13th
Paiu Engaly - Sunday 13 January
Conditions in the mountains very good today. I received a ‘powder alert!’ e-mail yesterday morning from Piau Engaly and wasn’t disappointed. 40Cm fell on Friday night followed by more snow on Saturday. The hills around St. Gaudens had fresh snow which is always a good sign.
Access to the station, the highest in the French Pyrenees, was tricky and luckily I had my chains. The access road was covered in thick, compressed snow which was made all the more awkward to navigate by the people without chains & making sure there was enough space for the snow plough to pass. I would always recommend chains for this station or you will end up abandoning your car & hitching a ride like the couple I rescued.
Conditions were ideal, if you like fresh powder. 95% open & every piste covered in thick powder that hadn’t yet seen the piste ‘basher’. The sun shone for most of the day but the temperature remained about zero so there was none of the dreadful late afternoon slush. The main lift taking you up to the highest point, 2600m, is the best bet as most of the runs start at this point but be prepared for a biting wind, even on a sunny day. From the top there is a large choice of red, blue & even a black run that fan out down the mountain. Today there was some difficult skiing as moguls formed quickly in all of the loose powder and some pistes didn’t seem to have had much snow previously & rocks & stones were perilously close to the surface. The long swooping runs were great however & a fantastic day was had.
The station isn’t particularly attractive, just some strange circular apartments, but the smell of chips at the bar is! Also be prepared for the cold. Don’t be deceived by the bright sun on the slopes in the morning as the mountain is in shadow for most of the afternoon, and the lifts to the upper slopes are freezing, and quite slow by modern standards.
Don’t forget your chains!
James P
