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Snow report and events now on News

News and special offers

* Ski resort opening dates: 19th December - 15th April 2012

* Video by one of our guests:Snow shoeing on the Youtube site

* Special offer for January skiing: 10% reduction for groups of four or more booking a full week's stay in January

News & Happenings

	January 30th 2012 SNOW SNOW SNOW sums it up nicely! After a long spell without any new snow, the weather gods did us proud yesterday with a huge dump of snow totalling 30cm in Bareges and over 40cm up in the ski resort. The temperatures are very cold, and due to stay that way, so we are expecting the skiing to be fantastic for the next week or more - especially as more snow is forecast in the coming few days! There is currently 85cm of snow on the pistes at 1800m, and 115cm at 2500m, with fresh snow skiing conditions. The pistes should be quiet now until the start of the French school holidays on the 11th February. We were excited last week to accommodate journalist, Dave Watts, from "Where to Ski and Snowboard", and he has given us a lovely mention in his blog article (click to read what he has to say).
Snow in Bareges, 19th Dec		Sunburst from Coume Lounque, 26th Dec
The new Quatre Termes 6-man chair		Pic du Midi from Coume Lounque
View from Pic du Midi, 26th Dec		Coume l'Ayse black, 26th Dec

Weather forecast

We recommend Meteo France's "mountain forecast" for Bareges, or the Snowforecast site for an at-a-glance view of the conditions at different altitudes.

Tour de France fever

The Tour de France route for 2012 has been released, and once again it will be passing through Bareges in mid July. Our local stages include the finish at Pau on Monday 16th July, the Pau to Bagneres section that will come through Bareges and over the Col du Tourmalet on the 18th July, and the following day's stage between Bagneres de Luchon and Peyregudes on the 19th July. Once again we will be running a supported cycling trip to correspond with the Pyrenean section of the Tour de France, 14-21st July 2012. You can find details of the itinerary and prices on the cycling holidays page of our website. We are also excited to be able to offer accommodation at our new 3* hotel, the Hotel du Tourmalet, this Summer. Situated at the top of the village, directly on the route up to the Col du Tourmalet, we will be able to watch the cyclists coming literally right past our front door. See our website at www.hoteldutourmalet.com for more details.

Summer 2012 round-up

Summer 2012 once again kept us busy from the end of May through to the beginning of October, even more so than usual because once of us was taking a season off guiding due to being pregnant. The Summer began with a series of guided walking holidays during June, when we were privileged to have a brilliant display of wildflowers that lasted well into July. Many of our guests this year came from far-afield, so we shared our favourite walks with Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans and Americans as well as our usual British and Irish guests. During July, the pleasant weather turned a little more damp, meaning that the meadows stayed beautifully green through high Summer. July was unusually quiet for us, but we enjoyed some great company and enthusiasm for Tour de France week, when Rob went out with our cyclists to view the stage finish at Luz-Ardiden, and the passing of the tour over the Col du Soulor on its way to the finish at Lourdes. Meanwhile, our high level trekkers on the HRP (Haute Route Pyrenean) were making their way from West to East crossing some of the most highest, wildest and remote areas of the Pyrenees under the watchful eye of our mountain leader colleague, Dan Beattie. At the end of the month, Rob was put through his paces by a big Irish group, who completed a 6 day tour of the Ordesa canyon, Mont Perdu, the Breche de Roland and the Cirque de Troumouse. It wasn't so much the long miles, however, but the late-night drinking sessions that were the survival challenge!

It was all-change in August, when the house was filled with energetic families cramming in more than their fair share of adventure on our multi activity holidays. As ever, the beautiful canyon de Heas above Gedre was a firm favourite, as well as the awe-inspiring tandem paragliding flight down from the Col du Tourmalet. We were also lucky enough to get some fabulous sunny days for our rock-climbing, when our guests scaled the granite slabs above the shimmering Lac de Glere, before taking a dip in the icy cold waters in the afternoon. When September arrived, we hit the trails again with another month of walking holidays, and an incredible run of clear, sunny weather lasting 6 weeks into mid October. Our three "mini-trek" weeks, visiting the Ordesa canyon and the Neouvielle Nature Reserve, were very popular this year and made a nice change to our usual day walks. Our season ended at the tail end of September, with a week of canyoning and lamb-chop consumption (courtesy of the "Fete des Cotelettes" at Luz) divided between our local French canyons and the dramatic gorges of the Sierra de Guara. Then our colleague Julien Johnston, another International Mountain Leader, completed our Summer calendar with a new trip exploring the Monte Perdido and Sierra de Guara national parks. We had just a few days to relax before the arrival of our son, Alexandre Luc Mason, on the 12th October - certainly a very special end to the season.

