Bring on the summer...

So the winter has finally come to an end after an unseasonably cold end to the season.

There were a few really good dumps of snow at the end of April and start of May which resulted in some fantastic end of season skiing on extremely quiet slopes.

The snow has mostly receded and the resort is starting to look green and summery once again as you can see from the Tignes le Lac webcam.

Tignes le Lac pano - courtesy of http://en.tignes.net/webcams

Tignes has a wealth of activities available once again this summer.
Come and experience some of the 20 FREE ACTIVITIES AVAILABLE FOR OUR GUESTS.

In addition, there’s also a host of professional athletes and sports teams setting up camp in Tignes this summer. The summer kicks off on the 24^th June with activities until the 1^st Septemeber.

There are over 20 activities in or around resort with all of the usual suspects in play.

Here are just a few activities you could be enjoying this summer…

Mountain Biking – Lift for mountain bikers are completely FREE in Tignes and Val d’Isère and access to the Bike Park is also FREE. Practical info can be found here - http://en.tignes.net/what-to-see-do/do-something/summer/bike-park-tignes/mtb-area

Road Cycling - Tignes and the local area has some great road cycling on offer; although not famed for its road cycling like some of the other famous routes in the Alps there is some fantastic cycling on offer to suit all abilities, and with access to a vehicle Tignes is a great hub for keen cyclists of all abilities.

Sailing on the lake in Tignes - picture courtesy of http://en.tignes.net/what-to-see-do/do-something/summer/water-sports-centre

The water sports centre offers access to FREE activities with the My Tignes Open card including pedal boat, canoe, kayak, and stand up paddle board. There’s also catamarans and sailing dinghy’s available with courses running each day through the summer.

Summer skiing on the Grande Motte glacier, Tignes - picture courtesy of http://en.tignes.net/what-to-see-do/skiing/summer-skiing

There’s also skiing on offer during the summer with over 20kms of piste on the Grande Motte glacier.

Summer Skiing/Snowboarding, more info here - http://en.tignes.net/what-to-see-do/skiing/summer-skiing

Tignes summer walking

Stunning walks - for those thrill seekers looking for a little time-out there's plenty of stunning walks on offer to take in the scenery at a slower pace. Theres also some challenging walks on offer for those that wish to challenge themselves on more diffcult trails, it's possbile to scale the heights of the Grand Sassiere (3751m) which can be seen in the distance from Tignes, the view from the top offers stunning views over the French & Italian Alps and beyond.

Please click here for more info on the Tignes Sport card which is provided free by the Tignes Chalet company - http://en.tignes.net/what-to-see-do/do-something/summer/my-tignes-open

 
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There’s still time to head out Mountain Biking…

Worried that you haven’t tried your hand at Mountain Biking yet and that time is running out? Well worry not, as Tignes Mountain Biking and the Palafour chair lift is still open until the 31st August. Want to know the best bit? The lifts and bike park are Free, yes you read that right, Free! 

So why go Mountain Biking in Tignes you might ask and not one of the more well-known resorts such as Morzine? Well, Tignes is perfectly set up for mountain biking in the summer with a handful of lift accessed zones and plenty of cross country and enduro riding. Tignes also has some of the most diverse bike terrain in the Alps due to the resorts high altitude. Here with the family? Mountain biking in Tignes is suitable for all levels, so great to get the family together for a day out too. 

Here in Tignes, there is a mountain biking trail for everyone and with five lifts spread out over the Tignes and Val D’Isere area they are easily accessible. In Tignes you have the Tufs chairlift, the palafour chairlift and the Toviere gondola which provides access to Val D’Isere. If over in Val D’Isere you have access to the Olympique cable car and the Borsat chairlift.

