Skiing in the Pyrenees

The 2009/2010 season is now over, boo-hoo!!

 

There are loads of ski resorts in the French Pyrenees, and from Pyrenees Holiday Gites you can reach 5 of them within 1 1/2 hours, the closest only 25 minutes away. 
Skiing in the Pyrenees is a pleasure due to the wide choice of easily accessible ski resorts, and the weather is mainly excellent, coupled with the fact that skiing in the Pyrenees is relatively cheap and the queues are short.

         

Although not an instructor I have a good background in skiing as an ex-British junior ski team member and ex-RAF champion; these disciplines were Nordic and Biathlon, but downhill skiing is easier, you get a lift up the hills; so for those of you just starting out I can point you in the right direction, and escort the more advanced skier around the different ski resorts. For the price of a beer I'll get the beginners going.

 

Welcome to the Pyrenees, a true winter wonderland.

 

 

Only a 25 minute drive from Pyrenees Holiday Gites - Laroca, is the ski resort of Le Mourtis. Nestled amid the trees that offer protection from inclement weather, Le Mourtis provides skiing for all abilities, from beginner to advanced.

 

The ski resort of Superbagneres, above Luchon is a mere 30 minute drive from us. Here you have the choice to take the gondola (4 person bubble lift) to the top of the mountain, or you can drive up (20 minutes). At a higher altitude than Le Mourtis, Superbagneres offers a good range of skiing with some nice long pistes.

 

At just 45 minutes drive from us is the ski resort of Peyragudes. Here you can ski both sides of the mountain on wide open slopes. Again a great range of skiing available for all abilities, and a bit of a boarders paradise, nice wide open slopes.

 

La Mongie, possibly the largest ski resort in the French Pyrenees, is a 2 hour drive from us.

Baquiera, in Spain, 1 1/2 hours from us. A huge open bowl provides some great skiing.

Snowboarding is available to do at all the resorts.

Cross-Country Skiing.

 

Many of the ski resorts in the Pyrenees also provide an area for Cross-Country (Nordic) skiing, as the French say, Ski de Fond. Although it is a sport more assosciated with Scandinavian countries in particular Norway; not far from us (a drive of 1 hour) is an area called Nistos in the Haute Pyrenees which is purely for Cross-Country skiing, offering over 50Km of tracks.