Pyrenees 2000 and Les Angles, the French Pyrenees Orientales

Before last week I was only working on hearsay.
Now I can honestly say that these resorts are good.

Yes I am interested in renting out my gite (see web site below) but they
are good resorts whatever.

Pyrenees 2000 is a reasonably high set of linked hills.
Lots of runs of most types, some black , most not.
High frequency of mountain restaurants / bars.
Access by car to all sorts of places (though I didn't try beyond P 2000 ).
Parking OK at P2000. Probably even easier at higher places.


Les Angles is quite different. Much, much bigger resort. Longer runs. More
similar to Soldeu or Alpine resorts . However it has a beautiful aspect
facing a large wide valley with a frozen lake.
Parking was sane.


AND

It was French half term but not crowded (apart from the standard 4 pm
crush at the bottom of every ski resort). The prices were good. (15 euro or
less for skis poles and boots. ).
Crepes on the mountain (yum).

It was my first time driving to a resort and it was fine. Our journey was
40 mins to an hour depending on what we got stuck behind. I met some people
staying even closer to the Med (further east) who had similar travel times.
Perhaps I drive slow !
The fact that we could pop into open-air thermal spas on the journey back
was a bonus .




Its not the alps but it is good skiing, good snow and far more reasonably
priced !
Surf the web and look it out !

--
John Owens


Fax 44 1509 89 08 22
www.GoodViews.co.uk

John Owens wrote:

snip

Its not the alps but it is good skiing, good snow and far more reasonably
priced !

Ding-ding-dinga-ding

Got back from nine days in Bareges on Sunday. We had snow on five or six
of those days. Excellent conditions.

Lift pass was 412 euros for a family of four for seven days - silly
bugger me forgot we were doing eight days' skiing and had to buy another
day pass for the final day. I've no idea what an Alpine pass costs, but
I doubt it's that cheap.

Hotel bill, nine nights half board, four course meals, titanic bar bill
:-)) was another 1600 euros for four peorple in two rooms.

And yes, the thermal springs (all over the Pyrenees) are utterly ace
after a day's skiing.

Bareges downers - the funicular has been closed for three years now, and
they've removed the gondola lift that ran from the village. So now you
have to drive up to the Tournaboup section, or take the bloody ski
buses. You can still ski back down to the village though.

This is a major ****er, because one of the attractions was having the
lifts on your doorstep. They're constructing a new high-speed gondola
from the village for 2006, but why they didn't build it before removing
the old lifts is a mystery. The village is well ****ed off, because it's
given La Mongie the edge.

New high-speed six-man chairs have been added on other links, and
they've opened up the Pic du Midi, though, which redresses the balance a
bit.

And yes, considering it was half term, it was not very crowded.
Certainly not by Alpine standards.

OK, I'd like to ski the Alps again but when you have two children and
are tied to school holiday times, on my income it's not a financial
possibility. Cheap BA flights to Toulouse (300 quid for four, using some
of my air miles), 250 quid for a rented Zafira for nine days, 1200 quid
for good board and lodging, 300 quid for lift passes, a few quid for
hire of kit for the lad...

Add in spending money for meals on the slopes and the other usual stuff,
and I made it about ukp2500 all in for nine nights and eight days
skiing, at the peak of high season.

I don't see how you can do the Alps for that sort of money for seven
nights, never mind nine, unless you all cram into a hateful "studio".
This was a really good, comfortable, trip.

Having the house burgled in our absence wasn't so much fun, though.
:-(((

Anyway, we've left all our kit in the hotel, as in previous years,
because we'll be back next season.... Maybe also for a few days at
Easter.



--
Trophy 1200 750SS CB400F CD200 ST70 YTC#3
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 IHABWTJ#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06
BOF#30 WUSS#5 http://www.chateau.murray.dsl.pipex.com/

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 07:22:50 +0000,
(The Older Gentleman) wrote:

John Owens wrote:

snip

Its not the alps but it is good skiing, good snow and far more reasonably
priced !

Ding-ding-dinga-ding

Got back from nine days in Bareges on Sunday. We had snow on five or six
of those days. Excellent conditions.

snip TOG's usual pikey 'Barege is best' posting

You really ought to get out a bit more and try a few different
resorts. I'm sure Bareges is all the things you say it is, but you're
turning into[1] one of those people that go to the same hotel evey
year and won't even consider anything else.

It's perhaps also worth making the point that Bareges is on the other
side of the Pyreness from the resorts mentioned, a surprisingly log
way. These latter are two of perhaps a dozen smallish ski resorts,
which I'd love to investigate a day at a time, IYSWIM. Sadly, after
we'd done three weeks' repping in Soldeu we didn't have any spare time
to check them out on the way back :-{

[1] What am I saying, you're the archetype.
--
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:

[1] What am I saying, you're the archetype.

I know, I know. I'd love to get out more. I did get out more, time and
again, BK (Before Kids).

I will again, once they've flown the nest. For the moment, though, it's
a choice between incredibly basic and uncomfortable self-catering in the
Alps, or a decent hotel in the Pyrenees. No contest.



--
Trophy 1200 750SS CB400F CD200 ST70 YTC#3
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 IHABWTJ#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06
BOF#30 WUSS#5 http://www.chateau.murray.dsl.pipex.com/

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 01:50:08 +0000 (UTC), in
(rec.skiing.resorts.europe) "John
Owens" wrote:

Before last week I was only working on hearsay.
Now I can honestly say that these resorts are good.

Shhhh! We're trying to keep it quiet!

Yes I am interested in renting out my gite (see web site below) but they
are good resorts whatever.

Ahh!

It was my first time driving to a resort and it was fine. Our journey was
40 mins to an hour depending on what we got stuck behind. I met some people
staying even closer to the Med (further east) who had similar travel times.
Perhaps I drive slow !

45 minutes from Prades in a 1.6 TD Escort Estate with a knackered
turbo, and a dodgy clutch. Longer if the last half is 'chaines
obligatoires'

The fact that we could pop into open-air thermal spas on the journey back
was a bonus .

Shhh! We're trying to keep St Thomas a secret too.

Its not the alps

Which does have its upsides, too!

but it is good skiing, good snow and far more reasonably
priced !


--
Charlie

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 08:53:33 +0100, in

(rec.skiing.resorts.europe) Ace wrote:

It's perhaps also worth making the point that Bareges is on the other
side of the Pyreness from the resorts mentioned, a surprisingly log
way. These latter are two of perhaps a dozen smallish ski resorts,
which I'd love to investigate a day at a time, IYSWIM. Sadly, after
we'd done three weeks' repping in Soldeu we didn't have any spare time
to check them out on the way back :-{

For those interested in exploring all of the small resorts in the
Pyrénées Orientales area surrounding Font Romeau, Mont Louis, Les
Angles, Pyrénées 2000, etc., I understand that a ski-pass is available
that is accepted at all the 'Catelan' resorts.

I don't know if it's available on a weekly basis, but I recall hearing
that it's about 200-ish Euros for a season, which strikes me as damn
good value, with a lot of vaired skiing on offer. I'm trying to find
out more, for my own benefit, and I'll post anything I uncover here.

It's a charming part of the world (I'm biased because I live here),
and refreshingly different from Courchevel ski-wise.

And, no, we've not built our gite yet


--
Charlie

"Charlie King" om wrote
in message ...
On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 01:50:08 +0000 (UTC), in
(rec.skiing.resorts.europe) "John
Owens" wrote:

Before last week I was only working on hearsay.
Now I can honestly say that these resorts are good.

Shhhh! We're trying to keep it quiet!

The fact that we could pop into open-air thermal spas on the journey
back
was a bonus .

Shhh! We're trying to keep St Thomas a secret too.


OK Charlie

Stum is the word.


--
John Owens


Fax 44 1509 89 08 22
www.GoodViews.co.uk