Winter 2011 round-up

Winter 2010/2011 was another good season for us here in the Pyrenees, despite the poor conditions experienced in many of the Alpine resorts, which did not benefit from the timely snowfalls that we received here in January and February.

The season began early again, with lots of snow at the end of November ensuring that the ski resort opened as scheduled for the last weekend of November. The early season conditions were superb, with virtually all of the pistes open, and hardly another skier to be seen! We got our daughter Jenny, just 1 year old at the time, accustomed to the snow early, with a visit to Tournaboup on her sledge.

Things warmed up a little during December, but just in time for our first skiers of the season, a fresh fall of snow gave us beautiful conditions during Christmas week. We celebrated Christmas day with a mini ski-touring trip up to the lovely Laquette restaurant, with Jenny thoroughly bundled up in the baby back-pack.

January was quiet and very dry, and although luckily the temperature remained cool, everyone was pleased to see lots of new snow in the last week of the month. This kept the slopes in nice condition through February, at the end of which we saw the biggest dumps of the season, with over 80cm falling in the first few days of March.

We had some lovely skiing during the first half of March, with the temperature warming up towards the end of the month, but still leaving us with plenty of snow for a very succesful guided snowshoeing holiday in the third week of the month. April began with a heatwave, and our introductory ski-tourers didn't quite know what to do with themselves - skiing in the morning, then luxuriating in the sunshine with a cold beer on our patio in the afternoons. Our second ski touring trip took us to Spain, with an adventurous group successfully summiting the highest peak of the Pyrenees and culminating the ski season on Pic Aneto at 3404m.

Now looking ahead to Winter 2011-2012, we can't wait for another action-packed season of downhill skiing, snowshoeing, off-piste and ski touring, as well as the opening of our new 3* hotel here in Bareges, the Hotel du Tourmalet. Please do get in touch if you have a trip to propose, and would like to join the fun.

Any questions about the Pyrenees or us you would like answering? Please mail us.

A selection of photos from Winter 2010-2011

A great start to the season - all the pistes open in late November	Jenny getting to grips with the white stuff, late November	Snowy peaks in early December
The Pic du Midi and the new Coume Lounque chair, December	Lovely fresh snow on Christmas day	Snowshoeing in late January
Lake crossing, early February	Off-piste with Philippe in February	Off-piste group - which way down?
On the summit of Pic St. Andre	Synchronised S's in the Neouvielle	Pisteur almost buried in mid-February
Perfect corduroy, February	Tourmalet view	Snowshoeing direct from the door!
The chilly snap in early March	Guided snowshoeing trip, late March	Snowshoeing in the Neouvielle, March
Ski touring, April - ascent of Pic Aneto, highest Pyrenean summit	Ski touring group on a Spanish summit, over 3000m	An airy spot for lunch, and a great season finale on the 15th April!

.... and photos from a typical action-packed Summer

Flippers at the ready!	Lounging in Rio Vero canyon, Spain	Tour de France passing the Col in July
The new Via ferrata route	Hydrospeed on the Gave de Pau	Lazy river - canyoning, Sierra de Guara
Mountain biking with a view	Paragliding from the Col du Tourmalet	Team Hamish - Canyon de Viey

.... and from several of our favourite Summer walks

Adventurous walkers - Cirque d'Estaubé	Refuge Goriz - Gavarnie & Ordesa trek	Pic d'Ardiden (what we do on our day off!)
HRP trek - Spanish lakes	HRP - Dinner beside Lac d'Arremoulit	HRP - above the Pineta canyon
Spring flowers, Plateau de Saugé	Snow crossing, Cirque de Gavarnie	Getting wet at the Grande Cascade

Summer 2012 calendar

We are now taking bookings for Summer 2012. Our calendar is flexible, so please don't hesitate to contact us if you have your own idea of what to do or different dates. Drop us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as possible with all the information that you need.

