{"id":581,"date":"2014-08-14T16:24:18","date_gmt":"2014-08-14T14:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/wordpress\/?p=581"},"modified":"2022-12-20T15:57:18","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T14:57:18","slug":"ski-peyragudes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/pyrenees\/ski-peyragudes\/","title":{"rendered":"Peyragudes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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P<\/span>eyragudes has been in our sights for some time, but until now we haven\u2019t managed to see and ski it for ourselves. Even so, it\u2019s clear from the reports of sustained heavy investment in visitor accommodation and state-of-the-art high-speed chairlifts that this is a ski area with attitude. Added to which, impressive-looking webcam images have long intrigued us. So when the opportunity finally arrives to drive back down to the Hautes-Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es we don\u2019t need any encouragement, particularly since the A65 autoroute has shaved almost an hour off the previously tedious journey beyond Bordeaux.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\n…a big-mountain feel to the ski area falling away below while the six-seater Cap de Pales chairlift powers us smoothly back up to the top of the mountain in single haul.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The right approach…<\/h2>\n
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The new road is an impressive model of efficiency, but scenery-wise it\u2019s the onward run to our destination via the more conventionally-beautiful Vall\u00e9e du Louron<\/strong> which will haunt us. The sheltered spot has a huge, man-made lake and recently acquired a traditionally-styled tourism village overlooking landscaped parkland, the setting for the more contemporary Baln\u00e9a spa centre<\/strong>. From the village we follow the signs up the nearby mountainside towards the Col de Peyresourde<\/strong>. The final approach road was purpose-built to provide easy access to the ski village, whose bright, cheerful skyline soon comes into view.
\nMinutes later, after parking the car, unpacking our skis and changing into our ski gear, we take one of the pedestrian lifts which simplify getting from car park level up to the front-de-neige. From here the ski lifts are just metres away, our choice being the S\u00e9rias high-speed 6-seater chairlift<\/strong>, which takes skiers direct to the Col de la Flamme<\/strong> (1967m), for a choice of blue and red-graded runs either back down to Peyresourde or \u2013 our choice \u2013 over into the Agudes <\/strong>sector. As we plan to head still higher our first run is a short one, and we soon join the Flamme fixed chairlift<\/strong> for a ride up to 2085m<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Once off the lift we ski the top section of the blue-graded Val des Agudes<\/strong> piste before peeling off onto the steeper (red) detour of Chevriers<\/strong>. The snow quality has benefited from the sector\u2019s early morning sunlight, and our bracing plunge down to the liaison with the gentler Passe Bleue<\/strong> piste (which in turn feeds back onto Val des Agudes) is a lot of fun. Soon the outline of Les Agudes appears below us, growing larger until we reach the departure point for no fewer than five ski-lifts. It\u2019s surprisingly quiet over here, and the architectural style of the purpose-built ski-village speaks of an earlier period than that of its still-youthful counterpart on the other side of the mountain. But Agudes shares the same doorstep skiing<\/strong> concept, and as a bonus catches the morning sun.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\"Peyragudes\n<\/div>\n
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Steeper, but also wider…<\/h2>\n
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Terrain-wise, things are also noticeably steeper over here, with a big-mountain feel to the ski area falling away below while the six-seater Cap de Pales chairlift<\/strong> powers us smoothly back up to the top of the mountain in single haul. At the top we ski off the lift to join the other skiers who have converged on the 2233m Belv\u00e9d\u00e8re<\/strong>. The meeting-point for three chairlifts has something of a party atmosphere today, as our visit coincides with Spanish national holidays, boosting skier numbers and ramping up the energy levels several notches. Fortunately the present gathering of skiers is clearly about to spread out in several different directions, so the nearby pistes look set to remain unpressured. Sure enough, we have the blue-graded Gourgs Blancs<\/strong> cruise virtually to ourselves on the run over to the exit-point for the red-graded Vall\u00e9e Blanche<\/strong>. Sadly, large barriers inform us that it\u2019s closed until the next snowfall tops things up lower down, so we continue on the gentle, open blue run down to the base of our next lift. The Serre Doumenge six-seater <\/strong>replaced two previous chairlifts, and its environmental credentials include small on-chair bins for cigarette butts and other debris (which self-empty discretely as they approach the lower station), helping keep the mountains cleaner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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