What's the best ski resort in the Pyrenees?

What's the best ski resort in the Pyrenees? I'm talking combination of
good snow, off piste, park, nightlife... I'm not demanding at all ;-)
Have been looking at Peyragudes but it looks small. Has anyone got any
suggestions?

Ed wrote:

What's the best ski resort in the Pyrenees? I'm talking combination of
good snow, off piste, park, nightlife... I'm not demanding at all ;-)
Have been looking at Peyragudes but it looks small. Has anyone got any
suggestions?

Andorra probably is, now it's all been linked.

Bareges/La Mongie is way, way bigger than you'd think, though it's
mostly intermediate stuff with few blacks. Bareges is nicer to stay in
(old village, thermal baths), La Mongie is closer to the slopes (modern
purpose-built).

St Lary/Pla d'Adet is only slightly smaller than Bareges/La M. Slightly
pricier as it's more chic. It's like Courmayeur or Chiesa in that the
village is at the bottom of the hill and you need to take the cable-car
up and down every day, or drive up and down.

Or stay at the Pla, which is a bit pricier but has the advantage of
having the snow on your doorsterp and you can ski back to the hotel. Not
much in the way of nightlife up there, though.


--
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On Thu, 5 Oct 2006 07:12:42 +0100,
(The Older Gentleman) wrote:

Ed wrote:

What's the best ski resort in the Pyrenees? I'm talking combination of
good snow, off piste, park, nightlife... I'm not demanding at all ;-)
Have been looking at Peyragudes but it looks small. Has anyone got any
suggestions?

Andorra probably is, now it's all been linked.

You mean the combined areas of Pas de la Casa and Soldeu, I presume.
There are other resorts in Andorra, you know.

But you're right, in that it offers the best combination of size,
variety and height to guarantee good skiing. In terms of nightlife,
one can choose to stay in PdlC, which is a bit like Blackpool on the
Piste, including Kiss me Quick hats (or equivalent), Soldeu, which
still has quite a few bars and clubs, some of which offering a quieter
time of it, or el Tartar, which is just a small village with small
village amenities (although it has an ice rink).

My overall preference, including ease of access to slopes, would be
Soldeu.

--
Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk
All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club.

Ace wrote:

Andorra probably is, now it's all been linked.


You mean the combined areas of Pas de la Casa and Soldeu, I presume.
There are other resorts in Andorra, you know.

And those offer the better skiing.

On Thu, 05 Oct 2006 10:08:11 +0200, davidof
wrote:

Ace wrote:

Andorra probably is, now it's all been linked.


You mean the combined areas of Pas de la Casa and Soldeu, I presume.
There are other resorts in Andorra, you know.

And those offer the better skiing.

Well I've not skied them, but it's quite shocking that the Granvalira
area still has a reputation as being unsuitable for more advanced
skiers. I repped there for three weeks a couple of years back and had
an absolute blast - there's tons of off-piste easily available, with
one entire mountainside unpisted and only served by an
occasionally-running piste-basher tow or a 45 minute hike.

--
Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk
All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club.

On Thu, 05 Oct 2006 10:18:15 +0200, Ace wrote:

On Thu, 05 Oct 2006 10:08:11 +0200, davidof
wrote:

Ace wrote:

Andorra probably is, now it's all been linked.


You mean the combined areas of Pas de la Casa and Soldeu, I presume.
There are other resorts in Andorra, you know.

And those offer the better skiing.

Well I've not skied them, but it's quite shocking that the Granvalira
area still has a reputation as being unsuitable for more advanced
skiers. I repped there for three weeks a couple of years back and had
an absolute blast - there's tons of off-piste easily available, with
one entire mountainside unpisted and only served by an
occasionally-running piste-basher tow or a 45 minute hike.

I think it is those few experts who go there who are deliberately
perpetuating the myth, so that they can keep it for themselves :-)
--
Alex Heney, Global Villager
If idiots could fly, this would be an airport.
To reply by email, my address is alexATheneyDOTplusDOTcom

Ed wrote:
What's the best ski resort in the Pyrenees? I'm talking combination of
good snow, off piste, park, nightlife... I'm not demanding at all ;-)
Have been looking at Peyragudes but it looks small. Has anyone got any
suggestions?

Gourette is the best, hands down...

"scott w" wrote in message
ups.com...

Ed wrote:
What's the best ski resort in the Pyrenees? I'm talking combination of
good snow, off piste, park, nightlife... I'm not demanding at all ;-)
Have been looking at Peyragudes but it looks small. Has anyone got any
suggestions?

Gourette is the best, hands down...


Wouldn't care to elaborate? Excuse my ignorance, but frankly I've never
heard of it

--
Paul Schofield

Alex Heney wrote:
On Thu, 05 Oct 2006 10:18:15 +0200, Ace wrote:


On Thu, 05 Oct 2006 10:08:11 +0200, davidof
wrote:


Ace wrote:


Andorra probably is, now it's all been linked.


You mean the combined areas of Pas de la Casa and Soldeu, I presume.
There are other resorts in Andorra, you know.

And those offer the better skiing.

Well I've not skied them, but it's quite shocking that the Granvalira
area still has a reputation as being unsuitable for more advanced
skiers. I repped there for three weeks a couple of years back and had
an absolute blast - there's tons of off-piste easily available, with
one entire mountainside unpisted and only served by an
occasionally-running piste-basher tow or a 45 minute hike.


I think it is those few experts who go there who are deliberately
perpetuating the myth, so that they can keep it for themselves :-)

psshhhhh!

Seriously I agree with both of you. The new lifts into France, while
wrecking some valuable intermediate ski touring also open up the Porte
Puymorens couloirs:-

http://pistehors.com/backcountry/wik...orte-Puymorens

Hi

What's the best ski resort in the Pyrenees? I'm talking combination of
good snow, off piste, park, nightlife... I'm not demanding at all ;-)
Have been looking at Peyragudes but it looks small. Has anyone got any
suggestions?
Picking up your queestion: I was last month in the pyrenees for hiking
and stayed at Luz St.Sauveur. I found it a very pleasant village,
especially, because it seems more a village for the people, who live
there than for the tourists. Now I think that it is a good starting
point to reach several resorts: Gedre, Luz Ardiden, Bareges/Col
Tourmalet also maybe Hautacam and Cauterets. And it looked like that
there is really a lot of great backcountry ski touring.

Did anyone of you spend some days in winter there, and can share his
impressions?

Florian