Ascou-Pailhères
1,504 mVillage altitude
2,058 mTop of the ski area
12 kmAlpine pistes
7Ski lifts
Not published by any source: adult day pass.
Ascou-Pailhères is a winter sports resort of the French Pyrenees located in the east of the département of Ariège, on the territory of the commune of Ascou, on the west side of the port de Pailhères.
Ascou-Pailhères webcams
▶ Watch at the operator ↗
Télésiège Hautle lecteur de l’opérateur refuse d’être intégré : la caméra s’ouvre chez lui
▶ Watch at the operator ↗
Pied de pistesle lecteur de l’opérateur refuse d’être intégré : la caméra s’ouvre chez lui
Ascou-Pailhères broadcasts its images on its own page: the link takes you there. Checked on 12 September 2026.
Snow, opening and weather
Snow report →Open pistes and lifts will appear here during the season, as published by the resort. Out of season we show nothing rather than a misleading zero.
Avalanche danger
Natural snow is low on average: skiing depends on snowmaking and good years. 9 days a winter at 30 cm or more on average, measured over 16 winters at the Météo-France “FORMIGUERES” station. Fortnight by fortnight, over 16 measured winters →
3-day forecast
Village 1,504 m · top 2,058 m
Forecast corrected for altitude; fresh snow = forecast total at the top; UV = peak of the day. Beyond 3 days, check the resort’s own report. Source:Open-Meteo.
Seven criteria rated from 1 to 5 stars, in half-stars, from this page's sourced data. A rating is a rank among the 315 French resorts we cover — 5 stars means “among the best in France on this point”, not “perfect”. Nobody types these in.
- SnowCan you count on the snow?2 / 5
Top of the ski area: 2,058 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,492 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 9 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 9%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?2.5 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 12 km · Lifts: 7 · Balance between piste levels: 95%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?n/a
Not rated: no official price list could be found.
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?2 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 50% · Magic carpets: 1 · Sledging runs: 1 · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 0
- AccessIs it easy to get to?2 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 6 hr 27 · Nearest railway station: 16 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 2 hr 14
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?2 / 5
Bars and pubs: 0 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 1 · Upcoming events: 1 · Collective tourist beds: 239 — index: what the map and the listings publish
- Luxury and comfortHow upmarket is the resort?1 / 5
5-star hotels: 0 · 4-star hotels: 0 · Spas and saunas: 0 · Jewellers, watchmakers, fashion boutiques: 0 — index: what the map and the listings publish
“Atmosphere” and “Luxury” are indexes: they count what OpenStreetMap and the event listings publish within 2.5 km (bars, nightclubs, rated hotels, spas, upcoming events), not what you experience there. A zero means “nothing mapped”, not “nothing there”. Sources per criterion: snow (altitudes declared by the resort (ANMSM, official website), STRMTG register, OpenStreetMap; snow depth observed at the Météo-France station, ERA5-Land model) ; ski area (figures declared by the resort (ANMSM, official website), national lift register (STRMTG), OpenStreetMap) ; value (the resort’s official price list) ; families and beginners (OpenStreetMap pistes, price list, ESF ski school, Famille Plus label, OpenStreetMap leisure) ; access (OSRM drive times from 20 cities, SNCF stations, GTFS shuttles, airports) ; atmosphere and après-ski (bars, nightclubs and restaurants within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap), upcoming events (OpenAgenda), collective tourist beds (INSEE)) ; luxury and comfort (rated hotels within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap) and by category across the commune (INSEE), spas and boutiques (OpenStreetMap), day pass price).
16 pistes, by level
4 green4 blue6 red2 black
- Skiable vertical
- 566 m
Ski-area figures — bottom, km of pistes, pistes by level: OpenStreetMap (1 Oct); top, lifts: STRMTG — French national lift register (1 Jan) .
The ski area in figures
Measured on 7 October 20263 kmLongest piste — Fontargente (blue), 365 m of vertical
365 mBiggest vertical without changing piste — 2,063 → 1,698 m, 3 km
2,058 mHighest lift top — Mounegou (platter lift), national lift register
5,562Total lift capacity, people per hour — 7 installations: 1 chairlift, 5 drag lifts, 1 magic carpet
46 yrsAverage age of the lift fleet — oldest 1966, newest 2013
1,260Biggest lift, people per hour — Ecole (magic carpet, 2013)
6 kmTotal length of lifts — 7 lifts mapped
163 haSki area boundary (OSM)
113Inhabitants — Ascou (INSEE 09023)
Measured on OpenStreetMap (altitudes: IGN RGE ALTI), not taken from the brochure. The vertical above is that of one piste, not of the whole ski area. Population: INSEE municipal population via geo.api.gouv.fr.
Source: national register of mechanical lifts (STRMTG, CAIRN), fleet as of 1 January 2025 — lifts attributed to Ascou-Pailhères only (“ASCOU”), magic carpets included.
Staying and hiring gear in Ascou-Pailhères
The partners covering this resort, shown side by side, and the shop to kit out before you leave. Some links earn us a commission — never at the expense of the price or of the data.
Collective accommodation
239 bed spaces in tourist residences, holiday villages and hostels
- 2 youth hostels and sports centres · 239 bed spaces
- 1 campsite · 61 pitches
Commune: Ascou · INSEE tourist accommodation survey, 2026, read on 12 September 2026. Collective accommodation only — privately let flats and second homes are not counted. INSEE dataset ↗
Stay & accommodation
Holidu
Holiday-rental comparison site.
Gear & equipment
Absolute Snow
UK ski and snowboard shop — delivers to UK addresses only.
Hardloop
Mountain gear shop: ski touring, avalanche safety, winter clothing.
Beyond skiing at Ascou-Pailhères
Without skis on — 1 sledging run
Spa and thermal baths
- Découverte Aqua · Ax-les-Thermes · 9.5 km away
- Cures thermales - Ax-les-Thermes · Ax-les-Thermes · 9.6 km away
- Cures courtes Aqua · Ax-les-Thermes · 9.6 km away
Museum
- Mountaneô - L'espace muséographique · Orlu · 5.7 km away
- Mountaneô · Orlu · 5.7 km away
- Le centre historique Jean Duvernoy de Montaillou · Montaillou · 7.8 km away
Cinema
- Cinéma d'Ax-Les-Thermes · Ax-les-Thermes · 9.4 km away
Source: DATAtourisme (open data), within 10 km of the resort; places in a large town of the valley are left out. Checked on 12 September 2026. Opening times and prices are the operator’s — check before you go.
Ski schools and practical information
In case of accident
112 — the European emergency number, free of charge, triggers mountain rescue. On the pistes, the ski patrol number is printed on the piste map and at lift ticket offices. Piste rescue is charged: check your insurance or take the option sold with the lift pass.
Off the pistes: off-piste and ski touring
The resorts for off-piste skiing →Ski touring routes described
12 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of Ascou-Pailhères — up to 1,800 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarrat des Chèvres · Depuis Ascou-Pailhères | 1.2 · E1 | 550 m | 1,500 → 2,059 m | W | 0.8 km |
| Pic de Tarbésou · Depuis Pailhères | n/a · E1 · PD | 700 m | 1,700 → 2,364 m | N | 1.2 km |
| Pic de Tarbésou · Pic de Tarbésou et étang de Rabassoles en boucle | 2.1 · E1 · F+ | 1,560 m | 1,330 → 2,364 m | W · S · N | 2.3 km |
| Pic de Tarbésou · Boucle par le col de l'Egue | n/a · E1 · PD | 1,450 m | 1,335 → 2,364 m | n/a | 2.5 km |
The other 8 routes, with grades and vertical →
Not a piste. Neither marked, nor patrolled, nor secured: transceiver, shovel, probe, the day’s avalanche bulletin and, better still, a guide. Ski grade (1.1–5.6) = steepness and commitment; exposure (E1–E4) = consequence of a fall.
Source: Camptocamp.org topo guide (CC BY-SA), routes starting within 10 km, read on 13 October 2026. Descriptions and photos are on Camptocamp; an empty cell is a field nobody has filled in. Camptocamp ski touring routes ↗
Piste map
Open on OpenSnowMap ↗Official piste map
Pistes coloured by level, lifts as lines. The resort’s official map is the reference in season.
Base map © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA) · pistes © OpenSnowMap (CC-BY-SA) · data ©OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Getting to Ascou-Pailhères
From Paris: 8 hr 59 (818 km) by road.
By road
- From Toulouse: 2 hr 00 · 142 km
- From Perpignan: 2 hr 39 · 157 km · via Ax-les-Thermes station
- From Pau: 3 hr 38 · 254 km
- From Montpellier: 3 hr 47 · 326 km · avoids Port de Pailhères, closed in winter
- From Bordeaux: 4 hr 24 · 384 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Marseille: 5 hr 28 · 488 km · via Ax-les-Thermes station
- From Valence: 5 hr 37 · 523 km · via Ax-les-Thermes station
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 5 hr 56 · 515 km
- From Grenoble: 6 hr 08 · 534 km
- From Lyon: 6 hr 18 · 541 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 6 hr 34 · 561 km
- From Nice: 6 hr 39 · 565 km
- From Chambéry: 6 hr 53 · 592 km
- From Annecy: 7 hr 18 · 651 km
- From Genève: 7 hr 48 · 689 km
- From Dijon: 8 hr 20 · 734 km
- From Besançon: 8 hr 51 · 794 km
- From Paris: 8 hr 59 · 818 km
- From Nancy: 10 hr 27 · 945 km
- From Strasbourg: 11 hr 15 · 1032 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Ax-les-Thermes station
halt · then 16 min drive (14 km)
Nearest main station: Perpignan, 2 hr 38 by road.
No direct bus line from the station to the resort appears in the open-data timetables (checked on 11 October 2026): ask the resort about a private shuttle or a taxi.
Shuttles and buses from the station: see the resort’s official website.
By plane
- Perpignan-Rivesaltes (PGF): 2 hr 43 by road · 160 km
- Carcassonne-Salvaza (CCF): 2 hr 14 by road · 120 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Ascou-Pailhères as the destination. Your starting point is never sent by us — the app asks you for it, if you agree.
Charging an electric car
1 charging station within 2 km
2 charging points · up to 46 kW
- FR-S09-E09023-001 · Load Stations · 2 points · 46 kW · 0.1 km
Freely accessible charge points read from the French national EV charging database (data.gouv.fr ↗, operators’ own declarations), checked on 9 October 2026. Check availability before you leave: the database says what is installed, not what is free tonight.
Road conditions
From 1 November to 31 March, snow chains or winter tyres are compulsory in most mountain areas (French “Loi Montagne II”).
Driving times computed on the OpenStreetMap road network (OSRM), SNCF stations (open data), airports (Wikidata). Indicative, not a timetable: allow extra time in snow.
Translated from the French Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA), machine translation.
Frequently asked questions
How high is Ascou-Pailhères?
Ascou-Pailhères sits at 1,504 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 2,058 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Ascou-Pailhères have?
Ascou-Pailhères has 12 km of slopes, 7 lifts.
What is the longest piste in Ascou-Pailhères?
The longest piste is Fontargente: 3 km (blue run), for 365 m of vertical. Measured on the OpenStreetMap map, segments of the same name and level joined end to end, altitudes from the IGN RGE ALTI terrain model — a resort sometimes advertises a longer run by chaining several pistes.
How high do the lifts go in Ascou-Pailhères?
The highest lift, Mounegou (platter lift), tops out at 2,058 m. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How many lifts does Ascou-Pailhères have, and what is their capacity?
The French national register of mechanical lifts records 7 installations at Ascou-Pailhères (1 chairlift, 5 drag lifts, 1 magic carpet), for an authorised capacity of 5,562 people per hour, of which 1,260 for Ecole alone. The fleet spans 1966 to 2013, an average age of 46 years. This count covers the resort itself, magic carpets included, not the whole linked ski area — a resort brochure often announces a different number. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How do I get to Ascou-Pailhères?
By road, Ascou-Pailhères is 2 hr 00 from Toulouse (142 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Ax-les-Thermes, 16 min by road from the resort. No direct bus line from the station to the resort appears in the open-data timetables. The nearest airport is Perpignan-Rivesaltes, 2 hr 43 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Ascou-Pailhères?
8 hr 59 for 818 km from central Paris, excluding traffic and winter conditions. Computed on the real road network (OpenStreetMap): allow more on a school-holiday Saturday.
Is the snow reliable in Ascou-Pailhères?
Natural snow is low on average: skiing depends on snowmaking and good years. 9 days a winter at 30 cm or more on average, measured over 16 winters at the Météo-France “FORMIGUERES” station. This verdict rests on 16 winters of Météo-France measurements (2005-2026); in season the daily report prevails.
Is Ascou-Pailhères good for beginners and families?
50% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather technical area.
Nearby resorts
Full page in French. The French page carries the editorial guides and a few extra readings; every figure, webcam and price on this page is the same one. Ascou-Pailhères in French →
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