January
- The International Freeride Film Festival, Saint Lary Soulan (Hautes Pyrénées)
A must for snowsports film buffs, with the best freeride films competing for honours in Saint Lary over 3 days in January. The standard of film-making is remarkable, and what makes these films stand out is their powerful images.
The 15 to 20 films short-listed for the competition have been selected from an international and Pyrenean line-up. The festival is followed by the Free Ride Night.
www.saintlary.com - Tel. +33 (0)5 62 39 50 81.
- Garosnow, in Ax-les-Thermes (Ariège)
Just below the ski resort of Ax-3 Domaines, for 5 days in January and February Ax-les-Thermes will be cranking up the volume with a series of concerts mixing headline acts and upcoming new bands. Electro rock, electro hip-hop, ska rock, reggae and more… the bands taking part are from Toulouse, Paris, Barcelona, London, Berlin and elsewhere.
www.vallees-ax.com
February
- Luchon Television Arts Festival (Haute Garonne)
If you like a festive atmosphere and a chance to do some celeb-spotting, come to Luchon at the beginning of February. The stars of the small screen will be flocking to the Television Arts Festival in Luchon, a Great Tourist Site in Midi-Pyrénées. This is the event that shapes the future of what we see on our TV screens.
Come for a sneak preview of the best new television and audiovisual offerings for the coming season: fiction (comedy, drama, etc.), series and mini-series, web fiction, and more...
www.festivaldeluchon.tv
March
- The Derby du Pic du Midi (Hautes Pyrénées)
An official Trophée des Derbys event, this high-mountain snowsports race is for anyone who skis, snowboards, telemarks or monoskis. The Derby is a timed race open to all comers, and French federation membership is not required. It's a simple idea: everyone starts from the summit of the Pic du Midi, and the first person to get to the bottom wins...
www.picdumidi.com
- The Poney Session, Saint Lary Soulan (Hautes Pyrénées)
The Pyrenean freestyle snowboarding event takes place in Saint Lary in early March. It's the ultimate contest, eagerly awaited every year, being the only 4-star-rated event on the international freestyle snowboarding circuit. The Poney Session is also a great forum for board culture and artistic expression, with live painting sessions, exhibitions and concerts to boot.
- The Derby des Pyrénées, Piau-Engaly (Hautes Pyrénées)
Ski, snowboard, telemark, monoski, snowscoot and customised equipment: this is the biggest celebration of all things snowsports in the Pyrenees. Participants of all abilities compete against each other on a descent with a vertical drop of 800 metres, all in a crazy, madcap atmosphere. A lively weekend packed with events, including an evening party and meal followed by a concert.
www.derbydespyrenees.com
- XTREM Freeride, Saint Lary Soulan (Hautes Pyrénées)
Over two days in March, this extreme multi-snowsports freeride race for teams of two visits the best freeride locations around the resort of Saint Lary Soulan, with the highlight of the race being the overnight bivvy in the mountains. Skis, snowboards, telemark skis … teams of men, women or one of each… all permutations are welcome.
This famous race has now been going for more than ten years, attracting a large crowd of hard-core enthusiasts to Saint Lary, the home resort of the current two-time world champion in the discipline, Xavier De Le Rue.
www.saintlary.com - Tel. +33 (0)5 62 39 50 81.