt with the tourists President Obama marks Paris milestone 48 hours in Trieste, Italy New attraction in Switzerland: naked hikers Going beyond Prague’s city limits Europe Travel Section Front   Add Europe Travel headlines to your news reader: