Ski near Toulouse???

Hi,
I am from Australia & will be in Toulouse in March 09 & looking to ski somewhere close by for a weekend, perhaps in the Pyranees? I've heard Saint-Lary Soulan is good? Can someone help me on where to go & how best to get there?

I hated St Lary - very pretty but very small, slow lifts and lots of drags - and it's a drive up the mountain from town to ski. Bonascre @ Axe les Thermes is similar size i think, but the main bubble now goes right down to the town - and you can soak your feet for free in the stinky sulphur bath in the town centre. I think Axe might be closest to Toulouse of these mentioned. Unless you are a beginner, Axe or St L are good for a day, maybe even a w/e. If you fancy a bit more extensive skiing (and more expensive lift passes) try Baqueira Beret in Spain or drive up to Pas De la Casa, Andorra.
If the snow is good and it is cold, any of the above will be great.
We usually hire a car from Toulouse, but I think you can get to Axe by train. Probably buses too, but god forbid! One might have to share with youths, backpackers, Ozzies and all sorts of other lower lifeforms ;)
Hope this helps.
PS, a mate of mine just got back from Axe and noted that gear hire from Telemark Pyrenees shop in the square (close to the stinky footbath)was markedly better quality than run of the mill hire gear.
PPS i do know the owners of TP, but am not a close friend and have no commercial link to them.
Report back where you choose and how you get on (like is there really a bus?)

I used to catch the bus every weekend up to Pas de la Casa.

That was a few years ago now, but I believe it still runs. It leaves from near the train station, I think takes 2.5hrs. GOod skiing, but quite a few English yobs these days :(

I'd be interested to hear how you get on

Good luck!!

A bit (well, quite a lot!) off topic, but a story that made me smile non the less (and yes, I do have an evil streak…)

My boss used to work near Toulouse and decided to learn to ski on a weekend, taught by his then girlfriend. However, he was struggling to get the hang of turning in one direction and the only option (or so it seemed), other than lose control or ski off the piste, was to fall over, turn round and then get back up again. Well, this went on for several weekends, however it reached a point where the bruising and swelling was so severe that he could no longer get jeans on and he decided to consult the doctor. :roll:

Unfortunately, he had been to the same doctor recently with a black eye (apparently due to being hit in the eye by a baguette that someone had thrown down the table – I didn’t ask…!) and the doctor was convinced that his girlfriend was beating him up (and wouldn’t accept the true, if unusual version of events.) which both found highly amusing. :D

I’m not sure if he has skied since…. I don’t think so, though he seems perfectly comfortable around baguettes! :lol: