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OUTLINE
ITINERARY
DAY 1 - Fly to Pau Pyrenees
We collect you from Pau airport or Lourdes SNCF train station
and transfer you to our valley base of Luz St Sauveur. We
spend the evening checking equipment and picking up hire gear
if necessary.
DAY
2 - Focus on Downhill Ski Technique
using Touring Skis
The first day of the course is based in one of the three ski
resorts around our base in Luz St. Sauveur. The tuition will
be mainly about ski techniques but you should have all of
your touring gear with you - (see "What You Should have in
your Rucksac" below). We will spend most of the day skiing
on piste but all the techniques we will be using are designed
to help you improve your off-piste skiing. We will also spend
some time looking at your equipment and checking that it is
all functioning properly.
DAY
3 - Off-Piste Skiing and Avalanche
Safety
We will focus mainly on off-piste skiing today and may choose
from a variety of different mountains to ski depending on
conditions. The day will start with some tuition in the use
of Avalanche Transceivers before we begin skiing. The skiing
will be varied and will test your skiing in different ways.
Tuition will be given in off-piste ski techniques as we progress
through the day.
DAY
4 - A Day Tour focusing on Skinning
Skills
Today we will head off on a day tour in the Neouvielle Nature
Reserve area or the Gavarnie area. Tuition will focus on the
use of climbing skills using skins. There are a number of
techniques that can be used to help minimise effort and conserve
energy. We will practise kick turns - essential for climbing
steeper slopes - and different methods to get the skis to
glide with least resistance.
DAYS
5,6,7 - A Three Day Hut to Hut
Ski Tour
We will set off on a three day hut to hut tour with a UIAGM
mountain guide today. We will not know the exact route or
the huts that we will stay in until the evening before we
leave as this will depend on conditions. But we plan to head
in to the Pyrenees National Park and to stay at two different
huts.
DAY
8 - Fly back to London
You are transferred back to Pau Airport or Lourdes SNCF to
connect with transport back home.
Please
Note: This itinerary may be altered if conditions, weather
forecasts or the overall fitness of the group are judged to
put the safety of the group at risk. Pyrenean Mountain Tour
Guides reserve the right to make changes to the itinerary
without notice. These changes will be explained to the group
as and when they occur.
EQUIPMENT
AND CLOTHING NEEDED FOR THIS TREK
We
recommend that people joining this trek are equipped with
the following:
Technical
equipment
Ski Touring Skis with Touring Bindings
Ski Poles
Skins (with good glue!)
Ski Crampons
Crampons
(please note: you do not need to carry an ice axe on this
trip)
Ski Strap (for tying top of the skis together when carrying
on rucksack)
Avalanche Transceiver
Snow Shovel
Clothing
suggestions
Thermal underwear- 1 set as a base layer
Fleece
Waterproof jacket
Waterproof over trousers
Warm hat
Warm gloves
Warm walking socks
Sun hat or peaked cap
Sunglasses/Goggles
Other
useful items
40-60 litre rucksack (needs side straps so that you can carry
skis)
Head torch and batteries
Sun block for face and lips
Personal First Aid kit (plasters,compede, paracetamol)
Water bottle or Platypus
Penknife
Optional
items
Change of clothing to include: underwear,tracksuit bottoms/
long-johns,dry shirt, spare socks.
Camera and film
Paperback novel
Maps
Ear plugs(there is always one snorer)
Snack bars/dried fruit/chocolate
Sheet sleeping bag (if you like them...)
Ski
Touring Equipment Hire
Pyrenean Mountain Tours offer
a full equipment hire pack. You can hire everything you need
for this tour or individual items at the costs shown in the
table below. We are unable to provide equipment "last
minute" so you need to book what you need well in advance.
| Items |
Description |
Costs |
| Ski
Touring Pack |
includes:
skis, skins, ski crampons, poles, ski touring boots, avalanche
transceiver,shoevl, crampons |
£120 |
| With
Own Boots |
includes:
all of the above but no boots |
£90 |
Please
remember to carry as little gear as possible. A heavy rucksack
will make the trip hard work and less fun.
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Ski trips and more throughout Europe and beyond
Don’t let our name fool you: as well as Pyrenees
trips, we can take you to the Alps, South Tyrol, Dolomites,
Tatra Mountains and even further. In France, Spain,
Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Poland, Slovenia…even
Mongolia.
Downhill skiing, alpine skiing, off piste, telemark
skiing, ski tours, ski touring snowshoeing, trekking,
mountaineering, expedition training, motorcycle tours,
expedition training, walking, activity holidays, canyoning,
mountain biking, white water rafting, road touring,
cultural tours and study – chances are we have
just what you’re looking for. We can also arrange
all accommodation, from a hotel or B&B to a self-catering
apartment or gite.
Can’t see what you’re after? We’d
be happy to arrange a bespoke trip for you.
Pyrenean
Mountain Tours
2 Rectory
Cottages, Rectory Lane, Wolverton,Hants,
RG26 5RS, UK
tel and fax: (0044)(0)1635 297209, web: www.pyrenees.co.uk
(Pyrenean
Mountain Tours is a trading name of European Mountain
Holidays Ltd.)
