Pla de Monpudou

Ski Touring

Publié le 19 January 2021 |

A lovely outing that combines a route between the ski resorts of Mijanès and Ascou-Pailhères with a splendid panorama of Donezan and the Pyrenees from the Pla de Monpudou. The itinerary alternates between small skiable slopes and uphill runs to form a fairly long loop with a reasonable vertical drop. A good option when snow conditions and avalanche risks limit the possibilities, which was the case today. With more snow, the tour could include an ascent of Tarbésou to ski its more interesting north-east face.

Technical summary

Type ✦ Ski touring
Location ✦ Ascou-Pailhères, Donezan
Region ✦ Haute-Ariège
Country ✦ France
Orientation ✦ East and North
Max altitude ✦ 2158m
Ascent length ✦ 12km
Dénivelé ✦ 890m
Difficulty ✦ R-3.1-E1
Max. gradient ✦ 30
Duration ✦ 4h to 4h30
Interest ✦ ★

Access to the place

From Ax-les-Thermes, climb towards Ascou and the Col de Pailhères. Once you've passed the village of Ascou, continue up towards the Ascou-Pailhères resort. Drive past the resort and pass 5 large hairpin bends to park (road closed above in winter). You're now at the foot of the resort's lifts.

Map & topo

The route is indicative, particularly on the section from the Col de Pailhères to the Canrusc ski lift run.

Voir en plein écran

Itinerary description

Hiking to the start 30' à 45'

Head east up the gully on a fairly narrow track. You soon reach the Col de Pailhères at 2000m, on a large, wide flat. View of the ridges leading to Tarbésou.

Course 3h

The route forms a loop from the Col de Pailhères, alternating between small ski slopes and lifts, including the long black piste from Le Canrusc to the Pla de Monpudou. On the traverse from the Pla to the Col de la Coumeille de l'Ours, knives may be necessary due to the presence of icy patches (north-facing slope).

Part 1: reach Mijanès station (45')

Cross the pass to the east and ski down the slope, staying in the left-hand valley. Cross further north to find a second valley to ski. At the bottom, a frozen pond on which to glide. Cross a hump and enter the valley of the Ruisseau de la Maure. Glide gently down the valley to find a small wooden bridge. On the other side, you're on the ski slopes of the Mijanès resort.

Part 2: Ascent to Pla de Monpudou (1h15 to 1h30)

Climb the gently sloping piste and, after a left-hand bend, tackle the black piste of the Canrusc ski lift between the fir trees. It climbs steeply (30°) for quite a while. At the very top, you pass under the chairlift and end up at the lift arrival point. Continue above along a pretty fresco of snow and ice to reach a small forest below the summit of Canrusc. Cross it and you emerge onto a long, wide, snow-covered flat with a spectacular panorama of the Pyrenees.

Part 3: Col de la Coumeille de l'Ours (30')

At the very end of the Pla de Monpudou, without climbing the Pic de Monpudou, cross to the north into the forest, losing a little altitude as the ridge is not very practicable. As you emerge from the trees, you'll soon see the pass you need to reach by staying level. The northern traverse can be hard and icy. You then reach the Col de la Coumeille de l'Ours, below Tarbésou. Beautiful views of the Rabassol ponds to the south.

Part 4: Ski to Col de Pailhères

Slide down on the north side and ski on the left. You can link up a few small slopes while traversing. There are one or two short passages to skate up, but at the end, you have to jump again to get back under the Pic de Mounégou, where you can, with a long traverse, ski back to the Ascou-Pailhères resort slopes.

Back

Cross over to the Col de Pailhères, a little further south than on the outward journey. Here, ski a fairly steep slope back to the gentle final track used on the approach.