The review Saint-Lary Soulan was created by Skiresort.info, the world’s largest test portal for ski resorts.
Altitude difference
915 m (Valley 1600 m - Mountain 2515 m )
Lifts/ cable cars
34
Number of lifts to get from one end of the ski resort to the other
→ 5 ← 4
Slope offering, variety of runs
Run location
above tree line, under tree line
Total capacity
41683 Passengers / hour
Length of all lifts
34.6 km Total
Worth knowing
- Artificial snow-making
275 Snow canons
- The valley run is practically always open.
Season 2008/2009
110 Days open
110 Days when valley run open
The slope preparation is very good.
Tip: By new snow, an optimal slope prepartion is not always possible, even with a large effort. In addition, the new snow can not combine with the snow lying underneath and moguls are created quickly. For safety reasons, usually no slope preparation is possible during operating times.
Orientation (trail map, information boards, sign-postings)
Environmentally friendly ski operation
Public transportation/ on-site mobility
- No direct train connection
- Ski busses
- Scheduled busses
Mountain restaurants, ski huts, gastronomy
5 Mountain restaurants & Ski huts
Accommodation offering directly on the slopes and lifts
Ski-in/Ski-out
There are many accommodations with direct access to the slopes and to lifts (Ski-in/Ski-out)
Towns/villages
- Saint-Lary Soulan
Distance to ski resort fewer than 0.5 km
Note: For the evaluation, only the accommodations which are located directly on the slopes and lifts, or have very easy access to the ski resort have been considered.
Information for families and children
- Kid's Land/ separated area for children
- Beginner's lifts near the valley
- Beginner's lifts in ski resort directly at the feeder lift
Information for beginners
- Easy and manageable slope offering, which is easy to achieve
- Beginner's lifts near the valley
- Beginner's lifts in ski resort directly at the feeder lift
Advanced skiers, freeriders
Information for advanced skiers, freeriders
- many freeride / deep snow areas
Slope offering advanced skiers
Note: Always mind the avalanche warnings and barriers, please. Never ski into a closed and unsecured area.
Information for Snowboarders
- many freeride / deep snow areas
Offering snow parks
Cross-country skiing and trails
- Cross-country trail offering
Total trail length: 3 km
Conclusion
long opening times of the lifts
connection in Saint-Lary 1700 from the aerial tramway to the lifts, no valley run
Detailed description of the ski resort
You can reach the ski resort from Saint-Lary Village with an aerial tramway within 5 minutes but then you have to walk through the small village Saint-Lary Pla d´Adet (Saint-Lary 1700) to the skilifts. You can also reach this station on the mountain with the car, but here are not enough parking lots. In Saint-Lary Espiaube (Saint-Lary 1900) you have 800 free parking lots. In Saint-Lary you have a half a dozen t-bars which open up easy slopes. This lifts are partly open until 6 p.m., so that you can enjoy the last swings on these slopes. With the quad Soum de Matte or the triple chair Bouleaux you can float direction Saint-Lary 1900. The Soum de Matte (2377m) you can reach with 3 t-bars in connection of the chair lifts. If you are in Saint-Lary 1900 you can take either the six person gondola Portet or the high speed six person chair Mouscades and the high speed quad Soumaye up to the La Soumaye with an elevation on 2370m. The quad Aulon serves intermediate runs in the Soumaye area. Via easy runs you can reach the sector Saint-Lary 2400, where some t-bars open up the slopes underneath the Pichaleye (2626m). The runs are mostly easy to intermediate and with the t-bar Glacier you can reach the highest point in the ski resort at an elevation of 2515m. Another intermediate run leads down to Lac de l´Oule where also a restaurant is located. The slow double chair take you back to the other skilifts. With the quad Tourette you can go up to 2320m and from there some advanced runs and an easy run lead down to Saint-Lary 1900 and the parking lots, or you can take the quad Lita direction to Saint-Lary 1700. In the ski area are relatively few restaurants, only 3 in the sector 2400 and some snack bars in Saint-Lary Pla d´Adet. Either you stay at the mountain or you have to go back into the valley by aerial tramway. Due to the low capacity you have to wait, but you have the chance to take a bus back to the valley, the travel time is approx. 20 minutes. The ski resort offers a lot of wide runs and many possibilities for powder runs as well as nice easy runs for the beginners.
Test Report issued on 2005-03-07
Highlights
Cross-country skiing and trails
Top ski regions • Tips for the ski holiday