Beautiful green and blue pistes through the forests and back into the village

huge variety of red pistes for intermediates to cruise

lunch in a choice of great restaurants - including the famous Col du Tourmalet café

Tough skiing in black bowls and even steeper off-piste skiing from the Pic du Midi

Skiing in Barèges has a very different feel from the well known resorts in the Alps. For a start it is more local, most people you meet will be either French or Spanish. The skiing areas are less crowded too. Outside the French school holiday it's rare to encounter queues for lifts or lunch. Intermediate and advanced skiers will have lots of space on the pistes (on some runs it's not unusual to find yourself skiing alone) while beginners will get more time with their instructors because there are fewer people in ski school. You can ski from all the way over the Col du Tourmalet to La Mongie. The resort also boasts Europe's longest continuous blue/green run - 14 kilometres from the Col du Tourmalet back to the village.

Skiing for the First Time ?
Barèges is a good place to learn to ski. There are plenty of easy slopes for beginners to practise on. The ski school will ensure that you make the most of the pistes and, once you are comfortable on your skis, the instructors will take you to a different part of the resort each day. By the end of your first week you should be able to ski the 14 kilometre run all the way from the café at the Col du Tourmalet, through Super-Barèges, past the Tournaboup ski area and back into the centre of Barèges village.

Skiing for Intermediates
Barèges is a wonderful area for intermediate skiers. There are green, blue and red runs linking the whole ski area. You can ski for days without repeating your route and you will discover a wide variety of terrain on the way. You could warm up by exploring the blue and green pistes around Laquette before skiing down to the Lienz area just above Barèges. In Super-Barèges you could try the wide sunny blue La Plage below the Pic du Midi or the long blues from the Col du Tourmalet. Ski over to La Mongie via the Col du Tourmalet and you'll find lots of well groomed and wide blue pistes to cruise along. Then head to the Quatre Thermes for the more difficult winding blues and reds down to La Mongie 1800. By the end of the week you should be able to have a go at the challenging Coumbe Longue and Coumbe l'Ayse pistes.

Advanced Skiing
Good skiers have a lot of piste skiing to choose from. From the top of the Chez Louisette poma lift you can ski the fast and narrow black piste through the forests to Lienz. The whole of the Lienz mountain is usually left un-pisted so the skiing is tough and wild. Then you could catch a chair up to Laquette or use a long, steep drag-lift to reach a range of moguled reds. From Super-Barèges you can ski the Coumbe l'Ayse - an adrenaline charged red that seems to go on for ever and is often deliberately left un-pisted after a new snow fall. Over the Col du Tourmalet, ski down the fast red piste Coumbe Longue to La Mongie 1800 for a change of scene. From La Mongie take the cable car up towards the Pic du Midi and descend the long red piste back to La Mongie village. Don't leave this run too late in the afternoon though because it will take you a good two hours to ski all the way back to Barèges.

Snowboarding
Snowboarding is the fastest growing winter sport and great fun to learn. There is a wide range of slopes suitable for boarding and there are purpose designed snowboard parks too built by the ski patrol at La Mongie and Barèges. These are areas reserved especially for snowboarders where you’ll find quarter pipes, half pipes, jumps and slalom tracks. These are wonderful places to perfect freestyle jumps and generally have a good time. The best way to learn to snowboard is to join one of the excellent snowboard groups run by Ecoloski in Barèges. Classes are for two hours and rarely include more than eight participants. By the end of the week your instructor will have you boarding all over the ski resort. Your afternoons are free for you to explore the slopes with friends. Intermediate and advanced boarders will have lots of fun exploring the whole area and the off piste boarding is magnificent.

Off-Piste Skiing
Good skiers have a huge range of off-piste skiing to choose from. Start by skiing between the pistes at La Caoubère, where you'll find gentle north facing powder fields and then follow the simple itinerary from the top of the La Plage piste back to Tournaboup. For two sessions during the week our ski leader is available to show you some of the many off piste routes in the area. You'll need to hire an ARVA (avalanche bleeper) and you should be able to ski on quite steep slopes in all kinds of snow conditions. During the week we may be able to ski one or more of the following itineraries: Pas de la Crabe or the Cheminée route into Aygues Cluses valley; La Mongie to the Artigues hamlet via the Coumbe des Secours; the Breche de Contadé to La Mongie; Barèges-Lienz to Betpouey or the route through the old road tunnels to Lac d'Oncet.

If you want to learn more about off piste skiing have a look at our new holiday programme.

The Pic du Midi
Looking for something really challenging ?
A new cable car takes you from La Mongie to the Pic du Midi, at 2900 metres the highest ski lift in the Pyrenees!. There is a choice of two or three ways down - all of them steep and difficult. You are only allowed to ski these runs (they are all off-piste) in the company of a UIAGM mountain guide or ski instructor. This can be arranged locally on request.