Map of Espace Killy Bike Area

Just like the Ski Slopes in the winter, mountain biking trails have different levels of difficulty, so be sure to know your own ability, strengths and weaknesses before hitting the trails. Never tried your hand at mountain biking before? Green trails are perfect for beginners, easing you in steadily, you will be a pro in no time. Already tried your hand at mountain biking and downhill riding? Then blue trails will help to improve your skills. Got the mountain biking bug? Enjoy spending time on the red trails. Consider yourself an expert? Then black and double black trails will get your adrenaline flowing. Not sure which level you are at? Then head to Bike Land in the center of Le Lac where you can assess your level thanks to three green, blue and red modules lines at your disposal. 

 

Bike Land - Tignes Le Lac

Feel ready to tackle the trails of Tignes? Before you do be sure to have the correct equipment and adhere to the safety rules. The trails of Tignes are open to Mountain bikers under their own responsibility and Tignes, Val D’Isere, the STGM and the STVI cannot be held responsible for any injuries caused to Mountain bikers. So please remember to wear a helmet, this is compulsory! Refer to the signs at all times, they are there to help and guide you. Mind the pedestrians. Pedestrians have priority on the ‘all mountain’ and cross country trails, stop and let them go first. Mind the herds. You may come in to contact with herds grazing on the mountain, remember to ride slowly. Once you have got all that, just remember to have fun!

 

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Fancy a ski this summer?

With a wealth of summer activities in Tignes you would be forgiven for packing your skis away until next winter. On the other hand... if you fancy carving a few summer turns or even working on your technique a little then the Grande Motte glacier is the place to head. And after a bumper winter conditions are set to be pretty good up there!

Piste map for summer skiing

There are approximately 20km of pistes including a snowpark to hone freestyle skills and cross-country skiing area for those feeling of you feeling a little more energetic!

Grande Motte opening dates: June 25th to August 7th (7:15 to 13:00 each day).

Snoworks instructor on the Grande Motte glacier

If you're interested in fine tuning your technique during the Summer then check out the courses on offer through Snoworks - http://www.snoworks.co.uk/summer-ski-courses.html

Be it in the saddle on the skis, we will look forward to seeing some of you out there this summer.

Bon été à tous!

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15/16 Winter Catch-Up

Well, what can we say about the Winter of 2015/16…

Excellent staff.  Epic snow. Great guests. An amazing season enjoyed by all!

After mother nature once again took a bit of a lie in during the early months of November and December, we were left wondering if this season would ever get going.

First staff ski day - Col de L’Iseran  (23/12/2015)

Final staff ski day - Bottom of Genepi piste (27/04/16)

The fireworks of New Year seemed to be the wakeup call for mother nature, and she duly provided us with a much needed delivery of the white stuff with seemingly continuous dumps of 10cms or more throughout January.
That set the tone for the rest of winter, and from then on there was no shortage of snow.
By the start of January the staff had settled into their roles nicely and we were receiving glowing reviews from guests. January disappeared in a flash amongst the excitement and enjoyment of fresh snow and before we could say ‘school holidays’ it was February Half Term Week.

Staff ski day- hiking the Toviere ridge

Staff ski day- bubbles in the Sache valley

After half-term we managed to get together as a team once again. We enjoyed excellent conditions despite poor visibility, we even treated ourselves to some well earned bubbles on the hill and some melted cheese at the bottom in Les Brevieres!

Last staff day out of winter 2016 - 27th April - The TCC from Ultimate Snowsports on Vimeo.

We cruised through the remainder of February and into March, continuing to enjoy fantastic conditions.
The final staff ski day was arguably one of the best days of the season. It was the 27th April, and we had received about a foot of fresh snow in resort and almost 30 cm's of fresh cold powder above mid-station. We had a week of unseasonably cold weather which resulted in an amazing end of season conditions.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to our staff and all of our guests that come to enjoy the winter with us, here’s to more of the same next season!

Last Supper

First Supper

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We're getting ready for the new season, are you?

With the Espace Killy set to open in less than two months most are thinking about organising their trip for next season and getting in tip top shape to make the most of their time on the hill.

