What you can see on the Espot Esquí webcams
Two 360-degree panoramas, run by FGC, can be turned round with your mouse or finger. The highest, at about 2,400 m (7,870 ft), looks over bare, open slopes and a steep summit to a horizon of high peaks. The other stands on the service building at the base, at 2,000 m (6,560 ft), with the pistes cutting through the forest on one side and the terraces, the car park and the valley on the other. A weather camera at 2,300 m (7,550 ft) adds a wide view over the valleys of the Pallars. In winter they show the snow and the people on the slopes; in summer, the green forest and the paths.
Espot Esquí webcam at Cap de la Pala, 2,400 m
FGC's 360-degree panorama at Cap de la Pala, at about 2,400 m (7,870 ft), is the highest camera at Espot Esquí. It turns from bare, sweeping slopes and a steep summit cone on one side to a long view on the other, over forested valleys and ridge after ridge to the high peaks of the Pyrenees.
This is the view of the top of the resort, open to the wind and the first place to catch fresh snow or low cloud. On a clear day the far horizon is a long line of high Pyrenean summits.
Espot Esquí's service centre at 2,000 m
FGC's 360-degree camera on the service building at 2,000 m (6,560 ft) looks around the heart of Espot Esquí. On one side, wide pistes cut through the pine forest and climb to a bare peak; on the other, the chalet-style buildings and terraces of the base area, the car park and the deep valley below.
From here you can see whether the snow reaches the bottom of the runs through the trees, how busy the terraces and the car park are, and, in summer, the green of the forest and the colour of the trees in autumn.
Over the valley from Espot Esquí, 2,300 m
This 3Cat weather camera, at 2,300 m (7,550 ft), looks out from high on Espot Esquí over the forested slopes and the base area below to a deep valley and the mountains beyond, ridge behind ridge to the horizon. Lift towers lead down through the trees in the foreground.
It is the best view of the weather across the Pallars mountains: whether the valleys are full of mist, how far you can see and where the cloud is sitting. 3Cat shows each photo with the temperature, humidity and wind at the camera.
On the edge of a national park
Espot Esquí opened in 1967 as Super Espot. Its slopes run from about 1,500 m (4,920 ft) to 2,500 m (8,200 ft), and the runs facing north-east wind through the forest. Espot is one of the two main gateways to the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici national park, the only national park in Catalonia, a landscape of granite peaks and some 200 glacial lakes. The resort is run by FGC, the Catalan government railway company.
When to watch Espot Esquí
Spain is one hour ahead of the UK and Ireland. The ski season usually runs from December to Easter. Late morning gives the clearest long views from the top camera, before afternoon cloud builds in spring and summer.
Around Espot Esquí
From the village, 4x4 taxis and walking trails lead into the national park to the lake of Sant Maurici, below the twin peaks of Els Encantats. Port Ainé and the white-water rafting of the Noguera Pallaresa are a short drive away.
Getting to Espot Esquí
The nearest airport with flights from the UK and Ireland is Toulouse, about 140 miles (225 km) away by road; Barcelona is about 165 miles (265 km). Both drives take three to four hours, the last part on a mountain road up from the valley: in winter, carry snow chains.
