Tignes and The Espace Killy 2016/17 (Useful links in Post 1).

A snowHead

@lynnecha, Yip, thanks for coming across, hope you won't be too late back! Drop me a line in Jan!

@snowhound, I am not sure why Tignes are no longer doing a 6 day pass for Tignes only, you can buy one for one day only. All a bit odd, but it maybe to do with the new Ski1,2,3 promotion for beginners.

It was quite chilly this morning under clear skies with a gentle breeze. The pistes were a mixed ad around Tignes and Val D'Isere, where it is natural snow it was good (as they had all been pisted after the softening/refreeze cycle on Saturday night. Lower down there is a lot of manmade stuff and that can be a bit skaty. However, the cannons were going full tilt this morning to help keep the lower slopes in some sort of order (doesn't make for pleasant skiing though when you can't dodge round the back of the cannon!). We did find a nice suntrap on a terrace down in La Daille though. A very thin layer of cloud formed this afternoon, which made it feel a little chillier, but changed little.

Tomorrow looks pretty much as today, with perhaps a little less cloud up with the angels. The breeze should all but disappear. Wednesday and Thursday look much the same but will be a couple of degrees cooler. It may be time to ditch the spring jacket and pull out the 'Full Monty' winter version. Friday, Saturday and Sunday look similar with sunny periods, clouds on some of the peaks and a light breeze at height. the forecast towards the end of the week is not certain, there are areas of precipitation that are not too far away but things would have to change quite a bit for us to receive any snow.

A snowHead

Another day, another euro! Yes blue skies again with the odd bit of very high cloud. So a great day for charging round the pistes of Tignes-Val D'Isere. The three musketeers charged off to Le Fornet via an Olympique download and up the Solaise. There was a faint whiff of something unpleasant near the bottom of the Olympique, perhaps they need a plumber! The snow in Le Fornet was excellent and the place was deserted save for the British Infantry who were race training at the side of the T Bar. We did see one or two people off piste but mainly in groups hiking a long way for freshies. We also saw an incident near Borsat. someone had crested a ridge to find there was no white stuff and had come to an abrupt halt. The snowpack is not that deep, always make sure yu can stop before a blind crest there be dragons out there. We did ski back down into Val (mainly because the Solaise Gondola seemed to be stopped for around 40 minutes), again sharp edges and a modicum of technique required.

The avalanche forecasting marmotte has emerged from hibernation in Bourg St Maurice, not surprisingly the risk is level 1 below 2700m and 2 above that.

For the forecast tomorrow and Thursday will be identical to today, just the odd bits of high cloud. Friday and Saturday will be similar with a hint of a breeze and perhaps fog down the valleys. We are expecting a few more clouds on the peaks on Sunday. Last night the forecasts were predicting snowfall on Monday with a depression over the Gulf of Girona, giving us a potential 'retour d'est (which brought all the snow nearly 3 weeks ago). Sadly, this depression has now moved south, but it may change its mind. Perhaps if we all breathed in deeply at the same time......

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

I was in Le Fornet and the Solaise area today....what can I say, just brilliant.

Snow fantastic, no queues, at times we were the only people on the piste. I am having one of my best weeks skiing ever.....

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Le Fornet was the place to be! Us too- absolutely fab. Off to watch the downhill training tomorrow morning for a bit- there were a few very fast people (racers) bombing down OK this morning so looking forward to spotting some racers we can recognise!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Hi Tignes/Val experts Smile

, I'm heading to Tignes on 7th Jan for a week with friends, 2 beginners and 1 intermediate. I'm thinking of trying to do a big tour with the intermediate on the second day (when the girlfriend's lessons start!). We are staying in Le Lac and I want to try to get him over to Le Fornet in Val and back again, without black runs (on day 2 anyway).

I guess I'm asking how long that would take and what the best options for doing it are?

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Hi Nelly, thanks for that sounds great. Route 1 sounds really quick. Any idea how long that would take? I'm thinking get right over there early as poss and then do a bit of decent, hopefully quieter skiing on that side, then head back crossing all the valleys on skis rather than wheels.

After all it is free

So realistically we could make top of Col D'Iseran by about 10.30 if we take the bus. That gives me plenty of time to get some fun in before we head back over for the last Tommesue (after some Folie Douce silliness).

I just wanna go now.

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@NotBad, Nelly has summed u how I would do it, given your mate's prowess and the fact that he will need some energy left for the Folie (if only to hand over the significant wads of cash). I suspect a realistic estimate for the very top of the Pissailas Glacier would be 1045 to 1100, if you left at 9, mainly because the Vallon Gondola is quite slow. Just note that the Tommeuses shuts bang on the advertised time, you can then download in the Tov or ski down Henri (blue) into Val Claret and a quick bus back to Lac. Don't let his beer goggles suggest Trolles, its not a run to be doing with a few beers on board as an intermediate.

