The Valdezcaray Ski Resort, located in Spain, enjoys an enviable location. Its northern orientation does not always guarantee snow, far from it, but it is located in a strategic geographical point, being a unique snow spot in this part of the Iberian System, with other ski resorts very far away. This makes it very popular among the inhabitants of La Rioja, Burgos and the Basque Country, both in winter and in summer, especially for people who have second homes in the region and enjoy the mountains and/or skiing.
An opportunity
Fortunately, about ten years ago, some visionary and ardent believer from Valdezcaray took the calculator and saw a business opportunity that could not go unnoticed, and that’s when the Government of La Rioja itself invested a lot of money in the remodeling and gradual adaptation of the resort to the future.
It took many years to improve the access road (which is still difficult), transform the old car park into a two-level car park, build buildings at 1,530 meters (ticket offices and cafeteria) and 1,620 meters (main cafeteria, rental of equipment, etc.), and of course, the expansion of the skiable area, creating spaces for slopes where none existed, installing artificial snow cannons and new cable cars, some of them with detachable technology. The amounts invested were undoubtedly large, but it was necessary, there was no other alternative: renewal or death.
The ski resort
These changes transformed Valdezcaray, which continued to maintain that small, cute and familiar character of a lifetime, but now equipped with modern and updated facilities, ensuring greater agility and capacity in the transport of skiers and visitors.
Currently, the resort has almost 23 kilometers of ski slopes, with 22 slopes of all degrees of difficulty, many of them connected and interconnected. The blue and red tracks prevail, that is, tracks of medium and high difficulty. In general, it is a suitable station for both learning to ski and for enjoying advanced skiing and at a much cheaper price than any other resort.
The elevation of 1,620 meters is the ideal starting point for beginners who want to take their first steps and experience their first drops, in a quiet and safe place. Here are the green tracks, and also some very smooth blue tracks to go a little further and test yourself to go to the next level, when we’ve already started to control the ‘wedge’ corners and braking a little bit.
The experience
The views are spectacular from various points of the resort, and the ascent of the cable car that runs along the black slope called ‘La Ese’ is an impressive place. Check Valdezcaray’s webcams to see if the weather is clear enough to enjoy the views.
The resort is very well prepared to welcome beginners, as it has the space and infrastructure (school, green slopes) necessary for a good learning of skiing and snowboarding.
For those who are already at a more advanced stage, in Valdezcaray there are mainly two great blue slopes where you can definitely learn and improve your skiing: Colocobia and Campos Blancos. Colocobia is a very wide track that, with the exception of the first section, which is the steepest. It is important to consult the Valdezcaray snow report to know what to expect in terms of slopes and open lifts. We advise you to also check the weather forecast for Valdezcaray on the day of your visit.
Have a good trip!
