WINTER SPORTS ❘ LA MONGIE


If you want to test your skills, the Grand Tourmalet snowpark provides a place to ski or board over the bumps and jumps. And for those who are content to watch, there’s a well-placed bar and restaurant.


EATING AT ALTITUDE


And while we’re back on the crucial topic of food, a short ride away from here is l’Étape du Berger, a large and convivial canteen-style restaurant with a huge log fi re. Squatting at the bottom of a great big snow bowl, it offers a pleasing view of the skiers making their way down the mountains all around it. Once you’ve clomped round in ski boots fi lling your tray with copious portions of hearty, freshly prepared dishes made from local produce, take a seat in the sun or, on less clement days, stay inside and warm yourself by the fi re. On Wednesday and Saturday evenings, the restaurant serves set menu dinners – raclette, côte de boeuf or garbure, a local stew – to the few intrepid diners who make their way to the restaurant after dark. As there are no roads to l’Étape du Berger and the ski lifts are closed at this time of night, the only way up is to take a snowmobile (from €30 per person), or hitch a lift across the pistes on a snow groomer (€25 per person) beneath the stars.


STARS AND SLOPES


The night skies are particularly impressive in Grand Tourmalet – the area around the resort forms one of a network of International Dark Sky Reserves, locations known for their commitment to keeping the night skies dark through control of light pollution. The constellations here put on a


108 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Feb/Mar 2023


dramatic show for amateur astronomers – and there are ways to get even closer to the skies. Most visitors to the resort take time off the slopes to visit the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, famous for its observatory and planetarium, which are housed in a dome worthy of a James Bond villain some 2,877m above sea level. The visitors’ centre at the top takes 15 minutes to reach by cable car and is open summer and winter.


The panorama from the Pic du Midi is exceptional all year round – in the warmer months rocky peaks and dark green pastures unfold beneath a dark blue sky, while in ski season, the landscape switches into monochrome, as thick snow coats everything within sight, and even builds strange sculptures around the buildings of the observatory. The visitors’ centre and observatory let visitors see the Pyrenees from a different perspective, gazing down on the summits


MAISON DE LA NUIT


A new way to discover the night sky around Tourmalet opened this winter – La Maison de la Nuit. Situated on the Col de Tourmalet – a legendary mountain pass for cyclists and a famous element of the Tour de France – this museum and information centre promises an immersive experience for visitors, with a show focusing on the stars taking place within the brand new building’s dome. It’s all about the night – not just the stars in the sky, but the importance of darkness and nocturnal life as a key part of the planet’s biodiversity. And, of course, there will be a nod to cycling’s biggest challenge – an introduction to the historic moment when the Tour’s riders climbed the Col du Tourmalet mountain pass for the fi rst time in 1910.


IMAGES © MATHIEU PINAUD, MOTONEIGE LA MONGIE, TPM; CHALET DES PISTEURS/FACEBOOK


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