Jaime Lahoz on the slopes of Cerler in the Spanish Pyrenees
At Pura Aventura we try to make every destination special and different, a key part of that is our guides. They all make the effort to make our clients feel at home and get the most from their holidays. Here we interview our key man in the Pyrenees, Jaime. Or Jaime Lahoz Ortiz de la Tabla if you want all the bells and whistles!
Where do you live?
Cerler, Pirineo de Huesca.
What are your hobbies?
I’m very active. In winter I mainly ski though I also like snowboard and telemark. In summer I mountain bike.
Music is very important for me, I am addicted to Spotify. I recently started learning to play guitar. At this rate, in about 100 years I might make a sound which passes as music.
How did you get involved with Pura Aventura?
I got involved in Pura as a shareholder in 2003 through Xabi, one of the players in my Rugby team and one of the founders of Pura Aventura.
Nowadays I am in charge of our ski holidays here in Celer, although some times move to another areas to help some Pura’s colleagues when they have big groups, for instance in the Picos de Europa.
What do you do with Pura’s clients on a ski week?
Basically I teach the clients to ski or snowboard if someone asks for it.
I am also there to help clients get their equipment, hand out the lift passes, show them around, advise on the best time to hit the slopes, tell them which slopes are best at the moment.
I also am on hand to help them with any thing they need, making life in Cerler as easy as possible for them. I want them to just relax and enjoy their holiday.
Because I live in Celer I know all the restaurants, shops, bars, etc. It means that I can point you in the right direction for the best and most authentic experience.
What is the most important task you have as a Ski teacher?
Sometimes I’ll get a group which includes complete beginners, afraid to ski as well as advanced piste bashers. I try to make sure that every student gets exactly what they need.
The way I teach each person is different. What matters most is that everyone enjoys themselves!
For a beginner it might be enough to learn to slide slowly downhill while I hold their hands. For teenagers in particular I usually have to teach them not to go too fast for their level. I try to make is so that everyone gets to access and enjoy this fantastic environment.
What do you think makes Celer different to other ski resorts?
Lots of things.
It’s big enough to have lots of runs for everyone to enjoy but it feels really intimate. It’s never crowded so you don’t get long queues. Sometimes you will even be on your own on a run. It also means that beginners can learn safely and advance only as fast as they want.
It’s easy to get around the slopes because the lifts are located strategically. From each station there is a ski run for every level, this makes easier to organise groups according to their level.
Cerler is a real village which happens to have a ski resort. As a result, it feels like the real Spain – great food, sensible prices and a stunning environment.
I guess ultimately though it’s the people who make Cerler different. The environment is quieter and more relaxed, I know almost everyone on the slopes. Also, they know that the only British people here are Pura customers and so are always willing to help.
I remember one day one of our clients dropped his passport and wallet on the slopes, without realising it. One of the other teachers in resort found it and, seeing that it was a British passport, came to find me. I gave back the wallet to the client before they even knew it was missing!
I love this story because I think it’s impossible to think that this would happen in a ‘normal’ ski resort. Sometimes a small ski resort can be a great ski resort!
What would you say to the readers of this newsletter?
Come to Spain and discover that my country is more than just sun and beaches. Come to Cerler, improve your skiing and have a lot of laughs. At least I promise to try!
Enjoying the empty slopes of the friendly Spanish ski resort of Cerler.
Mid-March rolls on and still no sign of the snow at Cerler melting so this image caught my eye today.
I’ll leave it to better skiers than I to say why Cerler is such a good resort for the variety of pistes, accessibility of safe off-piste, vertical drops and altitude (it’s the highest ski resort in the Pyrenees) . I’m a useless skier, Bambi meets the snow, but I do enjoy it. It’s best for everyone involved if I can be given lots of elbow room as I careen down the piste.
I also prefer it if there aren’t too many people at the bottom judging my style and skill, or lack thereof. Or just openly laughing.
Cerler and actually Spanish resorts in general (with the exception of Baqueira-Beret which I don’t like) are wonderfully unpretentious. There are all sorts up there, all on the snow for the love of being out there. That means there’s a home for me on the slopes, which I appreciate.
It helps that the place feels Spanish, in terms of the people, the quality of the food and the prices. I remember a few years ago being up on the slopes, having a coffee and a rest. As I was chatting with some of our clients, someone on the next table looked up, confused. He was a Brit. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
Turns out he was living in Barcelona and came up to Cerler most weekends in the season to ski. This was the first time he had ever met other Brits. He was visibly relieved when we said that we were staying just a week, he obviously wanted to protect his hidden gem.
Find out more about our skiing holidays in the Pyreenes or read our guide to skiing in Cerler
Deep powder at Portillo
I love this photo. It reminds me of my days skiing at Portillo.
Portillo is a small ski resort a few hours north of Santiago de Chile. I went there in 2004 to accompany a private ski group, just to make sure that everything ran smoothly for them.
They were excellent skiers, I was a rank amateur. In fact, at that point, the last timeI have been on skis was circa 1981 on the artificial ski slope of Hillend outside Edinburgh.
As you can probably imagine, Portillo was quite a revelation to me. Partly the beauty of the setting. Partly the wonderful atmosphere of this, the oldest ski resort in South America. Partly my total lack of skill on skis.
The thing is, it didn’t really matter. Portillo’s snow is big, soft and fluffy and remarkably forgiving for those of us who like an occasional face-first lie down.
The experts skiers I was with had a lovely time skiing alongside the Austrian Olympic team. I communed with the snow. We were all happy.
Ever since visiting Portillo, I’ve been addicted to small ski resorts where I feel free to ski, no matter how unskilled and gangly I am.
See our full range of ski holidays to Chile