What you can see on the Port Ainé webcams
A 360-degree panorama at Clots, at 2,100 m (6,890 ft), turns from a chairlift and the open, grassy slopes to valleys and ranges of peaks on the horizon. A second camera looks closely at the same chairlift. At the bottom, a camera at the base, about 2,000 m (6,560 ft), shows the beginners' area, a covered conveyor belt and the lifts climbing the forested mountainside to the radio masts on the summit, with a 24-hour time-lapse of the same view. A weather camera adds the temperature and the wind on the mountain. In winter they show the snow and the lifts; in summer, the pine woods and the pastures.
Port Ainé webcam at Clots, 2,100 m, turning 360 degrees
FGC's 360-degree panorama at Clots, at 2,100 m (6,890 ft), turns all the way round the middle of Port Ainé. You see the top of a chairlift with its station building, a track crossing the open, grassy slopes, a small A-frame hut and the woods of mountain pine; on the other side, the valleys drop away towards range after range of Pyrenean peaks.
The open ground around Clots shows how much snow lies on the slopes and how far it has drifted. In summer the same tracks are walking routes, and the far views show whether the high peaks are clear.
Port Ainé's base at 2,000 m
FGC's camera at Cota 2000, the base area of Port Ainé, looks across from the hotel at about 2,000 m (6,560 ft). An arch marks the start of the slopes, with a children's play area, a long covered conveyor belt and chairlift lines running up the forested mountainside to the radio masts on the summit.
It is the camera for the bottom of the resort: whether the snow reaches the base and how busy the beginners' area is. It is a still photo, not a video; a 24-hour time-lapse of the same view follows further down.
The Clots chairlift, close up
This camera of the resort, published on Windy, looks across the top of a chairlift at Clots, with its wheel, the station and a small hut right in front of the lens. Behind, a slope of grass and scattered pines climbs to the forest and the ridge, with the fences that hold the snow along the edge of the wood.
It is the close-up partner of the Clots panorama: the lift machinery in the foreground gives a sense of scale, and in winter you can see the snow piling around the station and the people getting off. It plays here as a Windy time-lapse of the day.
Port Ainé at 2,100 m, with the weather
This 3Cat weather camera, at about 2,100 m (6,890 ft), looks across the open upper slopes of Port Ainé: a track curves across the foreground, a chairlift climbs on the right and the forest gives way to bare ground below the radio masts on the summit.
3Cat shows the temperature, humidity and wind beside each photo, so this is the camera to check the conditions on the mountain itself, not only the view. It is a still photo, not a video.
A resort for the Pallars
Port Ainé opened in 1986. Its slopes run from about 1,650 m (5,410 ft) to 2,440 m (8,010 ft), mostly through woods of mountain pine, with a hotel at the base. The resort is run by FGC, the Catalan government railway company. Its road is also a well-known climb for cyclists: the Volta a Catalunya has finished stages here several times, won by riders such as Dan Martin and Tadej Pogačar.
When to watch Port Ainé
Spain is one hour ahead of the UK and Ireland. The ski season usually runs from December to Easter. Morning gives the clearest views of the distant peaks; in the afternoon, cloud often builds over the mountains in spring and summer.
Around Port Ainé
Rialp and Sort lie in the valley of the Noguera Pallaresa, a river well known for rafting and kayaking. The Aigüestortes national park and the ski slopes of Espot Esquí are a short drive further north.
Getting to Port Ainé
The nearest airports with flights from the UK and Ireland are Barcelona and Toulouse, each about 160 miles (255 km) away by road, roughly four hours' drive. The last stretch is a mountain road of hairpin bends up from Rialp: in winter, carry snow chains.
