Skiing Winter 2009-10

Forecasters are divided on the outlook for this winter.  There is a weak El Nino developing in the Pacific which may make winter slightly warmer than average.  I don’t think anyone should hope for a repeat of the masses of snow that fell last year, but there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to have a great time skiing this winter.

All the ski stations around have confirmed their ticket prices for Winter 2009-10.  They are as follows:

 

Luz Ardiden: 28€ or 22€ if you stay with a listed accommodation supplier (i.e., Hotel Les Templiers!).

Gavarnie-Gedre: 23€ or 20€ if you stay with us.

Barèges-Tourmalet: 32€ or 41€ including Pic du Midi.  No possibility to buy from us unfortunately.

 

If you want to ski for a week solid and are staying in Luz a good option is to take the “Puissance 3” pass which gives 6 days access to either Tourmalet or Luz Ardiden and one ride up to Pic du Midi.  It is 180€ for adults (30€ per day) and 150€ (25€ per day) for under 18s.  Families of 4 or more are all 150€ per person.

 

We are offering bed and breakfast (27€/33€ pp twin share low/high season) or half board (42€/47€pp twin share low/high season) accommodation in the hotel as usual.  High season prices are for Xmas/NY until the 3rd Jan and from the 13th Feb to the 8th March along with Friday and Saturday nights, unless you are staying more than two nights with the weekend included.

It is possible to access both Luz Ardiden and Gavarnie with the shuttle bus services.  Barèges is possible but less direct because you take the SNCF bus up to Barèges and then the shuttle to the station.  The times are good in the morning but not so convenient in the afternoon - a taxi down is often an easy option.  Hire cars are available from Lourdes train station and all airports.  If you hire a car ask for chains with it, just in case.

 

For the moment temperatures have dropped but we are still enjoying some gorgeous autumn weather.  So we've got a while before winter really hits us.  Hopefully we'll see you when it does.

 

Note: The top picture shows the pine trees around Barèges and the bottom is looking towards the Pic du Viscos from the top of Luz Ardiden.