The great escape

Continuation of the stay

Skiing at the Pic du Midi

After a hearty breakfast and your rucksack packed for adventure, you join Stéphane, your mountain guide.

Board immediately for an aerial journey aboard the Pic du Midi cable car. Up there, take your time to take in the immensity of the Pyrenees range stretching out before you.

In front of you, the mythical descent that skirts the snow-covered Lac d’Oncet and joins the resort’s chairlifts in the distance, like miniature models. But enough chatter, the powder doesn’t wait. As for the descent, you can’t just talk about it… you have to experience it.

Back on the Grand Tourmalet pistes, you’ll stop for lunch in a high-altitude restaurant. In the afternoon, you’ll take the Quatre Thermes chairlift with its panoramic view of the Pic du Midi. Remember, you’ve just descended the sunny face you can see.

When night falls, bundle up warmly and step outside for a few minutes to observe the celestial vault. You’re in the heart of Europe’s largest international dark sky reserve. Here, the nights are as pure as they are sparkling.

Second session on the slopes

Wake up early to set off on a sealskin tour of the Aygues-Cluses valley.

You may have guessed it, but beneath this trackless snow lie a multitude of lakes: the Agalops, Coueyla Gran and Madamète lakes. Along with their neighbours in the Néouvielle National Nature Reserve, they make up the largest lake reserve in the Pyrenees.

Then it’s off on a gentle descent, sometimes slaloming between the conifers, back to Tournaboup, the wooded sector of the Grand Tourmalet ski area.

Enjoy lunch on the slopes before taking the ski lifts back to La Mongie. With this white paradise behind you, you’ll realise that this holiday, entitled “Grande Evasion”, lives up to its name.