Back to today, I'll leave the weather report to the Electric Light Orchestra: "Sun is shinin' in the sky,There ain't a cloud in sight". Which pretty much sums it up, today we decided to explore the vertical extremities of Tignes, so up to the top of the Grande Motte - the glacier snow and all but the last 100m down into Val Claret is in very good condition, you just have to watch out for the white hippos (piles of artificial snow) as you approach the villages. After a quick coffee, it was up the Aiguiile Percée and down Corniche, which is surprisingly well covered. Th adventure continued to assess the conditions down into Boisses where it is fine, if mainly artificial snow. The last 2 or 300m are a little narrow though as it is all man made. They are even trying to get the beginner piste open down there by bringing it in by the truckload. We will have to wait for the next snowfall at least before Les Brevieres comes into play. Although I suspect they are ttrying to open the nursery slope as there was quite a lot of artificial snow in evidence by the bridge. Just one thing to note, the paths and roads are still very slippy, there is still a lot of frozen slush around, as L'homme de la fourgonette blanche (white van man) discovered in Val this morning, his van now has its nose in the Isere itself!

And the forecast, tomorrow will be the same as today, perhaps a little cooler. Friday will see a slight pick up in the breeze. Saturday and Sunday will be pretty much the same as Friday. Confidence levels then drop in the forecast, there will be increasing cloud and it will get cooler and maybe, just maybe, unsettled later in the week - fingers crossed.

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The La Daille - Rond Point buses are approx every 6 minutes in the morning so not much waiting around, but why bus when you can ski?

That said, I would take Marmottes and then the Olympic down (or have a go at Le Face - it's not that bad) to the Solais... and take Leissieres. If it's open, you could always take the Santons piste down from the top of Marmottes. It's a marmite piste, but I've always enjoyed it.

Once in the Fornet valley, aim for lunch at Edelweiss down near the village (on the right of the blue piste, three quarters of the way down), it's my favourite in EK.

It's easily possible to do all four corners of the piste map and still be back for 4pm, so you should be fine for time.

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We're staying in Le Lac for a week from Saturday, has anyone any recommendations for blues / easy reds to ski with an eight year old with the conditions this time of year? He'll be having lessons for the half the day but it's good for him to ski with us as well while we can still keep up!

Enjoying the updates to this thread, really whets the appetite!

@chocksaway, I have skied the area a few times but mostly Tignes side. I do remember that all the runs down to La Daille are at least fairly challenging so I think we might get the bus rather than negotiate anything tricky early on. And don't worry I think we'll be downloading after the Folie (taking a hip flask so will probably reduce the number of extortionate beers required - that'sthe theory anyway!)

@barshaker I think we might do another day over in Val later in the week so will do the Bellevarde options then (hopefully by then my mate will have found some form). I've seen a few recommendations for Edelweiss to lunch. What kind of budget would we need for that do you think?

You know it makes sense.

@NotBad, Down to La Daille if you take the run down past the bottom of the Semanille poma is not too bad for an intermediate, otherwise you will have to walk up a few steps to download on the Gondola. As for the Face de Bellvarde, I will be avoiding ituntil we have had another half metre of snow to cover up the World Cup Course ice fest. The Edelweiss is quite pricy.

@mhsparks, I would stick around the Palet Sector, so Anenome (under the Palafour Lift), Grattalu - good for laps. Carline is a bit firm down into the bottom of Val Claret, so I would return from Grattalu via Lac Piste and Grand Huit Chair

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

Thanks @chocksaway we'll definitely give that a go. If you spot someone on Grattalu trying to convince their child to practice their turns rather than straight lining you'll know who it is Smile

A snowHead

Edelweiss is overrated standards have slipped as has the service, a little higher exiting the cable car signal is far better . lower down opposite the cable car L'Aetlier d'Edmond is of the highest order . down the road a little is L 'AROLAY for more rustic dishes prepared to the highest order

A snowHead

@chocksaway, thanks for that. One more lift pass question please-can we get the 'family' pass with two unrelated adults and two children. Me and a mate are going skiing with my two daughters so we are 2 adults + 2 children, just not a 'family'. I know VT wouldn't allow it as they check passports.....

Ta again.

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

@snowhound, I have had a search but I cannot find a definitive answer, there is a rate for 2 adults and 2 kids. I suspect there may be a requirement for some form of ID, for instance they do require a passport for proof of age for the over 65 reduction. However, Tignes was the venue for the first gay marriage in France......... so I don't see any harm in asking in the office. 6 days passes do not require a photo, but you are photo'd by the gate the first time you go through so someone else can't use it.

