Snow and ski - anyone on here been to Bareges?

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anyone on here been to Bareges?

I am looking into organising a trip for a mixed ability group. I'd
like somewhere a lot cheaper than the Alps but with half-decent skiing
for experts. A friend of a friend lives in Bordeaux and always drives
to Bareges / La Mongie - he can't speak highly enough of the place -
though I'm unsure of his skiing abiity.

I was tempted to try there last year - but the conditions were awful -
unlike this year, apparently.

Any tips welcome...

anyone on here been to Bareges?

scott w wrote:

I am looking into organising a trip for a mixed ability group. I'd
like somewhere a lot cheaper than the Alps but with half-decent skiing
for experts. A friend of a friend lives in Bordeaux and always drives
to Bareges / La Mongie - he can't speak highly enough of the place -
though I'm unsure of his skiing abiity.

I was tempted to try there last year - but the conditions were awful -
unlike this year, apparently.

Any tips welcome...

Been there many, many times.

Much cheaper than the Alps. Skiing is all beginner to intermediate:
nothing very taxing, though there is a lot of skiing there.

Bareges is quaint, sweet, cute and has the Thermes (thermal hot springs
and baths). But you have to drive up the road to the ski area since they
ripped out the lifts that took you there. You can ski back to the
village, though. The shuttle bus system is diabolical.

La Mongie is purpose built and much less lacking in charm, but is
higher, and you can step out to the lifts and ski back to your doorstep.
OTOH there are no thermal springs there....

Everything is effectively Eastern European prices: lift passes, hotel
costs, food, booze, etc. However, there is a lot less vertical than the
Alps: maybe 3500 feet altogether. It's a lovely place for a holiday:
dedicated hard-core skiers may get bored after a week.

I love the Pyrenees for their charm, and Bareges/La M used to be the
biggest ski circus there, by some way, until they finally linked all the
Andorra bits and pieces a couple of years back.

Last year, yes, the Pyrenees suffered and we cancelled and went to Val
instead.

--
BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Yamaha XTZ660 Tenere Honda CB400F SH50
If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it. Workshop manual?
Buy one instead of asking where the free PDFs are
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com

anyone on here been to Bareges?

"scott w" wrote in message
...
I am looking into organising a trip for a mixed ability group. I'd
like somewhere a lot cheaper than the Alps but with half-decent skiing
for experts. A friend of a friend lives in Bordeaux and always drives
to Bareges / La Mongie - he can't speak highly enough of the place -
though I'm unsure of his skiing abiity.

I was tempted to try there last year - but the conditions were awful -
unlike this year, apparently.

Any tips welcome...

Okay, my Two Centimes'-worth:

In a good snow season (and so far, so good) the French Pyrenees are IMHO
greatly underrated. That said, I'm not a huge fan of La Mongie, although
Barèges has a certain something, as does the higher wooded terrain between
the two. They also tend to keep the return run down to Barèges village open
from the Col du Tourmalet, which is gratifying. You might have a good time
here, but for my money you have better options.

I'd consider:
(1) Saint-Lary Soulan, which now has a freebie transfer service from Pau
airport - and if you're driving, you can split you time here by adding
Piau-Engaly for a change of scenery and decent high-altitude skiing.
Unfortunately, due to a 'situation' between the respective areas, they don't
currently offer a combined lift-pass, but maybe one day...
(2) Cauterets/Pont d'Espagne, adding nearby Luz Ardiden for more
variety/mileage, etc., if you have a car (so worth hiring if you're flying
down). There's a long-term plan to link the two with a gondola, which - if
it ever comes off - will really put these two on the map.

Skied them last season, so more insight and impressions he
http://www.mountainpassions.com/wint..._cauterets.htm
http://www.mountainpassions.com/wint...uz_ardiden.htm
http://www.mountainpassions.com/wint...saint_lary.htm
http://www.mountainpassions.com/wint...iau_engaly.htm

Hope this gives you a bit more to go on - have a great trip!

RM
www.mountainpassions.com - an Online Magazine with Altitude

anyone on here been to Bareges?

Roger Moss wrote:

I'd consider:
(1) Saint-Lary Soulan, which now has a freebie transfer service from Pau
airport

Real prob with St Lary (and I've also skied there many times) is that
90% of the hotel accommodation is in the village in the valley, and you
either have to drive up and down every day or queue for sodding ages for
the cable car link to the slopes - like Courmayeur. Or use the shuttle
buses (sod that).

There's plenty of self-catering accommodation by the slopes, mind, but
damn all in the way of nightlife and decent bars. That's all in the
valley, too.

Some nice skiing, though like Bareges, nothing very taxing. It's also a
bit more chic and a bit pricier.

--
BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Yamaha XTZ660 Tenere Honda CB400F SH50
If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it. Workshop manual?
Buy one instead of asking where the free PDFs are
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com

anyone on here been to Bareges?

I'd consider:
(1) Saint-Lary Soulan, which now has a freebie transfer service from Pau
airport - and if you're driving, you can split you time here by adding
Piau-Engaly for a change of scenery and decent high-altitude skiing.
Unfortunately, due to a 'situation' between the respective areas, they don't
currently offer a combined lift-pass, but maybe one day...

Would agree with Roger that Saint Lary is a really good choice. Snow
is particularly amazing at the moment and The Older Gentleman is right
that it's Eastern Europe prices over there - pretty important these
days considering the rate of the Euro. There are flights to Lourdes-
Tarbes with Ryanass too and I think that the free shuttle may be
extended to that airport.

see http://www.saint-lary.co.uk

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
XS
Peak Retreats http://www.peakretreats.co.uk
Ski Collection http://www.skicollection.co.uk

anyone on here been to Bareges?

"Excess" wrote in message
...

I'd consider:
(1) Saint-Lary Soulan, which now has a freebie transfer service from Pau
airport - and if you're driving, you can split you time here by adding
Piau-Engaly for a change of scenery and decent high-altitude skiing.
Unfortunately, due to a 'situation' between the respective areas, they
don't
currently offer a combined lift-pass, but maybe one day...

Would agree with Roger that Saint Lary is a really good choice. Snow
is particularly amazing at the moment and The Older Gentleman is right
that it's Eastern Europe prices over there - pretty important these
days considering the rate of the Euro. There are flights to Lourdes-
Tarbes with Ryanass too and I think that the free shuttle may be
extended to that airport.

see http://www.saint-lary.co.uk

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
XS
Peak Retreats http://www.peakretreats.co.uk
Ski Collection http://www.skicollection.co.uk

Assuming I had a car (unsure whether there's a coach shuttle from
Saint-Lary) I'd definitely also devote a couple of days to nearby Piau
Engaly. I was there late last April for the closing weekend of the season,
and it STILL had loads of snow. A tad icy first thing in the mornings,
mind...

Further thought for anyone heading to the French Pyrenees: Hautacam may be
best known as a mountain stage in the Tour de France, but it's also a
much-loved ski area for local families. Yes, I know it looks laughably small
on the piste-map, but I can say hand-on-heart that it's one of the most
beautiful places I've ever skied - the scenery is just amazing. Drag-lifts
only, of course, but then low operating costs keep it viable - and it is
VERY cheap.

http://www.hautacam.com/fr/hiver_ski.html gets the vibe across, despite
there being no English text.

Bon Ski.

RM
www.mountainpassions.com - an Online Magazine with Altitude