 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi All
I am new to this Forum and new to Skiing, Myself and Girlfriend will be going travelling round Europe in a Motorhome from This November, and we were planning to do some skiing in the Pyrenees around Christmas.
We are looking for a resort, that is still smallish, not really interested in busy big resorts, I'd rather have quiet and picturest ( i can hope!) also has some apres ski bar or bars maybe, is good for beginners and intermediate's and there is Motorhome parking near by.
We have been looking on net and in books, but finding where to go hard..
we are looking for a realitively cheap ski pass, and we will also need hire..
I know it's a lot to ask, but would be very grateful, thank you
Regards
Mark
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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There are people on this forum who know a lot more about the area than me. I've visited the Pyrenees summer and a few that we either drove past or saw were:
Cauterets
Luz Ardiden
Gavarnie
La Mongie/Bareges (This seemed a big area over the Tourmalet pass)
All medium sized areas. I imagine they will be considerably cheaper than their alpine counterparts. The ones mentioned above are all rather close to each other, meaning you could travel around them in your motorhome.
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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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I've skied Cauterets a couple of times, its very small, you can easily do it all in a day but its good fun and pretty empty. I'd recommend giving it a go as part of a trip to a bunch of resorts.
The biggest in that area is Bareges/La Mongie (Tourmalet) which is 100+ km of slopes. There are loads of small Cauterets type resorts on the French side not far from each other. Not done Andorra or the Spanish ones but Baqueira Baret is supposed to be good.
There's a list of them here: Pyrenees Ski Guide
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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With a motorhome you can go where the snow is so I suggest you keep an open mind and try more than one resort. Did St Lary last Feb and the conditions were great but the locals said it was the best snow for 50 years and normally they reckon the Alps are much better. The shape of the hills is different and this seems to make for very easy slopes; normally I won't go near a black run but I found the blacks to be more like a steep blue and wished they were more like a red ! There's a bit of a monopoly with only two lift companies controlling all the resorts so prices aren't as low as you might imagine (Spain is a bit of a captive market) and there are way too many drag lifts and ancient chairs. However the food was superb and good value which is more than you can say of most Alpine resorts. Chatted to a Parisian who moved to Toulouse 12 years ago and claimed to have skied every resort in the Pyrenees and she recommended Peyragudes. The main website with skiing details of all 28 areas is:
http://www.lespyrenees.net/en/index.php
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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If you found somewhere to park up in Font Romeu you could also ski Les Angles (similar reasonable sized resort), Pyrenees 2000 and Formigueres (smaller but pretty village). Plus, if you got bored you could be paddling in the Med 90 minutes later...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I've skied in Les Angles. It fits the bill in the sense that the runs are generally pretty easy, and fun too. It's got about 40km of varied runs. I'd say it was the perfect family resort. Not so sure about nightlife, but it does have at least one bar! It's pretty enough, with a rustic centre surrounded by reasonably sympathetic sprawl of apartments. It's also close to several smaller resorts (no skibus to these that I could find) should you get bored.
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A girl at work went to Font Romeu and had a great time there. Don't really know anything about it but it sounded very good value for France.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I've been to Font Romeu about 5 years ago. Quite small, unpretentious and very French with mainly bars and restaurants for entertainment. It is quite a good beginners resort with mainly easy short runs. Reasonably priced compared to the Alps.
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A few of the resorts mentioned above are great but have nothing picturesque about them (La mongie, Baqueira, Peyragudes).
Font-Romue is prettier, and also has the envious title of sunniest town in France (hence why many national teams go there to train, do preparation stages before competition). Only skied it once but it seems it would tick all the boxes although I do not know about parking yoru motorhome.
The Luchon/Superbagnere is a good suggestion and in the same vein I would suggest Ax-les-Thermes/Bonascre: spa town with gondola up to the resort which has nice beginners slope and isn't too crowded. I was last there in April, at the end of an amazing season, and the snow was superb with tree skiing also available.
It is also only a short drive from Andorra and its bigger (but ugly) resorts.
St-Lary would fit the bill as well I think.
You'll find hire shops everywhere even outside resorts..
Being from Toulouse, I know more about the mediteranean half of the pyrenees and a lot less about the atlantic side of things so I will let other comment about it.
Keep in mind though that being over Christmas it is likely to be fairly busy amost everywhere...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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marklafunk, Despite what some others have said I have found that Christmas is not all that busy, New year and the week that folows can be manic. After the 6th Jan all goes quiet again for a couple of weeks. I think the link truffaut, has posted will give you plenty to choose from.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Other names to add (small and relatively lonely places):
-Piau-Engaly (the only problem is there aren't any trees, so poor visibility when the weather is bad).
-Guzet
-Val Louron
-Puigmal
-Gavarnie-Gedre
They are in different parts of the range, so, a week after you could check the snow conditions and choice the best option.
For the landscapes I strongly recomend , SuperBageneres, Peyragudes, and Gavarnie-Gedre.
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Gourette is another one to add to your list.
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You know it makes sense.
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Gavarnie has about the most spectacular scenery you could imagine, and the lift passes are cheaper than some of the other resorts too. There is a bit of a gap in the pistes for intermediates - lots of easy beginner runs, then some very steep reds and blacks, but not much in between. Cauterets is a nice, lively town with a big carpark dedicated to camper vans. You might also consider Luz-St. Sauveur as a base, because it is pretty much equidistant between the resorts of Bareges-Gavarnie (Tourmalet), Luz-Ardiden and Gavarnie. There is also Hautacam just down the valley - a tiny little ski area, but very cheap and great views! Can't think of any free facilities for camper vans specifically at Luz-St. Sauveur, but the campsites are open for "caravaneige", and they are pretty cheap. A couple of valleys East, St. Lary-Soulan is a really lively little town, but the lift pass is expensive. We loved the skiing at Piau-Engaly further up the valley - very much "bowl" skiing though, so if you're looking for trees it is not the best option. Luchon town and the Peyregudes resort are also nice, although I have not visited in the Winter. You're spoiled for choice!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Peyragudes, is an incredible ski resort...for me the best value for your money in the french Pyrenées. But I think isn't a lonely and small place.
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Poster: A snowHead
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rthanks people, lots of good stuff for me to investigate x
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