THE FAMILY SKI STATION OF LUZ ARDIDEN lies close to Cauterets, in the French Pyrénées. Its entertaining and well-groomed pistes are served by a modern, efficient lift system and will satisfy recreational skiers who appreciate a relaxed experience in sensational surroundings. There is also some off-piste terrain , too. Access is relatively speedy from Pau and Toulouse airports (or Lourdes TGV for rail travellers) and the village is also a popular summer destination.

There’s no on-mountain accommodation but plenty in the town, which provides shuttle buses - a small price to pay for such great skiing. Nearby are Cauterets and Pont d’Espagne, for more downhill and cross-country skiing, walking, etc.

As we leave the hotel we’re already starting to see and feel the first flakes of the day’s forecast heavy snowfalls, and on the long climb up the mountain road to the ski area there’s a sense that this is going to be an interesting day. Given the choice, when exploring unfamiliar territory we wouldn’t have chosen fast-disappearing visibility as our ideal companion.

Fortunately, we also have another, and apparently he knows this place like the back of his hand. So we stick to him like a ski-school caterpillar group as he guides us around the intricacies of the piste network, as only a tourist office professional based in a ski area can. By the end of the day we can’t exactly say we’ve seen the sights, but we’re grateful for the company and we’ve had some great skiing. Impressed, too.

The six-seater Aulian Express chair-lift gets skiers to the higher terrain.

The Bigger Picture...

Next day, beneath a clear blue sky, things look very different and we’re eager to get up the mountain and finally see what it was that we’d been enjoying the previous day. Suddenly it all makes sense, and this time we’re up for the whole package: lots of varied skiing in a truly sensational setting.

“a series of huge outcrops, creating the impression of skiing in different valleys...”

Whoever first identified this as potential ski terrain got it dead right, and the present piste-layout certainly makes the most of what on paper might appear to be a relatively modest area. What saves it from such a fate is the brooding presence of a series of huge outcrops, creating the impression of skiing in different valleys, each with its own distinct personality. And since the towering contours make it impossible to see everything from any given point, it just begs to be explored, if only to see what might lie in wait along the way.

Getting up and around it all is simple enough, and the only drag-lifts to be seen are just where they’re needed, mostly serving the lower and novice areas. Another surprise is the proportion of red-graded runs, providing an attainable, confidence-building upgrade path for those who are ready to graduate from the long blue cruisers.

Helping them on their way will be a quality of snow which appears to hold up well even in sunny conditions. Plus, of course, the perfect excuse for making frequent stops to take in the constantly-changing vistas of the kind of mountain scenery you just can’t ignore.

Badette - an exhilarating, Red-graded plunge above Aulian 1730.

Highlights for us are long, winding red descents from summits like Soum des Aulhères (2168m), Picot (2135m), Caperet (2395m) and the 2500m Col de Cloze. The latter throws in Cloze, a bracing black-graded detour which darts abruptly from the more wayward Cimes red swooping straight down to re-join the red for a final blast down to meet the Cloze chairlift, where we do it all again. Several times.

High above the amazing scenery of the Parc National des Pyrénées.

Another thing we won’t forget in a hurry is the vast, heart-stopping overview of the valley beyond the Col de Riou, not least since there in the distance on the far side are the pistes of Cauterets. The town itself is hidden from view, of course, but its relative proximity raises the tantalizing possibility of creating a direct link via gondola (as we’ve seen elsewhere, such things are possible, given the will and the investment). If it ever comes off then at a stroke the ski world would see the first real Grand Ski Domain on the French Pyrénées. We can't wait.

Meantime, Luz has more than enough going for it to be a strong contender for anyone’s shortlist of fun places to ski.

© Roger Moss