Gourette
Gourette (French: [ɡuʁɛt]) is a winter sports resort in the French Pyrenees. It is located in the commune of Eaux-Bonnes in the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, on the D 918 road which passes through the Col d'Aubisque mountain pass. The closest air access is Pau Pyrénées Airport.
Winter offerings
In winter, the resort offers one of the largest skiable areas in the Pyrenean chain with thirty marked trails, and extending between 1,400 and 2,400 m (4,600 and 7,900 ft) in altitude, covering about 90 ha (220 acres) of mostly north-facing slopes. The area also hosts snowboarding and snowshoe trails. In 2005 the region spent over 50 million euros to improve its winter resort facilities, including trails, lifts, accommodation and other infrastructure.
Summer offerings
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Cirque_de_Gourette_Pic_de_Ger.jpg/220px-Cirque_de_Gourette_Pic_de_Ger.jpg)
In summer, tourists visit the valley of the Gave d'Ossau and its lakes for sightseeing, hiking, biking, rock climbing, and mountaineering, including the ascent of Pic du Midi d'Ossau (2,884 m (9,462 ft)). The French GR 10 hiking trail, which covers over 800 km (500 mi) from one end of the Pyrenees to the other, passes through the village.
Tour de France
The 2007 Tour de France passed through Gourette. The road through the Col d'Aubisque pass, cresting at an altitude of 1,710 m (5,610 ft), has gradients from 7.5 to 10% and is considered a Hors Catégorie climb in Union Cycliste Internationale race classifications.
Further reading
- Lafon, Cathy (16 February 2023). "C'était comment Gourette, aux débuts du ski dans les Pyrénées ?" [What was Gourette like, at the beginning of skiing in the Pyrenees?]. Sud Ouest (in French).
- Czernecka, Étienne (22 September 2021). "« Gourette 2025 »: un projet de restructuration de la station à 27 millions d'euros" ["Gourette 2025": a €27 million restructuring project for the resort]. Sud Ouest (in French).
- Julien, Pierre-Olivier (23 March 2018). "Gourette : le Département a présenté son plan pour relancer la station" [Gourette: the Department has presented its plan to revive the resort]. La République des Pyrénées (in French).
- "Pyrénées : la fréquentation de Gourette s'effondre, celle de La Pierre grimpe" [Pyrenees: Gourette attendance plummets, La Pierre climbs]. La République des Pyrénées (in French). 28 April 2015.
- Labbé, Axelle (23 May 2018). "Un collectif de la liaison Artouste-Gourette lance une pétition pour relier les deux domaines" [A collective of the Artouste-Gourette link launches a petition to link the two areas]. France Bleu (in French).
- Napias, Marie-Line (15 October 2019). "Gourette : de nouvelles inquiétudes sur la solidité de la plateforme du Valentin" [Gourette: new concerns about the solidity of the Valentin platform]. France Bleu (in French).
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Official website of the resort (in French)
- Mémoire du Cyclisme website (in French)
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