Val Louron

The praise is for the beginner area, called one of the best in the Pyrenees - six progressive runs that take children from first turns to a proper descent. It is repeatedly described as an ideal place to learn, with few people on the hill even in season and a pass noticeably cheaper than at the big stations. After a snowfall the tree runs, the seven hundred metres of vertical and a day of freeriding all earn praise.

Snow is the main complaint: given the modest altitude and the aspect of the slopes, the start and end of the season are described as a lottery, with everything depending on fresh falls. The area is called tiny, there is little to hold an experienced skier, and the lifts are slow. Outside the French school holidays some runs and lifts simply do not open, and one recurring grievance is the single lift at the bottom, which skiers say breaks down several times a day.