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