Sector: El Tarter
Although this long (4.5 km | 2¾ miles) route begins at the summit of the Tosa dels Espiolets, most visitors usually encounter it at its gentle mid-section flowing out of the
Riba Escorxada area, as the main ‘home run’ to
El Tarter base station.
The start from the top of the Tosa dels Espiolets is quite challenging for novices, with some sections parallel to red-graded slopes.
Contrary to the Grandvalira piste map, the
Esquirol is not the first piste to the skier's left of the Tosa Espiolets chairlift (that is actually the
Esparver); it is in fact the next piste, beyond the nearby fence.
The upper section is fairly gentle, but then steepens to a mild red profile and sweeps to the skier's left, past the entrance of the
Stadibumps moguls zone, and narrows into a track leading down towards El Tarter's
Snowpark. Once past the entrance to the park, the route widens out into a good blue-grade motorway, curving down to the right to merge with the finishing
Voltor & Corb runs which join from the skier's left. At the junction ahead, keep ahead-right on to the flat [upper] track to schuss towards the Riba Escorxada area.
To continue on to the lower home-run section of the
Esquirol, aim for the skier's left of the Riba Escorxada restaurants building and do your best to maintain momentum over the plain to glide out wide ahead-left. From here you begin the long and mostly gentle descent towards El Tarter base station, via lengthy straights and tight horseshoe bends (manageable by confident beginners).
The penultimate left-hand bend is quite steep (the
Aliga run is parallel to the skier's right) and sweeps round to the final approach to the base station.
A short black-graded pitch drops off to the skier's right to finish down on the meadows in front of the Hotel Nordic, otherwise simply follow the
Esquirol to the final junction ahead on its steep finish section: turning to the skier's right here takes you to the nearby
Tarter chairlift and main services; turning to the skier's left takes you on an easy switchback spur down to the
Tarter gondola.