For those budding ski instructors and ski racers the focus has probably switched to preparing themselves physically (and maybe mentally) for the season ahead.

The physical side of the sport is very important for those instructors looking to make the grade at the notoriously difficult 'eurotest' or 'test tecnhique' races in addition to the technical skiing exams- for those of you not 'in the know' to work in France instructors are required to achieve a certain time which varies from race to race (usually within 10% of a current or ex-professional ski racer) in order to apply their trade in France and complete the Level 4 ISTD qualification..

It is still good practice to keep yourself fit for skiing, as a regular holiday skier or even if you've achieved the euro-test or test-technique pass along with passing the other exams, especially as an instructor working day to day in the mountains.

Naturally, our backroom staff here at the Tignes Chalet Company consists of ski instructors and winter sports enthusiasts alike. We are all keen athletes/sportsman, so what are we doing to get fit for the mountains?

Do these cows not know we're in training?!
Matt on his bike earlier this week, near Whitmore in Staffordshire

Cycling is the obvious choice! With attributes such as lower leg strength similar to those required for skiing this can be a perfect activity to get you into shape for the mountains.

The main slope at Stoke Ski Centre (Festival Park, Staffordshire) earlier this week.

If cycling isn't your thing you could also drop in on your nearest dry slope and sneak in some turns before the winter. If you've never skied on a dry slope before it might take a little bit of adjustment before you start to slide in a graceful fashion...

However, dry slope skiing can be beneficial to your technique and if you can get the fundamentals right on the plastic this can only help when you're out in the mountains.
It's also a less expensive option to the notoriously overpriced indoor snow centres across the land.

Of course if you like to keep you skiing activities strictly to the snow other activities such as running and gym work can also be beneficial to your skiing fitness.

It doesn't matter how you achieve your skiing fitness as long as your in prime condition to enjoy the mountains!

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The snow is coming!

View from the lake in Tignes earlier this week- courtesy of tignesofficial instagram

Autumn is always an exciting in Tignes, with the changing colours of autumn which often include an occasional blanketing of the white stuff. In fact we have already had snow down to the village at 2100m in Tignes as you can see above. And there is more snow in the forecast with the freezing level to drop as low as 2300m bringing some snow just above village level on Monday, and the forecast is for the freezing level to stay well below 3000m for the rest of the week which is good news for the glacier.

Stelvio, Italy

There has also been snowfall elsewhere in the alps.
This picture was taken by a friend of Ultimate Snowsports at her race camp base in Stelvio, Italy.
The picture was taken at around 2600m and as you can see the snow was really starting to accumulate at this altitude, really amazing but maybe not such great conditions for race training!

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At which ski resorts are you guaranteed to get a snow fix this winter?

Of course Tignes and Val D'isere are at the top of the list according to the Telegraph.co.uk.

But we can't be the only resort in the norther hemisphere that has a great record of snow cover during the winter?

Here's a couple of places we have visited and can personally recommend for a potentially epic powder day:

Whistler- BC, Canada.

A view from the snow covered trees of Whistler mountain.

Having visited Whistler Blackcomb myself in March a few years ago I can certainly vouch for the snowfall. After a few sunny days in a row (which we were told were extremely rare) the heavens opened and we received over a metre of snow in 24 hours. Despite the snow being quite wet and heavy between the bottom lift and mid-station up top there was plenty of good powder, although not of the champagne variety but pretty close!

Similarly to Tignes, Whistler Blackcomb has a glacier and there is usually skiing available from late November through to May with summer skiing from Late June until the end of July.

It is widely regarded as one of the best places to ski in North America, in my opinion the variation of terrain it offers is pretty amazing, in one run you can ski off the glacier and through the alpine into into some of the best tree skiing to be found anywhere.

