Winter Sports - Skiing And Snowboarding, Sierra Nevada, Spain

The Sierra Nevada is an exciting winter sport resort. On this page we give you a brief overview of what the area has to offer.

The Sierra Nevada resort is located in the Penibetic mountain range close to Granada. It is centrally situated and easily accessible from the costas - 150km from the Costa del Sol and 100km from the Costa Tropical. Three airports - Granada, Málaga and Seville, serve the resort. Many people who associate Spain with sea, sand and sun and are pleasantly surprised to find this wonderful winter sport facility located so near the coast.

Resort Ratings

Advanced ****

Intermediate ******

Beginner *****

Snowboarding ****

The resort is rated as four star for advanced skiers and six star for intermediate skiers. Four star rating is for skiing beginners and for the snowboarding facilities.

The highest road in Europe reaches the Sierra Nevada ski resort, which has a vertical drop of 1,300 meters. It has the best snow and the longest season in the country and the natural snowfall is supplemented by 250 snow canons.

The resort's village, Pradollano is at an altitude of 2,100 meters. Due to its southern location, it is usually warmer than other ski resorts and the air temperature comes as a pleasant surprise to many skiers. Indeed at certain times of the year it is possible to ski in the morning and spend the afternoon on the beach.

High altitude skiing and brilliant sunshine most of the winter, make the Sierra Nevada resort an exciting winter sport venue. In clear weather the views are spectacular and from the top of Veleta peak, skiers can see across the Mediterranean to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

There are a good five months of snow in the Sierra Nevada. The resort has 61km (over 40 miles) of ski slopes with 45 pistes and 6 off-piste routes. There are 2 cable cars, 12 chair lifts and 5 T-bar lifts enabling movement of 32,000 skiers per hour.

The ski resort is open from 9am to 5pm although you can ski at night, weekends and bank holidays. Night skiing was introduced in 1994 with lighting along the El Rio slope (3km/545 vertical drop).

Everything you need can be hired and there are schools for everyone from beginners to experts.

Beginner skiers visiting Sierra Nevada will be pleased with the well groomed green and blue runs on offer here, but the resort is probably best suited for intermediates. There are long red runs - the longest is 6.5km and goes all the way from the summit of Veleta peak at 3398m down to the village, with a total of 2,150m. Advanced skiers will find some challenges´, including a mens´ downhill world cup run.

Off the slopes there is plenty to do - saunas, gyms, snowmobiles are on hire, as well as sleigh rides, restaurants and plenty of shopping. The après-ski is lively and typically Spanish - that means partying well into the early hours - and there are plenty of bars and clubs in which to party.

SNOWBOARDING

Sport has increased in popularity and the resort, which provides its fans with ideal conditions, is working to promote this discipline. An on-slope half pipe has been built for snowboarders while availability depends on snow conditions. Specialised snowboarding shops and schools are also available within the resort.

In addition to alpine skiing and snowboarding, Sierra Nevada offers many other winter sports including cross-country skiing, artistic skiing (ballet, jumps, moguls), telemark skiing, trekking and adventure skiing.

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