Snowshoe Routes at Leitariegos, by Day or Night

The Escuela Oficial Leitariegos, registered as an active tourism company with the Junta (TA-LE-037), goes out each week on snowshoes around the resort, by day and at night, mainly at weekends. They go with qualified guides, approved equipment and civil liability and accident insurance. It is a way to see the snow without skiing and is suitable for almost any age.

The routes

The school publishes five itineraries, all close to the resort, and adapts them to the group's technical and physical level:

• Ruta por la Estación: low difficulty, half a day.
• Ruta de la Laguna: medium difficulty, half a day.
• Ruta del Cuetu d'Arbás: high difficulty, half a day.
• Ruta Leitariegos–Genestoso: high difficulty, full day.
• Night route around the resort, with dinner at the foot of the piste: low or medium difficulty. The school presents it as a full-moon outing.

It does not publish distances or departure times: the date and meeting point are confirmed when you book, depending on the snow.

Booking

Book online, in the booking system on its website, or on 987 910 051 and 689 899 615 and at [email protected]. Prices are shown when you book; its snowshoe page does not publish them. The booking and cancellation conditions are on its website. The school is at the winter resort, on the Leitariegos pass, in the municipality of Caboalles de Abajo.

On your own

If you prefer to go on your own, Cuetu d'Arbas hires snowshoes on the pass, 500 metres from the resort, for €11 for half a day and €20 for the day. The Escuela Oficial itself also hires them and advises you on routes according to the snow, the duration and your level. Do not leave the marked paths without knowing the area: in fog, it is easy to lose your bearings in the high Cantabrian mountains.

What to bring and when

Snow season, which at the resort runs from December to April if the snow is there. Waterproof layered clothing, gloves, hat, sunglasses and sun cream, even if it is cloudy, and mountain boots: the snowshoes strap onto them. For the night outing, a head torch and one more warm layer.

To combine

If there are skiers in the group, snowshoeing is the perfect plan for the non-skier while the others are on the pistes: see the skiing at Leitariegos listing and the resort listing, with a café and self-service at the foot of the piste. Down in the valley, the Capercaillie Centre explains the fauna that lives under that snow; it is open at weekends, by booking, and closed from 20 December to February.