Hakuba Valley, Nagano, Japan

Aerial shot of the Hakuba Valley courtesy of snowjapan.com

The Hakuba Valley is one of Japans biggest skiing areas, consisting of around 10 separate ski areas.
It consistently averages around 10m of snowfall each winter despite the bottom lift located at around 700m altitude. The valley also hosted the downhill events for the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics.

The resort is mainly popular with Australians during the winter with few visitors from the northern hemisphere.

On a good day the skiing can be spectacular with some of the best powder tree skiing in the world with light fluffy snow in usually well spaced deciduous trees.
Most of the skiing is below the tree line with the resort of Happo-One offering the most skiing with some alpine skiing above the tree line.
There is also a significant amount of backcountry to explore. However this is notoriously very dangerous due to the large amounts of snow fall and the steepness of the mountains creating a high risk of avalanche!
I had my best day skiing the trees of the back of Hakuba Cortina- this resort allows skiers to ski the trees whereas some of the resorts in the valley only allow tree skiing in designated areas.

On a good day the skiing is spectacular with some of the best powder tree skiing in the world with light fluffy snow in usually well spaced deciduous trees.

It's truly a stunning place and well worth a visit, and the skiing is pretty awesome as well!

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Tignes Winter 2015/2016 teaser...

After a dump of snow on the mountain tops ion Monday we are beginning to get a little excited for winter!

And we aren't the only ones... Tignes has released this video to get us even more stoked for the start of the season. And with less than two months until the opening of the Espace Killy on the 28th November, why not get excited!



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TCC 2016 Summer Chalets coming soon... summer lifts stop rolling this weekend

As this weekend marks the end of Summer lift operations in Tignes we are delighted to announce that as of 2016 we will be providing Summer accommodation options in Tignes!

More info to follow soon, watch this space...

Mountain bikers enjoying trails with Tignes le Lac in the background (photo credit - tignes.net / Start Line Mountain Biking)

There are lots of activities on offer over the Summer in Tignes, and most of them are free!
Arguably the most popular is mountain biking, with free access to the lifts in Tignes & Val d'Isere, with around 150km of trails across the two biking areas. All you need to do is collect a hands free pass, which are available from the Maison de Tignes in Tignes Le Lac for a 5 euro deposit.

For more info on summer activities/sports in Tignes click here.

In the mean time we are busy making preparations for the winter season ahead, we've almost finished carefully selecting some new staff to join the TCC team and making sure our vehicles are in tip top shape. We are looking forward to everyone arriving in resort around the start of November looking bright-eyed and bushy tailed.

That first dump of the white stuff is not too far around the corner, and we can't wait!

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The Trans Savoie Big Alpine MTB Enduro series kicked off in Val D'isere at the weekend.

A groundbreaking point-to-point stage event 100% focused on technical riding ability and epic adventure. The Trans Savoie requires a blend of skill, athletic fitness, mental determination, and strategic riding on some of the best mountain bike trails in the world.

The competition uses a mix of ski lifts and natural trails to form the course, the series has six stages and moved onto Les Arcs for day two. The final stage is set to finish in Chamonix.

On Day 1 the riders traveled 49km with 4751m of vertical, check out the stunning images below.

Tignes le Lac and the 'fingers' in view with the village of Val Claret to the right of the photo

La Grande Casse looking a little snowy in the background.

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Dumping down in South America!

Portillo (Chile) got 25 inches in 24 hours- dude where's my car?

Snow is continuing to fall in South America after over 200cm in some places last week!
Chile and Argentina were inundated with snow last week, weather men said that it may this may have been the largest storm to hit central Chile in the past 5 years.
This good for central Chile which has suffered from many droughts over the last few years.

Originally, central Chile had 19-feet of snow forecast in 4 days last week!

View from the Nubes chairlift at Catedral ski resort in Bariloche, Argentina.

It was reported that a spectacular day of powder skiing was to be had on Monday at  Catedral ski resort in Bariloche, Argentina.

