Today was the day that we set off to check out the mountains to the south in preperation for the skiing over the winter. La Mongie is situated in the Haute-Bigorre area of the Hautes-Pyrénée. The day started off bright and warm, the pup was in the middle of a hyperactive run around when I put my Canon Ixus 700 camera on top of the car to go and play with the pup... Once everyone was ready we got in and drove off... 20 minutes later it suddenly dawns on me that I've left my camera on the roof. We did stop to check to see if it was there but there was no hope :( We then headed back just to make sure, but to each side of the road where my folks live is a ditch, full of grasses. We stopped at the likely places, bends etc, but it is nowhere to be found. Balls!

So with me a little pissed off we then headed back to the mountains. It's about 50 miles to get to La Mongie. As you start to go up into the mountains out of the valleys the roads start to get steep, but there are still cyclists that think that cycling to the top is a good idea... The resort is not at the top of the mountain, which is a good thing as when we did get there it was very very cold due to the wind, so I'm not sure how much fun that will be in the winter time.
This photo is several pictures stitched together, with the main resort just behind the green hill in the centre of the picture (not the big rock). The photo does not do it justice as to how steep the slopes are and how many crevices there are running down the hills. This resort looks like more of a challenge after the serveral years of skiing at the resorts of Lake Tahoe, which seems quite flat in comparrison.
Looking the other way at the top gives you this impressive view, which will be even more so when covered in snow. Not long now...