Piau-Engaly
1,860 mVillage altitude
2,529 mTop of the ski area
34 kmAlpine pistes
10Ski lifts
Not published by any source: adult day pass.
Piau-Engaly is a winter sports resort in the French Pyrenees, located in the commune of Aragnouet, in the Hautes-Pyrénées department and the Occitania region. At between 1,400 and 2,600 m altitude, with its centre located at an altitude of 1,860 m (6,100 ft), Piau-Engaly is the highest resort in the French Pyrenees.
Piau-Engaly webcams
▶ Watch at the operator ↗
TSD Pic de Piaule lecteur de l’opérateur refuse d’être intégré : la caméra s’ouvre chez lui
▶ Watch at the operator ↗
Snowparkle lecteur de l’opérateur refuse d’être intégré : la caméra s’ouvre chez lui
▶ Watch at the operator ↗
Le Colle lecteur de l’opérateur refuse d’être intégré : la caméra s’ouvre chez lui
Piau-Engaly broadcasts its images on its own page: the link takes you there. 4 more cameras on the webcam page. 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
Good snow from mid-January to mid-March. 105 days a winter at 30 cm or more on average, and 536 cm of fresh snow, measured over 14 winters at the Météo-France “Piau” station. Fortnight by fortnight, over 14 measured winters →
3-day forecast
Village 1,860 m · top 2,529 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?3.5 / 5
Top of the ski area: 2,529 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,497 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 105 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 62%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?3.5 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 34 km · Lifts: 10 · Balance between piste levels: 85%
- 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: 61% · Magic carpets: 1 · Sledging runs: 0 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 0
- AccessIs it easy to get to?1.5 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 7 hr 17 · Nearest railway station: 1 hr 03 · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 36
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?2.5 / 5
Bars and pubs: 1 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 6 · Upcoming events: 0 · Collective tourist beds: 1,302 — index: what the map and the listings publish
- Luxury and comfortHow upmarket is the resort?2 / 5
5-star hotels: 0 · 4-star hotels: 1 · Share of hotel rooms in 4 and 5 stars: 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).
46 pistes, by level
4 green24 blue11 red7 black
- Skiable vertical
- 1,032 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 20265 kmLongest piste — Grande bleue (blue), 771 m of vertical
771 mBiggest vertical without changing piste — 2,528 → 1,757 m, 5 km
2,529 mHighest lift top — Pic De Piau (detachable chairlift), national lift register
14,423Total lift capacity, people per hour — 10 installations: 4 chairlifts, 5 drag lifts, 1 magic carpet
29 yrsAverage age of the lift fleet — oldest 1976, newest 2022
2,500Biggest lift, people per hour — Pic De Piau (detachable chairlift, 2003)
8 kmTotal length of lifts — 10 lifts mapped
119 haSki area boundary (OSM)
289Inhabitants — Aragnouet (INSEE 65017)
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 Piau-Engaly only (“PIAU ENGALY”), magic carpets included.
Staying and hiring gear in Piau-Engaly
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
1,302 bed spaces in tourist residences, holiday villages and hostels
- 2 hotels · 61 rooms (1 × 3★)
- 1 holiday village or family centre · 214 bed spaces
- 3 tourist residences and apartment hotels · 864 bed spaces
- 1 youth hostel or sports centre · 224 bed spaces
- 2 campsites · 178 pitches
Commune: Aragnouet · 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.
Ski Planet
Self-catering flats and all-inclusive ski holidays at the foot of the slopes, since 1999.
Montagne Vacances
Flats and chalets in the resort, at direct prices.
Gear & equipment
Absolute Snow
UK ski and snowboard shop — delivers to UK addresses only.
Hardloop
Mountain gear shop: ski touring, avalanche safety, winter clothing.
Ski schools and practical information
Ski school
ESF Piau Engaly
38 instructors
🇬🇧 10 English-speaking instructors — lessons in English available
🗓️ This school sells its lessons online — book ↗
Source: esf.net
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 → 1 Marked off-piste itineraries · 1 km
17 km Ski touring routes
Named itineraries: Sarrous
Itineraries surveyed on OpenStreetMap within a 4 km radius (7 September 2026): “marked” means an itinerary exists on the map, not that it is open or safe on the day.
Ski touring routes described
12 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of Piau-Engaly — up to 1,400 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pic du Piau · Depuis la station | n/a · E1 · PD- | 850 m | 1,860 → 2,696 m | N | 1.1 km |
| Hourquette de Chermentas · Depuis Piau-Engaly | n/a · E1 · F | 650 m | 1,800 → 2,431 m | N | 1.7 km |
| Pic de Campbieil · Face E | 5.1 · E3 · D+ | 1,400 m | 1,826 → 3,173 m | n/a | 1.8 km |
| Pic de Campbieil · Couloir SE "Burgalasse" | 5.2 · E2 · TD | 1,080 m | 1,870 → 2,950 m | SE | 1.8 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 Piau-Engaly
From Paris: 9 hr 22 (851 km) by road.
By road
- From Pau: 1 hr 59 · 135 km
- From Toulouse: 2 hr 26 · 179 km
- From Bordeaux: 3 hr 58 · 339 km
- From Perpignan: 4 hr 16 · 374 km
- From Montpellier: 4 hr 43 · 409 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 6 hr 19 · 547 km
- From Marseille: 6 hr 24 · 572 km
- From Valence: 6 hr 33 · 607 km
- From Grenoble: 7 hr 30 · 698 km
- From Lyon: 7 hr 41 · 706 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 7 hr 44 · 585 km
- From Nice: 8 hr 01 · 730 km
- From Chambéry: 8 hr 16 · 757 km
- From Annecy: 8 hr 41 · 816 km
- From Genève: 9 hr 10 · 854 km
- From Dijon: 9 hr 13 · 843 km
- From Paris: 9 hr 22 · 851 km
- From Besançon: 9 hr 50 · 901 km
- From Nancy: 11 hr 21 · 1054 km
- From Strasbourg: 12 hr 13 · 1139 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Capvern station
halt · then 1 hr 03 drive (57 km)
Nearest main station: Tarbes, 1 hr 31 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
- Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées (LDE): 1 hr 36 by road · 104 km
- Pau-Pyrénées (PUF): 2 hr 03 by road · 139 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Piau-Engaly as the destination. Your starting point is never sent by us — the app asks you for it, if you agree.
Charging an electric car
2 charging stations within 2 km
2 charging points · up to 22 kW
- FR-S65-E65017-001-2 · Load Stations · 1 point · 22 kW · 0.2 km
- FR-S65-E65017-001-3 · Load Stations · 1 point · 22 kW · 0.2 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.
Introduction from the English Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).
Frequently asked questions
How high is Piau-Engaly?
Piau-Engaly sits at 1,860 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 2,529 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Piau-Engaly have?
Piau-Engaly has 34 km of slopes, 10 lifts.
What is the longest piste in Piau-Engaly?
The longest piste is Grande bleue: 5 km (blue run), for 771 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 Piau-Engaly?
The highest lift, Pic De Piau (detachable chairlift), tops out at 2,529 m. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How many lifts does Piau-Engaly have, and what is their capacity?
The French national register of mechanical lifts records 10 installations at Piau-Engaly (4 chairlifts, 5 drag lifts, 1 magic carpet), for an authorised capacity of 14,423 people per hour, of which 2,500 for Pic De Piau alone. The fleet spans 1976 to 2022, an average age of 29 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 Piau-Engaly?
By road, Piau-Engaly is 1 hr 59 from Pau (135 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Capvern, 1 hr 03 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 Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées, 1 hr 36 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Piau-Engaly?
9 hr 22 for 851 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 Piau-Engaly?
Good snow from mid-January to mid-March. 105 days a winter at 30 cm or more on average, and 536 cm of fresh snow, measured over 14 winters at the Météo-France “Piau” station. This verdict rests on 14 winters of Météo-France measurements (1992-2022); in season the daily report prevails.
Is Piau-Engaly good for beginners and families?
61% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather easy 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. Piau-Engaly in French →
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