Of course this amount of snow help's to fill in rocky features, creating new airs and hits all over the mountain, and it's always to nice to have that extra cushioning on any landing especially when it goes wrong! Although it has to be said putting ski's back on in deep powder and even finding skis can be an extreme challenge. On these occasions it's useful to have a powder trace on your skis to help locate them when they have nose dived into deep snow.
How often do we see people having this problem in the Alps! 

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Would you swap the French Alps for skiing in Dubai?

Plans have been announced in Dubai to build the World's longest indoor ski slope as part of the Meydan One project which will also include a shopping mall, residential tower and five-star hotel.
It's not the first indoor ski slope in Dubai and will be located approximately 15 km's from Ski Dubai which is 400m long and was opened in 2005, the indoor ski resort which features the world's first indoor black run as part of the Mall of the Emirates, one of the largest shopping malls in the world.

Meydan One's futuristic indoor ski slope 

The 1.2km slope will be the world's longest such indoor facility, beating Germany's AlpinCenter in Bottrop which is 640m.

However, this is not the only the record the Meydan One project plans' to break;

• Dubai One tower- will have the highest observation deck at 655m and highest sky restaurant at 675 metres when built as well being the tallest residential tower.
• Dancing fountain- expected  to be the world’s largest at more than 420 metres in length.

Overview of the project

The project also includes the Meydan Arena at the base of the ski slope, it will seat up to 8,000 people. It will host sporting events, live concerts and theatrical shows. Some of the outdoor sport options include football pitches, mountain biking, walking and running trails, a skateboard park and a BMX park.

Swap the French Alps for Dubai?

So hands up, who will be swapping their Ski trip to the Alp's for a glitzy ski vacation on Dubai's slippery slopes? I thought not!

But it does have it's advantages; no more worrying about the prospect of a white-out day, and with a man made climate there's no fears about a good snow base when you arrive.

On the other hand there definitely wont be the excitement of a powder day, and backcountry skiing doesn't exist.

Having said that it's hard to deny that if you are a resident in Dubai it would be an extremely exciting prospect, and just sometimes lots of money can make anything possible, even skiing in the desert! 

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A Winter Olympics without snow?

On Friday the IOC selected Beijing as host city for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, this means it will be the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
An obvious choice then you might think considering the city's pedigree?

Yanqing, the venue for some of the skiing events receives just two inches of snowfall per year

There is an obvious floor with the bid as you may be able to recognize in the image above...
This part of China barely receives any precipitaion which means hardly any natural snowfall!
Beijing is not a mountainous city, so the skiing, snowboarding and sliding events will be held in Yanqing (55 miles away from the capital) and Zhangjiakou (100 miles away), on the edge of the Gobi desert. But even these remote venues see minimal snowfall - Zhangjiakou averages eight inches of the white stuff per year, while Yanqing gets a miserly two inches.
To combat this organizers plan to take snow-making to an entirely new level by stock-piling snow in warehouse ready to transform the baron mountain where it plans to host the downhill events, in addition to this snow cannons will also help to tranform the mountain.

So why did the IOC choose Beijing?

Shymbulak ski resort, Kazakhstan

Well to be frank they had only one other option to choose from. The other contender to the host the games was Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The main advantage of hosting the games here is the actual snowfall they receive during the winter, and this was reflected in the presentation of their bid with the cheeky slogan 'Keeping it Real'. The disadvantage is the city's distinct lack of experience in hosting such an event of this caliber and this was ultimately the deciding factor. The Kazakh city was left as the only competitor to Beijing for the games after a series of European cities, including Krakow,  Oslo and Stockholm, withdrew from the selection process, blaming low public support and concerns about the huge costs of hosting the Games.

So with the 2018 Winter Olympic Games to be hosted in South Korea it seems like Asia is taking full advantage of Europe's current financial inability to host in one of her cities.
The major question to be answered is  can these two Asian cities provide an inspiring Winter Olympics with very little skiing tradition?

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