So my last trip out to France for the season was to Tignes for three weeks. The first week was with WastelandSki and Ciren Snow, part of the RAUSS. The last two week were with BUSC for their Main Event.
Tignes itself is split into a few villages spreading up the valley. The main is Le Lac, but the nightlife is a little further up in Val Claret, which is where we were based for our time. Val Claret has the usual affair of Sherpas, rental shops and restaurants, but it is also host to most of the English speaking late night bars and both of the resorts nightclubs. This perhaps makes it a little less suitable for families, but certainly suits the students.
The skiable area is pretty impressive, with plenty of runs and lifts all throughout the Tignes valley, and it’s only a single lift over into the Val D’isere area if you have the extended Espace Killy pass. It’s worth getting, if only to save you the bus fare home if you take a wrong turning out of the Folie. It is possible to get back home again if you do decide on some apres though, just make sure you make it for the last chair back over! From Val Claret it’s easy to get up to the glacier thanks to the funicular that runs through the middle of the mountain, to the park via two short chairs, and down the valley to the rest of the Tignes area, either via the free buss or the more adventurous route over the hills. There’s a good mix of runs, although the best of the beginners areas is from Le Lac, so a few groups were getting the shuttle down for the start of their lessons, which is a little impractical for newbies in ski boots.
Both the Tignes and Val park are accessible on the Tignes pass, although it’s rather a long lap for the Val park. The main park certainly does the job however, with a good range of features for all ranges of abilities. With the BRITS competition during the second week and the Main Event competitions going on through the last getting some park time was a little tricky, but well worth it for the adrenalin rush. Closer to the town was the half-pipe which was a staggering 22′ superpipe while we were there. This is thanks to various international events throughout February that pushed it up from the usual 18′ pipe. Still we gave it a go, and felt the rush from that as well.
During our stay, as well as the various events that we were working with were a couple of open professional events that really added some spectacle to the stay. One of the best things of being in a resort with high standard features is that these events can surprise you whilst on holiday, as we found after leaving our mountain meal only to find the ‘Air Ladies‘ event in full flow giving us a chance to check out some incredible tricks in the pipe, flood lit and soundtracked by the resort.
Continued in the next blog
Benjamin Duff
Verses Travel 