Cauterets Cirque du Lys

About the area

Cauterets' Cirque du Lys is a compact 25 km area where more than half the pistes (13 km, 54%) are green or blue, so it works well for beginners and for families skiing together. There are 15 short easy runs grouped next to a lift base, plus a magic carpet for first steps. Intermediates get the largest share, with about 11 km of blue and 6 km of red. Experts have little to work with: only 6% of the terrain is black, and the longest vertical on a single run is 492 m.

The skiing sits between 1,725 m and 2,419 m, high enough for reliable cold, and access is by gondola from the valley, which avoids chairlift loading with small children. Nine lifts serve the bowl: the gondola, four chairlifts, two platters, a rope tow and the magic carpet. The longest run measures 1,996 m.