Sector: El Tarter
At 3.8 km (2½ miles) in length, the
Aliga is Soldeu-El Tarter's longest black run; delivering a full summit-to-base descent, all the way from the Tosa dels Espiolets down to El Tarter. It averages out as a good red, but it's well worth a blast.
The top section gently clears the busy summit area, then builds to a fast red profile towards a wide convergence area shared with the neighbouring pistes, just above the upper terminal of the Font Roges button tow. You can mix-&-match with any of the overlapping runs here, but the
Aliga itself swings furthest to the skier's right and plunges into a wooded side valley for a short steep section.
The route then runs out to merge with the flat
Gall de Bosc piste, forcing you to sweep out to the skier's left to join the flow of any traffic, before carefully crossing to drop off on to the steep second half of the
Aliga on the far side.
Exercise caution at the top of this next pitch, because the
Gall de Bosc U-turns back on itself and crosses the line of the
Aliga for a second time immediately below (traffic flows skier's left-to-right across your path). Once safely past this hazard, you can then open up on the steepest section of the run, with a direct fall line on this well-sheltered north-facing slope, although the snow cover can sometimes be patchy at this lower altitude.
Approaching the lowest section of the slope, you can choose either to traverse off to the skier's left to join the final section of the
Esquirol piste, for the best link with the
Tarter gondola, or simply blast straight down to finish on the meadows in front of the Hotel Nordic; this latter option also links well with the
Tarter chairlift.
