 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi
Has anyone skied here? If you have please can you give me your thoughts on the runs, lifts, resort, your accomodation........
Many Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Skied there about 25 years ago. My recollection is that it is fine for beginners & intermediates, but a bit limited beyond that. In those days it was mainly drags, with one 4 man bubble, and a chair over to Bareges. A bit bleak (above the tree line, with very functional 1960s & 70s architecture), and not really much to the village. It's a small collection of hotels and a large car park at the top of the col. If you want something with a bit more character, you might be better off in Bareges on the other side of the ski area.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Obviously I am bound to be biased, because I live here, but the Tourmalet resort (Bareges-La Mongie) is seriously underrated. It is the largest ski area in the French Pyrenees, and has plenty of runs for a good week of skiing. I'd say that it is best suited to intermediate skiers, and it is perfect for families, however there are loads of long, cruising red runs if you want a bit more of a challenge . If you love skiing blacks, the choices are a bit limited (5 pistes), but there is a HUGE amount of off-piste (including the descent from the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, rated one of the best off-piste routes in Europe), so expert skiers will be in their element. The ski touring is also excellent.
La Mongie itself is an ugly 1960s custom-built village set in a big, snowy bowl. There are lots of great places to eat and the prices are really reasonable, so it is worth a visit from that point of view, and the nursery slopes around the village are very good. On the other side of the resort, Bareges is a traditional mountain village, with a more welcoming atmosphere and some friendly bars, restaurants and the brilliant new thermal spa. You can ski back to the village most weeks of the season, and there is a free ski bus running every 10 minutes (5 minutes ride to the lifts). Bareges has several hotels, a lot of self catering appartments, and if you prefer to stay in a catered chalet, you would have to look at our website, as we have the only one 
The Bareges side of the resort has some fabulouse tree-lined runs, and is one of the only resorts in Europe where you can ski in deciduous forest. Overall, the five linked ski areas making up the Tourmalet resort offer a very varied selection of pistes, which are "Alpine" in character and scenery. The other thing to bear in mind is that there are several other resorts within 35-45 minutes drive (Luz, Cauterets, Gavarnie, Hautacam), which are all worth a visit if you fancy a change of scenery during the week.
The Tourmalet (Bareges-La Mongie) resort has a modern lift system, with the main axis pistes being served by three fast six chairs, and the majority of the other runs have standard four-man chairs. There is one bubble lift, and are a few buttons - mainly on the short nursery slopes in La Mongie. One notable exception is the Coume-Lounque button, which accesses three reds and a black piste - some of the best runs in the resort, so it is well worth the effort to get up there. This button is due to be replaced shortly with a chair, but in the meantime the slopes are a bit quieter because of the slightly tricky access. Compared to some of the other Pyrenean resorts, the lift network is excellent, and as such, the resort is very popular with snowboarders. The snowpark is also a big draw.
The snow record here is excellent, and almost all of the main blue runs and nursery slopes have complete snow cannon coverage. With a maritime climate, we regularly get more snow than the Alps, and there is a long season usually from mid December through to mid April.
Hope this helps!
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