During the long hot summer one yearns for the cooler temperatures of winter. I came across some photos today reminding me of the night I spent on a pistebasher at the Sierra Nevada ski station.
Veleta from the high road
Jose, my mate from Lanjarón, collected me at 4pm. Seemed strange to be going to work at this time of day? We made our way to Granada where we met the rest of the night shift and were transported to Pradollano. We took the Al Andalus gondola to Borreguiles where we met "the beast"!
A pistebasher is a remarkable machine. Built like a tank or a huge tonka toy. Outside it may be blowing a gale but inside it is warm and cosy. Jose is dressed in a lightweight fleece and looks at me quizzically, as I'm well over dressed in all my mountain gear.
Then down to work and onto the ski slopes, repairing bare pistes, flattening bumps and generally leaving the snow in a pristine state. The pistebasher can operate on very steep slopes. Ok when going up or down but when turning across the fall line those huge caterpillar treads can become like skis! At those points Jose had previously anchored a steel cable leading from the machine to a belay high above.
We watched the sun set over the vegas of Granada, from our marvellous 3000m vantage point!
As the outside temperatures plummeted and a blizzard came in from the south west we chatted idly. Well sort of. Jose in raw Andaluz and me in my broken spanish. We observed tens of foxes gathering to compete for the skiers leftovers.
At 3am we headed down the mountainside for breakfast and a return to Lanjarón.
Approaching the Cariguela
Jose
Jose anchoring the cables
Sunset
Blizzard
Fox caught in headlights