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| .....background
preparation |
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Maps
and Guidebooks
Your guide will carry all the maps
that the group needs but you may want to plan
or record your journey on your own copy. The best
map is:
Sheet
Number 24 - Pyrenees, Gavarnie - Ordessa
(1:50,000), published by Rando Editions.
Alternatively
you could carry two 1/25,000 maps;
IGN Sheet number 1748 OT , "Gavarnie".
IGN Sheet number 1647 OT , "Vignemale".
The
best general guidebook for this area of the Pyrenees,
even though it doesn't cover ski touring is:
Walking in the Pyrennees, by Kev Reynolds,
(published the Cicerone Press)
But
most useful for this course is Peter
Cliff's 'Ski Mountaineering', if
you can find a second had copy, as it is sadly
out of print.
For
a specific ski touring book read John
Harding's Pyrenean High Route, published
by Tiercel Publishing.
You
can order maps and books online at: www.mapsworldwide.co.uk,
www.amazon.com,
or buy them at Stanford books in London.
Fitness and Skiing Standard
This tour requires that you should
be able to walk uphill for up to 2.5 - 3 hours
a day on moderate terrain, gaining an average
of 800 metres. Ski descents are varied and will
be tailored to the group's overall skiing ability
but you must be able to perform a basic parallel
ski turn on a red piste before joining this tour.
You do not need any previous mountaineering experience.
This
tour is at altitude and this may affect your performance
if you are not fit. We advise all of our clients
to undertake some basic form of fitness training
before joining a ski tour.
Group
Size: 1 group of 8 people.
DAF Scale:D1:A:F1
Questions
about this tour ? Email Simon
for help.
Mountain Guides and
Leaders
Your tour will be led by one of our
qualified UIAGM guides and a BASI ski instructor.
Our guides are experienced leaders with several
years knowledge of the Pyrenees. They are experts
on local Flora and Fauna as well as mountain craft
and leadership.
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| .....travel
details & costs |
| Departure
Dates & Flight Details
We recommend
that you use the following Ryanair
flights:
Depart 29th Dec 2007
Sat 29th Dec, FR2356, at 12.40 from London Stansted
to Pau Pyrenees; returning on 5th Jan, FR2357,
at 16.00 from Pau Pyrenees to London Stansted
Depart
2nd Feb, 2008
Sat 2nd Feb, FR2356, at 09.50 from London Stansted
to Pau Pyrenees; returning on 9th Feb, FR2357,
at 13.10 from Pau Pyrenees to London Stansted
Depart
1st March, 2007
Sat 24th March, FR2356, at 09.50 from London Stansted
to Pau Pyrenees; returning on 8th March, FR2357,
at 13.10 from Pau Pyrenees to London Stansted.
Ryan
air flights are generally cheaper the further
in advance that you book and can be purchased
for as little as £50.00 return.
Go
to www.ryanair.com to book your flights.
What
your Holiday will Cost
£610
per person
£60 single supplement (payable
if you want a single room for the first and last
nights in a hotel)
Is
this your first ski tour ?
This year we are trialing
a new discount scheme for people trying ski touring
for the first time. If you book an Introduction
to Ski Touring course and a ski tour in the
same year we will reduce your overall bill by
£100.
Toured
with us Before ?
If
you have been ski touring with us twice or more
before you are entitled to a £40
discount. Please
remind us when you book!
The Diary Discount
We
know that lots of you keep diaries of your ski
tours and we want to publish some of them ! Our
aim is to have a link on each of our ski touring
itinerary pages to a previous years diary of the
trip. If we publish yours we'll pay you £15
(in the form of a discount on a PMT trip of course)
for your trouble.
Transfer
Arrangements
We
collect you in our minibus free of charge if you
arrive on the flights we have recommended
above. If you choose a different flight you will
be responsible for your own transfer to the start
and from the end of the tour, but we will pick
you up free of charge at Lourdes SNCF station.
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| .....more
details |
| Accommodation
Quick List
Our valley base for this tour is the little
mountain village of Luz St Sauveur. We are booked into
the Hotel Templiers in the centre of the village for
the five nights. You can leave spare luggage there while
you are away on the tour.
Day
one: Hotel Templiers
Day two: Hotel
Templiers
Day three: Hotel
Templiers
Day four: Hotel
Templiers
Day five: Glere Refuge
Day six: Bastanet Refuge
Day seven: Hotel
Templiers
Please note: accommodation changes may have to
be made if weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances
make it necessary. We try to ensure that hotel rooms
are twin bedded with en suite facilities but this is
not always possible. If you pay a single supplement
but do not receive a single room , then your money will
be refunded on your return to the UK.
Included
in the Price
-5 nights half board
at hotel
-2
nights half board accommodation in mountain huts
-mountain guiding fees and expenses
Not
Included in the Price
-International air
travel
-Hiring of equipment from the equipment list specified
for this trip
- Drinks and snacks at huts and hotels
- packed lunch or mountain cafe lunches.
- daily ski passes as required
Spending
Money
Please
bring all money in local currency (Euros), as there
will be no opportunity to go to a bank en route. There
is little opportunity to spend much on this trip other
than on a few beers at the huts.
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