The skiing season is coming.....

Winter 2007/2008 looks like being a great season for Spain's skiing industry, with resorts from the Pyrenees to the Sierra Nevadas opening on December 1st.

Last year, the warm winter was pretty dreadful for the Spanish skiing industry. Many Spaniards enjoy getting onto the slopes in the fortnight before Christmas, but unseasonably warm weather meant there wasn't enough snow. This year, though, the country's best - and best-known - resorts are opening on the 1st December.

The Sierra Nevada ski resort is probably the one expats are most familiar with as it's conveniently located near theCosta Tropical, Costa de Almería and Costal del Sol. With a heavy snowfall last week and 120 snow cannons in operation, the resort is due to open on Saturday, although it's still unclear how many of the 87 kilometres of slopes will be open. Málaga and Granada are the most convenient airports - Granada is closer, but there are more flight options to Málaga. Many British expats or Brits who own holiday homes along Spain's southern coast enjoy a warm Christmas, heading up to the mountains for snow when they want it!

The resort that skiers claim has the best pistes in Spain, Baqueira-Beret, is also scheduled for partial opening on Saturday. The Pyrenean ski resort should have 13 kilometres of slopes and 11 ski lifts open, with snow at depths of 20 to 25 centimetres. If you're planning to visit this large resort (104 kilometres of piste when fully open), note that the nearest airport is actually Toulouse, just over the border in France. Also in the Pyrenees, Cerler, the highest resort in Spain, and Formigal, one of the largest ski resorts in the whole mountain range, are due to open at the end of this week with 14 and 11 kilometres currently skiable respectively.

The high altitude of central Spain means that the country has more ski resorts than you might expect. There's currently no news regarding opening from Puerto de Navacerrada, the ski resort between Madrid and Segovia, although if you're in Spain's capital you can always hit the artificial slopes at Madrid Snowzone.

Finally, if you fancy a better class of booze during your apres-ski, La Rioja has its own ski station at Valdezcaray. It's currently closed and there is no set date for opening as yet, but there's snow on the ground so look out for it opening in the very near future.

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