El Pas de la Casa (; french: Le Pas de la Case) is a

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

resort A resort ( North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

(part of the Grandvalira resort), town, and mountain pass in the

Encamp Encamp () is one of the parishes of Andorra, located on the Valira d'Orient river. It is also the name of the main town in the parish. Other settlements include Vila, El Pas de la Casa, Grau Roig, El Tremat, La Mosquera and Les Bons. As of 2 ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

, lying on the border with France.

Overview

Its name literally translates as "the pass of the house" and refers to the fact that until the early twentieth century there was only a single shepherd's hut overlooking the pass. The pass marks the watershed of the Pyrenees, being the only point in Andorra where water drains into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

, and is the source of the Ariège river. At an elevation of it is one of the highest points on the European road network. The pass is bypassed by the Envalira Tunnel. The two main sources of wealth are trade and winter sports. The ''festa major de Sant Pere'' (Saint Peter's Feast) is held every 29 June in El Pas.

Ski resort

The ski resort of Pas de la Casa sits below the pass on the side closest to France, and below the Pic d'Envalira (). Its first

ski lift A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/ Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald. Types * Aerial ...

was opened in 1957 and it now has 31 lifts, of pistes and of skiable terrain. The highest skiable point is . Its popularity has grown with the burgeoning ski and

snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

industry in the principality: it is the highest resort in Andorra, has the best snow record, and is the easiest to get to from the Barcelona and

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

airports. Consequently, it attracts a large number of British and Irish

winter sports Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold are ...

enthusiasts, as well as French and Spanish ones. It is also favoured for its southern latitude and

duty-free A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, wh ...

status, which for many overcome the drawbacks of the long airport transfer times. The nightlife is particularly youthoriented, and a prevalence of red pistes perhaps makes the skiing more suited to intermediates than beginners or the most advanced. A recent lift link to

Soldeu Soldeu () is a village and ski resort in Andorra in the Pyrenees mountains, located in the parish of Canillo. Overview It comes alive in the winter months as a ski town, and is part of the Grand Valira ski resort, the largest in the Pyrenees ...

via Grau Roig has created a linked skiing area ranging over almost 10% of Andorra's land area, though not all is skiable. A bus from Toulouse Airport, Toulouse-Matabiau station and

Barcelona Airport Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

runs twice per day and can be booked online.Sea-Lifts
/ref> Skis and snowboards can be transported on the bus. Toulouse Airport Transfers are also available.

Climate

Pas de la Casa has either a continental climate (Dfb) or

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(Cfb), depending on the isotherm (0 °C (32 °F)/-3 °C (27 °F) respectively) used, closely bordering their cold-summer variants (Dfc/Cfc respectively) however, since June/September average temperatures barely reach over 10 °C (50 °F), with areas at slightly higher elevations ultimately being lower than that and falling into the cold-summer variants. Precipitation is relatively abundant year-round, with a notable February dip in precipitation. Summers are generally cool thanks to the high elevation of the town (2080m), and winters often under freezing, with regular snowfall and occasional snowstorms, with the temperature dropping further to below -10 °C (14 °F) some nights during those.

Demographics

Languages

French is the main language of communication next to the official language, Catalan.

Notable people

* Laure Soulie (born 1987 in El Pas de la Casa) is a retired Andorran biathlete, competed at the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympi ...

Gallery

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pas De La Casa, El Populated places in Andorra Ski areas and resorts in Andorra Encamp Andorra–France border crossings Landforms of Andorra Casa Casa