Soldeu Unveils Monolith Honoring Four Founders of Ski School on 54th Anniversary
The tribute at Pla dels Espiolets recognizes Josep Areny, Ventura Bonell, and the Casal brothers for establishing Andorra's pioneering ski instruction in the 1970s, now boasting 145,000 annual teaching hours.
Key Points
- Soldeu unveiled a monolith at Pla dels Espiolets honoring ski school founders Josep Areny, Ventura Bonell, Miquel Casal, and Josep Casal on 54th anniversary.
- Founders started school in 1970s with 4 instructors and 800 teaching hours, now 145,000 hours by 286 professionals.
- Event organized by ENSISA and Canillo commune, with speeches and tribute to late Bonell.
- Monolith uncovered by Areny, Casals, and Mònica Bonell, Ventura's daughter and minister.
Soldeu has honored the four founders of its ski school on its 54th anniversary, unveiling a stone monolith at Pla dels Espiolets in the Grandvalira sector to recognize their pivotal role in professionalizing Andorra's skiing instruction.
Josep Areny, Ventura Bonell, Miquel Casal, and Josep Casal established the school in the early 1970s, starting with just four instructors from Canillo and around 800 annual teaching hours. Driven by enthusiasm for snow sports and the local landscape rather than ample resources, they built the foundations for what has grown into a cornerstone of ENSISA—the company overseeing Canillo's ski areas—and Andorra's winter tourism.
The event, organized by ENSISA and Canillo commune, drew speeches from Canillo's senior consul Jordi Alcobé, along with David Hidalgo, Josep Mandicó, and Xavier Soro. It also paid tribute to Bonell, who passed away in 2012, and highlighted Miquel Casal's four-decade leadership of the school. This season, the institution has delivered nearly 145,000 teaching hours with a staff of 286 professionals under director Toni Rodríguez.
Areny, the two Casals, and Mònica Bonell—Ventura's eldest daughter and current Culture and Sports Minister—uncovered the monolith, which lists the founders' names for future visitors. The honorees arrived expecting a broader discussion on the Soldeu resort, only to discover the ceremony centered on their legacy as one of the area's key economic drivers.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: