Tignes and the Espace Killy 2015/16 (Useful Links Post 1)

A snowHead

What a day Very Happy

Despite the wind closing the lifts on high, below 2600m it was glorious - warm temps in the sun and great snow. A group of us set sail to explore the Bellvarde - the snow on Grand Pre was perfect corduroy - in fat the pistes are in remarkable condition for this time of year. It was cool enough for the cannons to run all morning so there were some hard bits on the way down to La Daille. But with the sun shining lunch on the Terrace at Rosée Blanche it was like mid march until 1340 when the sun dropped behind the Bellvarde - so back to the planks.

The hazards of off piste were demonstrated perfectly as we went up Tommeuse - a guy did 4 great turns and then 1 ski stopped abruptly and he did a gymnastics performance that Max Whitlock would have been proud of Shocked

. We also watched a group down Moniteurs Couloir (near Grand Pre) as they got back to the piste there was that tell tale sign of half the group taking a ski off to inspect the base. There is also quite a lot of windslab (especially after last night) above 2500m, which accounted from the early morning call from the pisteurs this morning as they blasted their way around.

The next 3 days will be very similar to today Cool

but without the wind - so more of the playground should be open to spread the few people around. Looks like a break in the weather on Friday but nothing to get excited about in terms of dumps yet.

A snowHead

@chocksaway, is the alpaka and loop bar open this week?

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@Atomic_Mick, loop is open. I've managed to ski over the same rock 3 times already this week..

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@Atomic_Mick, Alpaka open, has been for a few weeks now.

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@mountainaddict, Tichot is the last to shut at 1645 - although it is blinkin dark by then! They seem to be preparing Trolles and surrounding pistes so they should be next - perhaps with Paquis lift. Fresse still to open (Bollin is of course going). Probably more snow needed in Col De Ves to cover the rocks as there are no cannons up there. After that we will probably have to wait for at least 10 days before the Brev sector opens.

Tigski and I set off for a cruise of the Espace Killy this morning - as it was a cruise I took my camera Very Happy

On the way here we have the Christmas lights going up on Montee du Rosset:

And a pile of chairs arrived for the new Rosset Lift last night - taken through the Tov Gondola so a bit hazy:

After a slide into La Daille (and a momentary loss of stability on my part) on a mixture of real and artificial we bussed to the centre (No Face and no Santons yet) and up the Solaise. The Terasse drag, Tete de Solaise rope and Lac Lifts have gone so from the top of the Solaise chair you now have the Poum (don't ask me!!) magic carpet:

I suspect this will be a bottle neck this year - or it will be a skate to get to the slope that leads to Glacier Express. But next year the Solaise Gondola will be built and go further than the chair so you can ski direct to Glacier Express. Here is the nascent top station and the new Panoramic Lounge at the top:

Here is a shot of the double barrelled Magic Carpet that has replaced the Lac chair to bring you out - its called Pim Pam - again NFI!!:

The whole of the Solaise was deserted and the snow was fabulous, but in the interests od sH research we pressed to Le Fornet where a lot of the pistes have yet to be marked out. Also the snow cover was variable - it obviously arrived in high winds as many ridges were bare as you can just see here:

Val's resident geometric artist is back (can't remember his name) but its obviously his 'blue period'. Spot the croc at the Signal (there is also a bear at the top of the Olympique):

The snow on piste at Le Fornet was good - outside the poles not really deep enough except in odd gullies. So we wandered home on deserted pistes and here is the shot inside Pim Pam - the left lane is the slow lane, right quick - must be so they don't confuse the British majority Toofy Grin

Our return was easy via Val Claret and the Tichot Grattalu Grand Huit circuit - snow just fine.

Weather set fair for at least 2 more days and the weekend looks more settled ie no snow, but there may be a bit of cloud and a stronger breeze by Saturday.

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Top report, thanks.

After all it is free

Brilliant report! Keep 'em comin'!

Great photos and nice report.

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That carpet looks quite steep and how long does it take?? Shocked

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@Kiters, doesn't take long but I think it's awful.

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@Kiters, Couple of minutes - similar to the old chair. But if its busy and someone falls backwards it could be a great game of skittles Shocked

@chocksaway please don't use up all the good snow. I want there to be something decent for me and Oscar next Friday! Toofy Grin

This has probably been asked many times before but I'll ask it again - Is manmade snow on a mountain similar to manmade snow in a snowdome? The latter always seems to be very sugary and doesn't bind well.

Looking at the weather reports it seems the difference between this winter and last is the night-time temps are well below freezing so the cannons should be able to blast away and keep the conditions reasonably good until the next significant dump.

You know it makes sense.

@holidayloverxx, totally agree Sad

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

What's with magic carpets? They are awful. Cheaper I suppose 😔

A snowHead

Thanks so much for the pictures. We are not going to be in the EK before Christmas for the first time in many years so I am getting a good vicarious fix through your lens. Many thanks!

Keep that snow fresh until 3rd Jan!

A snowHead

@Gaza, I've never been to a snowdome so can't really comment. But the stuff that comes out of the mobile cannons that look a bit like jet engines seems to be less slippery than the stuff that appears out of the ones that look like scaffolding poles. But it does look like the only snow we are going to get is from them for the time being.

As for magic carpets - they do seem to be the in thing - I suppose they must be cheaper - but now thay are all covered it must be warmer for beginners on a nasty day (and for those poor long suffering instructors wink

)

Today was just glorious not a cloud to be seen and temps more like March - quite a bit of water going down the road. The team had a cruise round the Palet sector and then to the Grande Motte - it was too breezy to run the cable car but all the drags were operating including 3500 - but there were a lot of poles and a lot of lycra up there - so we stuck to a deserted Double M. Morning coffee followed at the Carline and then round to Grand Pre - again just perfect. There can't have been a better week for early intermediates to learn. Just one or 2 crests are getting a bit polished/thin on runs without cannons - they should 'canonise' (sorry that was bad) the bloke that invented them!!

Tomorrow will be identical to today weather wise - but there will be a bit more cloud on Friday, Saturday more so when there might be the odd flocon down to 1800m or so as the rag end of an old front gasps its last as it passes over. But overall high pressure looks set to dominate for the next week, but it looks more like sunny periods than pure gorgeous sunshine. It will remain warm for the time of year as well - so more terrasse lunches Very Happy

. There's no sign of the Jetstream moving south (which should bring more unsettled weather) until next weekend.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@chocksaway, Great report thanks!
Any news on when the Rosset will be opening at all? Will be there this time next week and very excited!

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staying in Val for New Years week(arriving 26th) spent at least 35 weeks in Val in my life but can not think of where to book for New Years eve meal, where staying is half board but want to go get a nice meal that night.

any recommendations???

I am useless with names the one i am thinking is the one down the stairs on the non skiing side of the main street, does good duck in orange, i cant remember a name of anywhere there....

nice food but not stupid expensive...

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christiana is superb

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@stewart woodward, what a shame. Looks like we wont be able to use it. Can you get up it by Lavachet? If not guess we will have to go to Val Claret Puzzled

After all it is free · Last edited by After all it is free on Thu 3-12-15 19:12; edited 1 time in total

Cue Vera Lynn: There were bluebirds over the white cliffs of the.......... Grand Motte.

OK it doesn't rhyme but you get the idea - another groundhog day in Spring Very Happy

Even warmer today - and 3 of us headed across to Le Fornet for morning coffee at Cascades - the pistes of the Solaise and higher Fornet were just fantastic and empty. They are holding up well in the heat except for a few bare patches from the Tete de Solaise down to the trees of M - which was fine. Someone seems to be building a large restaurant in the middle of the nursery area in Val - which is a bit odd. None the less just another fab day rounded off with a late lunch and one of Rocco's homemade pasta dishes in the Jam Bar - then home for a small snoooooooze.

And now for the News: I have just received an official e mail informing the World that Trolles and Crocus will be open tomorrow - so a shortcut (if a bit steep) home. And on Saturday the Chaudannes lift will open serving piste Bluets only - so no crafty trips down to Brev its a long walk home. Additionally the Lavachet Drag will also open thus enabling the Lavachet Gardens for the beginners. Opening these two will mean @stewart woodward, will no longer have to get the bus. The first chair was being put on the Rosset Chair cables so there is light at the end of that particular tunnel.

Not much change from yesterdays forecast - it will cloud over progressively tomorrow, but the dusting of snow should now occur overnight and the sun will return for the weekend and sunny periods for the rest of the week with maybe an odd light shower mid week out of the thicker clouds. It will gradually start cooling down from the weekend but it will still be warmer than average. Looks like a draughty one in the UK this weekend Shocked

PS Thanks to the RAF Ski Team for a great cocktail party last night "Per Ardua ad Astra" chaps and chapesses.

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Looking like some of the white stuff is going on the webcams... How are the slopes to ski on?

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@Floss, Its a curates egg - see below!

A thin veil of cloud covered the sky this morning although there was enough light to create some shadow, this thickened through the day and it was quite dark by the time the lifts closed. Still hoping for a few flocons through the night - it is drizzling down at Geneva and Chambery but there's not a whole lot showing on the weather radar, so as its Friday night it will soon be happy hour so I'd better crack on. wink

This morning started with a gentlemanly coffee in the Jam Bar followed by a trip to the Grand Motte - of note on the way was a full depth slab avalanche between (not triggered by) the Gasex's to the right as you arrive at the top of Merles. It had cut through a lot of tracks made yesterday - no doubt providing food for though - this was probably caused by the heating in yesterdays sun as it is south facing. The snow on Grattalu and down into Val Claret was fine - as it was from 10m below the top of the Glacier - the ridge has been properly scoured! Double M was fine apart from chaos corner under the Lanches Chair where it is a bit shiny. All the snow around Bellvarde is great (Marmottes was the 2nd coffee stop) with the exception of Edelweiss - the track that leads to the Marmotte chair just below the top of the Tov - quite a few stones showing here.

Following this and in the interests of the black run fetishists we popped down Trolles - fine at the top if somewhat narrower in some areas but as you approach the crossing under the Gondola and down it was marginal at best - the last pitch is best avoided until they have cannoned some more snow. this wearing out is what happens when cheeky instructors from other resorts use it before the official opening fanfare wink

. Seriously you need to use most of the tools in the drawer to negotiate it safely.

Tomorrow morning will be cloudy but the clouds should break for the afternoon, followed by a nice day on Sunday. The temperatures will cool through next week, still a chance of a shower on Wed. The weather looks to break on Friday and winter may well start in earnest the following week. The official avalanche risk is two - but they are already talking about a very fragile layer when the next snow falls after the melting and refreezing that we have had - so an early warning on that one.

As it is Friday - for those travelling tomorrow it is going to be windy across the UK with showers Leeds and North. It is going to be a bumpy ride anywhere but there could be delays at Leeds, Newcastle and in Scotland where temporary periods of winds over 50mph are forecast - this is getting into the realms of stopping ground handling as stuff may get blown about. Additionally - at Leeds it is nearly all crosswind (daft direction of the runway there) so for short periods the winds could be out of limits - so the odd delay or circling should be expected.

Over here there is a chance of early fog (Geneva actually added an extra forecast mid afternoon) so if it persists longer than expected there could be slight delays but shouldn't be enough to cause diversions - providing they don't change their minds again!!

If you are on a ferry - take a sick bag.

Bin Bong Doors to automatic!

PS 1100 Spaniards arriving tonight for the Inmaculada holiday - Shocked

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@rob@rar, I suspect late last evening - I didn't here any Gazexs last night or this morning and my lounge and bedroom are line of sight to them - the slide was also off centre to the pipe (not unequivocal I know).

You know it makes sense.

Slight covering of snow again last night in the village. Hopefully more up high Puzzled

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

It followed the forecast!! About 3 cm in the village and 5 on high. The clouds did dissipate very quickly this morning and another sunny day followed. I had a duvet day, but Tigski reports that the new snow has freshened up the pistes which were noticeably busier around Val Claret (where the Spanish hordes are living) but Bellvarde was still deserted. Forecast for the week is pretty much unchanged from yesterday, Sunday and Monday will be the best days - followed by increasing cloud.

The winds in the UK should die down overnight so the only issue with flying from the UK will be getting wet on the way from the carpark in most places. Chambery is forecastin early morning fog, which if it is as dense as forecast, it will shut the place. Geneva also has fog which should clear earlier - even so there might be delays for the early flights as everyone moves around a bit slower in the gloop - but at some stage you will break out of the gloom into glorious sunshine as the transfer bus nears the resorts Cool

A snowHead

Tignes is my top 3 for a weeks skiing starting 13 December. I'd like ski in/out and catered. I'll be skiing with my teenage daughters, we ski blacks, a bit of off piste, more like, just off to the sides, through trees.

Where to stay to be positioned for the skiing we like, does the village matter? Bonus points for catered chalet recommendations.

A snowHead

@HeidiAmsterdam, I know you are also looking at another thread so I won't repeat myself - but wherever you go in Tignes there is never far to walk if its not strictly ski in/out, but avoid Brevieres and Boisses (1800) as the lifts will not be open next week if recent history is anything to go by).

Another glorious day in the mountains (not so good in the valleys though!), although there was just a nip in the air this morning and a gentle breeze. So again we used the excellent pistes around Grand Pre and Bellvarde followed by the Palet sector. A bit busier but still no queues to speak of. I finished up trying out the new Magic Carpet on the snow front in Le Lac (just to say I have done it). There are less and less brave souls off piste - so I wouldn't book an off piste course for next week.......

Also had a walk round resort to see what is new. The Hotel Taos (next to the Alpaka) is a new apartment hotel - it still has to be classified but will be at least 4 by the look of things - with pool hannam etc and fab views of the Sassiere, having said that the pool is right at the road level on the bend - so anything slipping off the road (again) could make a big splash. Just round the corner Ski Total's Chalet Rosset (formerly Ski Olympic) has been extended and had a pool and spa added, it looks just about finished. Which is more than can be said for Langley's Hotel 2100 in Le Lac (marketed by Crystal in the UK). It has had a complete makeover and is a long way from finished but I see that they are not taking bookings until 2 Jan. They were working all day yesterday - needless to say the voices weren't French!!

Meanwhile, the good folk of Tignes were exercising their constitutional rights and voting in the Regional Elections - they seem to have quite a few more layers of bureaucracy than we do - though I suppose we are catching up with directly elected mayors etc.

High pressure seems to be dominating the weather still, Monday and Tuesday will be mostly sunny with the temps easing down a bit, a weak front may just catch us on Wednesday (early) which means it will be mostly cloudy and there may be a few flocons early doors. Sunny periods will then dominate until the weekend, next week looks more unsettled but confidence levels in the forecast are low so not worth buying the fat boys yet. Sad

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@HeidiAmsterdam, Would you be driving to Tignes? For convenience the Mark Warner chalet hotel Aiguille Percee is hard to beat.

They do have a limited number of triple rooms. It's probably 60 or so metres off the central square in Le lac, ideal for lifts in all directions really. Plus the free buses stop just at the bottom of the hill. Just checked their site and prices start at about £570 for that week (incl flights and transfers which you may not need). Chalet board incl, full hot/cold breakfast buffet, afternoon tea and evening meal with wine.

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Yes, driving from Amsterdam. Me, husband who has to work, my two girls, one of their friends, and we may take another friend as well.

@chocksaway, and @GeorgeVII, great instruction. Yep, basically waffling between Val Thorens and Tignes. I acutally prefer Murren-Wengen, but don't trust the snow, and catered is just out of my budget. For that money, I could fly to SLC, stay with friends and ski those resorts which have great conditions!

On paper, Tignes has less snow than ValTho, but maybe it doesn't need as much snow. Neither of these are a first choice for me, which is why I've never been. That said, Cervinia also wasn't a first choice, but went there last year, this same week, and had a grand time. Several bluebird days with spectacular views of the Matterhorn. But Cervinia isn't fairing as well pre season this year, so looking for something else.

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@HeidiAmsterdam, Maybe have a look at www.thetigneschaletcompany.com

As an example their Attique 38 chalet (apartment) is available that week but from Sat. 12th. £389 per person but that includes Geneva transfers so is probably negotiable. Also mentions lift pass offers that week.

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Interested to see your comment @chocksaway on Langley's Hotel 2100 in Le Lac - Crystal have taken a booking from us for Boxing Day, so I hope it's open that week! Shocked

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@chocksaway, bit unnerved by your comments re: Brevieres lifts as I arrive there next Sunday, please can you expand? Thanks.

After all it is free

I understand that the area is open as the Chaudannes lift is open?

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Tignes and the Espace Killy 2015/16 (Useful Links Post 1)

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