What you can see on the Formigal webcams
Most of the cameras are panoramic: each clip turns slowly on its mount and sweeps a wide arc of the resort. From the high sectors they look along bare ridges and down long, open bowls, with the twin summit of the Midi d'Ossau, across the border in France, standing out to the north. Lower down, they follow the line of a chairlift towards its bottom station and the service roads that become pistes in winter. The Panticosa camera is different: it looks out over the valley, with the village roofs far below and a wall of grey peaks behind. Two of the views are also shown as time-lapses of the last 24 hours.
Anayet at 2,150 m, with the Midi d'Ossau behind
This panoramic camera stands at about 2,150 m (7,050 ft) in Anayet, the sector of Formigal closest to the French border. Each clip starts looking towards the morning sun, sweeps across a line of jagged grey peaks and comes to rest on the top station of the Anayet chairlift, with its colourful roof, a small stone first-aid hut and a radio mast. Over the station rises the double summit of the Midi d'Ossau, in France, which tells you at a glance whether the high mountain is clear.
In winter it shows how much snow covers the rocks around the lift and whether the wind is carrying it off the ridge. Out of season the pistes are open grassland, and the horses that graze here in summer often wander through the shot.
Formigal webcam over the Tena Valley from Garmet
From Garmet, at about 2,050 m (6,730 ft), this camera turns through a wide arc above the heart of the resort. It begins on the Midi d'Ossau to the north, follows a steep grassy ridge, then swings down the length of the upper Tena Valley: the pistes and service tracks in the foreground, the chairlift pylons, and the apartment blocks of the Formigal base village far below, with the peaks of the Aragonese Pyrenees stacked behind.
It is the best camera for judging conditions across the whole ski area at once, from snow cover on the lower slopes to low cloud in the valley. When the sun is to the south the lens catches it, and the last part of each clip can turn dark and hazy.
The Cantal chairlift and its high valley
The Cantal camera sits at about 1,890 m (6,200 ft), beside the line of a chairlift whose green pylons march through the frame. It pans slowly along a broad, open valley closed by rounded summits: on the floor lie the bottom station, a car park, a cluster of service buildings and a small reservoir used for making snow, with a road winding between them.
Being lower and more sheltered than the other cameras, it is the one to watch at the start and end of the season, when the snow on the valley floor decides whether skiers can get back to the base. In summer it shows walkers on the tracks and cattle on the slopes; on bright mornings, the eastern side of the valley stays in deep shadow until late.
Panticosa webcam: the village from Petrosos
The Panticosa sector has its own camera at Petrosos, at about 1,900 m (6,230 ft), on the mountain above the village. Its daytime view is one of the widest in the Tena Valley: the slate roofs of Panticosa spread out far below, the chairlift climbing towards the camera, wooded slopes and, filling the right of the picture, a great grey wall of limestone peaks that the resort labels Tendeñera. On the left the valley opens towards the jagged summits on the French side.
It is the camera that shows the lower slopes of the ski area and whether snow has reached the village. At dawn the ridges show only as dark outlines against the sky; the view is at its clearest from late morning onwards.
Five valleys, one ski area
Formigal grew out of the Izas valley and spread north towards France, opening Anayet in 1997 and El Portalet in 2006. In 2014 it was linked with the neighbouring resort of Panticosa, on the other side of the Tena Valley. Today Aramón, the company behind the resort, gives it 182 km (113 miles) of marked pistes. The base village sits at about 1,500 m (4,920 ft) and the highest point, the Tres Hombres peak, at about 2,250 m (7,380 ft). Most slopes face north and north-east, which helps the snow last.
When to watch Formigal
Spain is one hour ahead of the UK and Ireland. The ski season usually runs from early December to Easter. The sun rises late behind the eastern ridges, so the first clips of the day can be dark or full of lens flare; from mid-morning the light is even. In winter the cameras are the quickest way to see whether cloud is sitting on the ridges, how much fresh snow has fallen and how busy the lifts are. In summer they show the walking country of the upper valley, with horses and cows grazing on the pistes.
Around Formigal
The Tena Valley has stone villages such as Sallent de Gállego and Lanuza, the reservoirs of Lanuza and Búbal, and the old spa of Panticosa beside its mountain lake. The town of Jaca, with its cathedral and citadel, is less than an hour's drive away.
Getting to Formigal
The A-136 runs up the Tena Valley from Biescas and continues over the Portalet pass into France. The nearest airports with flights from the UK are Zaragoza, about 107 miles (172 km) by road, and Biarritz, about 121 miles (194 km) away. In winter carry snow chains.
