Zanto Family in Spain

Feb 9, 2025

We are loving winter in the Pirineos; finally, the snow has arrived!!! On Sunday Jan 19 and Monday January 20, our town celebrated the Fiesta de San Sebastián- the patron saint for children/ young people. We had a fun time joining Ellery’s schoolmates and parents in the “ronda” on Sunday night; nearly 50 adults and kids paraded around the town in a procession asking local businesses to sponsor the fiesta or donate cookies and chocolate for the party. Professional musicians sang songs of love and blessing for the young girls throughout the town. The music was beautiful and poetic.

The next day, instead of going to school, Ellery had the chance to participate in the traditional dance in the town square.

It seemed like all the kids in the town were there, many dressed in traditional clothes. The town is working hard to pass on its traditions.

After this celebration, we had a week of rain and bad weather. It rained up to above 7000 feet (2150 ish meters) which is high for this region. We tried going out a few times, but it was pretty miserable (ice and breakable crust).

In the middle of the bad weather, we headed to Baqueira, one of largest ski resorts in the Pirineos, for Ellery’s first Freeride Competition. This is where the Spanish King comes to ski. We had a fantastic family training day, bombing around the resort on Friday in warm spring like conditions. On Saturday for the competition, the conditions were not ideal with firm snow, bad light, and freezing wind were not ideal, but the kids made up for it with stoke. And the sunrise was incredible.

We tried to stay warm with other Benasque team parents and embraced diving deeper into the Spanish sub culture of Free Ride skiing; it suits us well. We love the openness, energy, and inclusivity. Ellery had a great run and made the most of the venue.

February 7, we headed to Ellery’s second competition in Saint Lary, France. These freeride competitions are such a fun excuse to see more of the Pirineos. Like Baqueira, the ski resort of Saint Lary- Soulan is situated on the north side of the crest in a deep valley. There tends to be more snow in the towns on this side of the “Pyrénées” (in French). The touristy town of Saint Lary is a true mountain village with a cute and quaint center. The food is very different from the Spanish side with notably more cheese. The timing for meals is more like the rest of Europe with dinners ending around 9 instead of 11pm, like Spain. It was surprising to us how much we have adapted our schedule to the Spanish timing: getting to dinner on time after the pre-competition meeting was challenging. This time the pre-comp meeting was held only in French and Spanish. Luckily, it wasn’t our first one and we could understand the Spanish translation. It is pretty amazing to be the only native English speakers at each of these events. Another interesting note: although everyone in Saint Lary was really friendly, we were surprised at how abruptly the French said goodbye (basically silently). We have grown to love how the Spanish say goodbye so many different ways and times. “Pues… bueno…Adios… Hasta luego…. Nos vemos – and the goodbyes keep going.

As an added bonus, Saint Lary- Soulan got a foot of new snow the night before Ellery’s competition. All the kids, coaches, and parents were lucky to get a couple fresh laps before the resort opened. It was quite a sight watching the kids fired up at the top ridge shoulder to shoulder waiting for the patrollers to let us in. Powder shouts and smiles came from every direction. Ellery, Martin, and Adam (her teammates) absolutely crushed their runs. All the parents looked on jealously as the kids arced through the deep powder, jumped off features, and reached the bottom with huge smiles on their faces. Ellery, number 6 in the competition, had first tracks down most of her line and she hit her planned route perfectly. It was beautiful- in her element: the girl from Tahoe skiing powder! We were proud of her beautiful skiing and first place finish, twenty points ahead of the next competitor. Ironically, her trophy is a mounted rock, reminding us of all the gouges on the bottom of our skis! Her coach told us it was proof we had to stay in the Pirineos; it is way too heavy to bring back to the US.

In the meantime, with a few recent storms, Aaron and Katie have had lots of incredible days in the back country up at the end of the valley- especially now exploring the north facing side of the valley under the tallest peaks in the Pirineos. We have learned that rain to powder changes snow conditions quickly – just like California- and helps stabilize the snow pack. Our poor skis are battered with many “rayas” (scratches) on the bases. Luckily Aaron has gotten good at quick p-tex fixes using a hair dryer and a lighter (thank you Griffith for the supplies). And at the ski area we have been following our local friends out of bounds. We have learned that in Spain, pistas cerradas (closed runs) are actually just ski at your own risk. Sorry – skis!

Earlier this winter, we started volunteering for English conversation classes after school for kids from Ellery’s school with the English teacher. We are trying hard to contribute to a small community of parents that are fighting to keep their school despite the small numbers attending 7-10th grade in Benasque. Unfortunately, the town is enveloped in a complicated debate over the future of schooling in the valley and the value of public institutions vs alternative (charter-like) options. Ellery’s school is a cooperative charter school and, unfortunately, it may be giving up the fight to remain open as an alternative to public school down valley. We have shown up to several meetings and manifestations to support the teachers and parents from this center. We feel grateful that we are here for this academic year, as next year’s status is uncertain.

Gratitude and peace. We send love from this small part of the world.

Hasta la proxima…..

Katie, Aaron y Ellery