Skiing

Solynieve is Europe's southernmost ski resort and is situated on the south-facing slopes of the Sierra Nevada, some 32 kilometres south of Granada. It was in this scenery that the 1996 world championship alpine skiing was held. The facilities have been further improved since then. From early December until late March, early April, there is usually sufficient snow here at an altitude of 2080 metres. Solynieve attracts ski fans from all over Europe, and although it may not be the most attractive resort, the ski facilities are just fine.

Solynieve offers well maintained descending ski courses with a total length of 76 kilometres and a reasonable amount of other ski courses accessible through 22 lifts. The courses are predominantly in the easy blue and moderately difficult red categories. Some of the shorter courses descending from the Veleta II lift can be challengingly steep even to the advanced skier. There are five difficult black courses and in most winters you can also make langlauf tours in the Sierra Nevada. Prices are lower than in the more popular Alpine resorts.

The après ski takes place in no less than thirty bars, piano bars, restaurants and discos. The main hotels Melía Sierra and Keria Nevada, each have excellent restaurants, as does the parador, the state-owned hotel high up on the Veleta. There is abundant choice in available cuisines, from French in the popular Pourqoui-Pas to Castilian and Andalucian specialties in Ruta de Veleta, a restaurant that is frequently visited by king Juan Carlos and his family.

Solynieve's village area Pradollano offers a variety of services including quality hotels in a range of categories, ski lodges, apartments, restaurants featuring local Andalucian and international cuisine, tearooms, sundecks, crepe and croissant shops, night clubs, pubs and bars, discotheques etcetera. A new medical centre, child day-care centre, banks with ATM's, supermarkets, sports and fashion boutiques, gift shops, magazine and newspaper kiosks, ski rental, photo-developing services, hairdressers, car rental, taxi service, pharmacy, church services, among others are available at the resort.

Four on-slope quality restaurants are available and there are a number of ski schools offering weekly courses and après ski activities. The following schools are located in Borreguiles, near the beginners area: Escuela Española de Esqui, Escuela Oficial de Esqui and Escuela Internacional. Solynieve also provides ski rental services.

Located in the Al-Andalus upper gondola station is the Rossignol Test Centre where one will find sunscreen, sunglasses, ski rental, a checkroom for storing personal objects and the famous Rossignol brand skis. A unique way to enjoy the snow in the resort is to take a dog sled ride. Finally, a skier information centre is located in Borreguiles in the control tower (Torre de Control), where the ski area crew may be notified in case of emergency.

One of Solynieve's most exciting features, night skiing, was introduced in 1994 with lighting along the El Rio slope and a few years later the Slalom course. Skiing and lift schedules are established according to the time of sunset. However, a minimum of an extra two hours of skiing will be available along a freshly groomed course.

Solynieve is Spain's pioneer resort in snowboarding. The sport has gained in popularity and the resort is working to promote this new discipline. An on-slope half pipe was built for surfers, which will be available depending on snow conditions. Specialised snowboarding shops and schools are also available in 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), trekking and adventure skiing.