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	La Mongie
	; La Mongie
Country:	France
Region:	Midi-Pyrenees
Department:	Hautes-Pyrenees
Canton:	Campan
Postcode:	65200
Altitude min:	1400m approx
Altitude max:	2872m

The village of La Mongie is at 1800 metres altitude. There are also residences at 1850 and the Tourmalet building at 1900. It lies below the Col du Tourmalet (2115 metres). It is in the Midi-Pyrenees region (department 65) of France and around 20 km from the Spanish border. La Mongie is a winter ski resort offering alpine skiing, snowboarding, snowpark, cross-country skiing, snowmobiles and hiking in snowshoes. In the summer cycling (on and off road) and the use of trials motorcycles is popular. The village has two small supermarkets, a tourist information centre, gift shops and many restaurants and ski rental shops. The nearby spa town of Bagneres de Bigorre offers large supermarkets and shops, restaurants, a casino, an 18-hole golf course and the natural spa baths themselves.

[edit] Access

Airports: Tarbes/Lourdes airport, 35 km. Toulouse Blagnac, 180 km.
Road: A64 exit 14 Tournay, dir Bagneres de Bigorre. Then La Mongie/Col du Tourmalet.
Rail: SNCF station Tarbes. Bus connection Bagneres/La Mongie.

[edit] Skiing

La Mongie is the largest skiable domain in the Pyrenees including the Superbarèges station. Over 100 km there are 69 pistes and 43 lifts including poma tows and several four and six-man chair-lifts. A gondola lift gives access to some of the southern pistes while the Pic du Midi Funitel gives access to off-piste areas to the north. Of the 69 pistes, 23 are green, 19 blue, 21 red and 6 black. The domain has 173 snow cannons and there is one night piste.

[edit] Pic du Midi de Bigorre

It is also popular for cable car access to the Pic du Midi de Bigorre (2,872 m), on the summit of which is a 19th-century observatory. Work on the observatory started in 1878 and was completed in 1908. Observatory equipment has been in place since 1905 and in 1963 NASA funded the installation of a telescope for photographs of the Moon in preparation for the Apollo missions.

[edit] Tour de France

La Mongie is on one of the most important stages of the Tour de France. The Tour has regularly passed along the route since the inclusion of the Pyrenees in 1910. In 2004 the 12th stage terminated in La Mongie village. The last time the Tour crossed the Col du Tourmalet was the 9th stage of the 2009 competition.

The 2008 Tour de France route passed through La Mongie's commune during stage 9 en route from Toulouse to Bagnères-de-Bigorre. It traversed the Col d'Aspin and the village of Campan, approx 5 km away.

[edit] Tour de France stage finishes

Year	Stage	Start of stage	Distance (km)	Category	Stage winner	Yellow jersey
2004	12	Castelsarrasin	197.5	1	Ivan Basso	Thomas Voeckler
2002	11	Pau	158	1	Lance Armstrong	Lance Armstrong
1970	18	Saint-Gaudens	135.5	1	Bernard Thévenet	Eddy Merckx

[edit] Image gallery

La Mongie village. February 2005.	La Mongie ski area in the summer.	The Pic du Midi.	View west from the Col du Tourmalet, towards Bareges.
View from La Mongie village towards the Tourmalet building.	Tourmalet building, Pistes.