Proposed	These trips are SUGGESTIONS but not fixed. The calendar is completely flexible with dates, trips and itinerary. Please email us and we will timetable a holiday to suit your needs.
Confirmed	These trips are CONFIRMED and guaranteed to run.
FULL	These trips are FULL. Both guided trips and accommodation options are fully booked.

**Accommodation-only for independent holiday makers is available throughout**

DATES 2012 Month	Day	Euros p/p	Activity
April	22	865 €	Aragon - early spring guided walking in the Spanish foothills
May	20	865 €	Aragon - early spring guided walking in the Spanish foothills
	19	490 €	Accommodation-only
	26	695 €	Gentle guided walking
June	2	695 €	Gentle guided walking
	9	695 €	Gentle guided walking
	16	715 € + hut fees	Intermediate-adventurous guided walking with 2 day refuge trek
	23	715 €	Intermediate guided walking
July	June 30	695 €	Gentle guided walking
	June 30	715 €	Cycling the cols of the Pyrenees
	7	975 €	Adults' multi activity holiday
	7	715 €	Intermediate guided walking
	7	680 € + hut fees	Adventurous walking with 3 day refuge trek
	14	715/490 €	Tour de France guided cycling/accommodation-only
	14	695 €	Gentle guided walking - FULL
	14	745 €	HRP guided trekking - Stage 1 (Pyrenean Haute Route: Etsaut:Luz-St. Sauveur)
	21	750 - 975 €	Multi activity holiday
	21	745 €	HRP guided trekking - Stage 2 (Pyrenean Haute Route: Luz-St. Sauveur-Luchon)
	28	750 - 975 €	Multi activity holiday
	28	845 €	HRP guided trekking - Stage 3 (Pyrenean Haute Route: Aneto & the Encantats)
August	4	750 - 975 €	Multi activity holiday
	4	715 €	Cycling the cols of the Pyrenees
	11	750 - 975 €	Multi activity holiday
	11	715 €	Intermediate guided walking
	18	870/920 €	Multi activity holiday - suitable for families with children over 8 years
	25	695 €	Gentle guided walking
September	1	680 € + hut fees	Gavarnie & Ordesa special guided walking (intermediate/adventurous)
	8	680 € + hut fees	Neouvielle Lakes special guided walking (intermediate/adventurous)
	15	680 € + hut fees	Gavarnie & Ordesa special guided walking (intermediate/adventurous)
	15	975 €	Guided 2-centre canyoning holiday (in France and Spain in 3* accom and fully guided)
	22	715 €	Intermediate guided walking
October	Sept 30	865 €	Aragon - guided walking in the Spanish foothills
	28	865 €	Aragon - guided walking in the Spanish foothills (Half term special departure)
Accommodation-only is available throughout, priced at 490 euros per person per week on a half-board basis Holidays run Saturday-Saturday, other than our Aragon trips Sunday-Saturday. Please enquire about short-break bookings

Paragliding

We are in regular contact with the Bareges paragliding school due to the popularity of their introductory tandem jumps, both in Summer and Winter. Indeed, we offer paragliding as part of our multi activity holiday package. We are now able to run training courses through the paragliding school - a week of training working towards your paragliding pilot's licence. Training is available for all levels of student from complete beginners to experienced pilots looking for an instructor's qualification.

Canyoning

Canyoning is growing in popularity as an exciting mountain sport, but nobody seems to offer a dedicated canyoning holiday. We aim to put things right with our two-centre canyoning holiday in France and Spain - usually in late September. The week-long trip begins at our base in Bareges, with an introduction to canyoning in the French gorges, before moving on to the fabulous Spanish canyons of the Sierra de Guara, for some classic descents and a real multi-cultural experience. Get in touch if you fancy joining us!

 

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