La Mongie

La Mongie

La Mongie ski resort
Nearest city Tarbes
Coordinates 42°54′36″N 0°10′45″E / 42.91000°N 0.17917°E / 42.91000; 0.17917Coordinates: 42°54′36″N 0°10′45″E / 42.91000°N 0.17917°E / 42.91000; 0.17917
Top elevation 2,872 m (9,423 ft)
Base elevation 1,400 m (4,600 ft)
Runs 69
Lift system 43 lifts
Snowmaking 173 snow cannons
Night skiing 1 piste

The village of La Mongie is at 1,800 m (5,900 ft) altitude. There are also residences at 1850 and the Tourmalet building at 1900. It lies below the Col du Tourmalet 2,115 m (6,939 ft). It is in the canton of Campan in the Midi-Pyrénées region (department 65) of France and around 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the Spanish border. La Mongie is a winter ski resort offering alpine skiing, snowboarding, snowpark, cross-country skiing, snowmobiles and hiking in snowshoes. In the summer cycling (on and off road) and the use of trials motorcycles is popular. The village has two small supermarkets, a tourist information centre, gift shops and many restaurants and ski rental shops. The nearby spa town of Bagneres de Bigorre offers large supermarkets and shops, restaurants, a casino, an 18-hole golf course and the natural spa baths themselves.

Access

Skiing

La Mongie is the largest skiable domain in the Pyrenees including the Superbarèges station. Over 100 kilometres (62 mi) there are 69 pistes and 43 lifts including poma tows and several four and six-man chair-lifts. A gondola lift gives access to some of the southern pistes while the Pic du Midi Funitel gives access to off-piste areas to the north. Of the 69 pistes, 23 are green, 19 blue, 21 red and 6 black. The domain has 173 snow cannons and there is one night piste.

Pic du Midi de Bigorre

It is also popular for cable car access to the Pic du Midi de Bigorre (2,872 m), on the summit of which is a 19th-century observatory. Work on the observatory started in 1878 and was completed in 1908. Observatory equipment has been in place since 1905 and in 1963 NASA funded the installation of a telescope for photographs of the Moon in preparation for the Apollo missions.

Tour de France

The Tour de France has regularly passed through La Mongie on its passage over the Col du Tourmalet since the inclusion of the Pyrenees in 1910. Three tour stages have terminated in La Mongie village, most recently in 2004.

Tour de France stage finishes

Year Stage Start of stage Distance (km) Category Stage winner Yellow jersey
2004 12 Castelsarrasin 197.5 1  Ivan Basso (ITA)  Thomas Voeckler (FRA)
2002 11 Pau 158 1  Lance Armstrong (USA)  Lance Armstrong (USA)
1970 18 Saint-Gaudens 135.5 1  Bernard Thévenet (FRA)  Eddy Merckx (BEL)

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