{"id":668,"date":"2015-02-12T12:53:32","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T11:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/wordpress\/?p=668"},"modified":"2024-01-08T11:57:26","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T10:57:26","slug":"ski-tignes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/winter\/ski-resort-reviews\/alps\/ski-tignes\/","title":{"rendered":"Tignes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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D<\/span>uring previous visits we\u2019ve seen just how much snow this place can receive when a major depression blows through, so we already have a healthy respect for Tignes and the Espace Killy. The route up from\u00a0Bourg Saint Maurice\u00a0feels like an old friend, but now there\u2019s an added attraction in the form of the recent Kalinda Village<\/a>\u00a0developed at\u00a0Tignes 1800. We visited before the final phase is completed, but already it\u2019s clear that this is quite a spot, not least since it offers virtually doorstep skiing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\nSkiing during lunchtime goes against the French psyche, so we should have an hour or two\u2019s window for avoiding the crush heading up in the funicular the Grande Motte cable-car.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The run down into Les Brevi\u00e8res 1550 has a fairytale quality after overnight snowfalls.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The start of the wide cruise down to the Lac area for skiers heading from Tignes 1800.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Tignes: the bigger picture<\/h2>\n
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For our first morning\u2019s skiing we test-drive the location concept by skiing from the Kalinda residence down to the Boisses gondola lift, added in recent years to haul skiers up to the heart of main ski area, and straight onto the long, blue-graded Myrtilles piste which provides a scenic cruise down to\u00a0Les Brevi\u00e8res 1550. With the luxury of the previous night\u2019s fresh snowfalls, we snake our way down the side of the deep valley, on what in summer is actually a steep mountain hairpin route. Around the mid-point we pause to catch our breath and take in the fairytale views of the cheerful snow-dusted village on the valley floor below. It\u2019s an entertaining first run of the day, although we can see how it might become a little more demanding later in the day when heavily-tracked by returning skiers.<\/p>\n

The village of Les Brevi\u00e8res turns out to be quite a charmer, with a sheltered setting and longstanding traditional appeal to skiers looking for an affordable base from which to explore the Espace Killy. However, there are unmistakable signs that it too has begun to move upmarket. For now we don\u2019t hang around, and grab a seat on the\u00a0Pitots\u00a0chairlift for a slightly leisurely haul, complete with impressive views of the nearby\u00a0Barrage de Tignes\u00a0dam, back to the Boisses gondola.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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After a second-stage ride which drops us to precisely where we would have arrived had we taken theSache gondola\u00a0direct from\u00a0Les\u00a0Brevi\u00e8res, we could now simply join the\u00a0Airelle piste\u00a0for a Blue-graded onward run down to\u00a0Tignes Le Lac. Instead we transfer to the\u00a0Aiguille Rouge chairlift, whose companion the\u00a0Marais\u00a03-seater chair offers skiers a useful haul right up to 2725m just below\u00a0the unmistakable Aiguille Perc\u00e9e\u00a0(2748m), but we take\u00a0Petit Col\u00a0\u2013 another blue piste which swirls and swoops its way down to\u00a0Tignes Le Lac. At the bottom we ski right into the throng of skiers heading in all directions to join the respective lifts which will carry them to their chosen mountain sectors, or making for the shuttle buses to carry them around the lake to\u00a0Val Claret.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\"Tignes
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If you're new here, this is the essential starting-point to pick up a piste map and orient yourself.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Gondola ski-lift Tovi\u00e8re<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What do you do on a perfect day in Tignes?<\/h2>\n
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By now it\u2019s shaping up to be a near-perfect day for shooting the kind of images we work hard to photograph during our visits to ski areas. Experience has taught us long ago that in the mountains there\u2019s no telling how long visibility is going to hold, so we have to think on our skis and make the most it while it\u2019s still fine. The plan is to make the most of the fresh snow and clear conditions by heading up to the\u00a0Grande Motte glacier. Not that we really needed an excuse.<\/p>\n

Making the trip up from mid-morning onwards finds the initial surge of skiers heading for the glacier dwindling fast, and since the prospect of skiing during fast-approaching midday goes against the French psyche, we should have an hour or two\u2019s window for avoiding the crush heading up in the funicular \u2013 and more importantly, the\u00a0Grande Motte\u00a0cable-car. Sure enough, it turns out to be a pretty painless experience, thanks to restricting ourselves to a brief coffee-and-snack break en route, rather than the kind of sublime lunchtime experience served up byJean-Michel Bouvier\u2019s team at\u00a0Le Panoramic\u00a0(one of our favourite mountain restaurants).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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