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thanks. I looked but couldn't find anything either. I think I'll take my wife's passport and get the family deal for us all. I presume we each just get an adult pass which does not specify male or female so my mate could have 'her' pass. Bending the rules in spirit but we're still 2 adults with two kids. Or we'll go up together and hold hands....

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@snowhound, I don't think you would have a problem with this. France is quite liberal and a male 'couple' taking their children skiing would be considered a family, just as much as a woman, her children and her mother would be a family.

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Just a little bit of high cloud today and a sharp breeze in some places meant that it did feel a little cooler. We set off to the area around Borsat and Grand Pré where the pistes were in excellent condition and still surprisingly quiet. We did catch sight of one or two of the Ladies practising for the World Cup over the weekend as they hurtled down OK/Orange. We had a quick break in the new Planks Café in Val Claret where Yorkshire tea is €1 a mug! (I can already sense George VII sharpening his keyboard for some ascerbic wit wink

). We then tried Genepy from the top of the Grand Motte which was surprisingly hard today (I suspect it hadn't been pisted last night) and then a tootle down Trolles, not surprisingly this had a smattering of nervous intermediates scattered about on the hard pack, the gondola would be a much more comfortable way of getting to Le Lac.

There may well be a thin layer of high cloud partially obscuring the sun tomorrow and a hint more breeze so it would be worth an extra layer I think. But the sun will return for the weekend (the breeze will remain) along with hordes of weekend visitors I have no doubt! We are expecting more cloud on Monday with some on the peaks, Tuesday and Wednesday will be more cloudy still with cooler temperatures. Some of the forecasts are giving a hint of light snow, I have my doubts at the moment as it is now far away to the East. It does then become increasingly unsettled and the current (highly speculative) forecast is for snow on Christmas Day, which would be nice, but if I could forecast that far out I would be very rich!!

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The high level cloud this morning was the thinnest of layers, the sun was still bright and there was little wind. This meant that as the church clock struck twelve we have had 3 weeks of sunshine broken only by very thin clouds on some days - wow! Navigation was a bit trick today as La Daille was virtually shut for the Ladies World Cup event and they closed Marmottes chair over the race course. I suppose a smartphone or even a glove in the face doing 75mph would put you off your perfect carve! In general, the pistes around Tignes and Val D'Isere are getting harder and you do have to put some effort into the technique. But as you can now get down to all the villages we should count ourselves lucky at the top of the 'Stairway to Heaven' or the D902 as the French call the road!

The weather tomorrow will be identical to today with a light breeze picking up in the afternoons. Sunday will be identical to Saturday and guess what so will Monday. There may be a few more clouds on Tuesday, some may even touch the peaks. Wednesday and Thursday will be quite a bit cooler and there may be a bit more breeze, one or two of the clouds may provide a flocon or two. It will certainly look and feel a lot more like winter by Thursday. After that we are looking at much more unsettled weather and at sometime between the 24th and 26th a front should pass over us giving snow. Some of the apps are getting quite excitable about amounts of snow and this will chop and change as the passage of the front becomes more predictable. Not surprisingly there is some clever marketing going on by the Tour Ops, just like the Tartiflette they need to be taken with a pinch of salt at the moment.

I have just looked at the airport forecasts for tomorrow, crikey it looks dreary in the UK. Of course this will make it all the better when you get here! There is a chance of mist or fog virtually anywhere in England, actually saying which airports could suffer delays is a matter of probabilities, but Stansted looks about the most prone followed by Gatwick. Over here, Geneva and Grenoble are just fine, there is a slim chance or early mist at Chambery, which if it transpired may lead to the odd delay. There is a good chance of fog at Lyon, but with 2 runways and the latest kit it is the best equipped of the 4 to deal with fog, so not too much of a problem.

The Savoie authorities are forecasting 22000 vehicles coming towards the resorts tomorrow, this is pretty low (a low season Jan week would be 17000, a manic February Saturday would be 37000) so there may be the odd traffic jam but nothing too serious. I imagine it is quite low because of the unusual nature of transfers this holiday period and the lack of snow in lower resorts.

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Well, had another fab day in the EK and spent some time this morning in La Daille watching the racing. It's been a great week-back to Yorkshire for Christmas and here is hoping the holiday snow arrives so everything is nice and fresh when we return on 8th Jan. Have a good holiday season everyone.

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Been here in Tignes Lavachet since Weds, have skied most of what's available
Everything above about 2000m is pretty good & most lifts & links open. Link from Tignes to Val D has been a pain as Marmottes lift has been closed a lot of the time, made worse by the Borget chair being only accessible via the slow & uncomfortable Mont Blanc chair due to competition in the snowpark. Eventually got to Val D down Face which was actually in very good nic apart from the bottom bit where the red splits off the blue Santons has been closed ,& the black next it, opening tomorrow I believe. The stuff up above Solais & over at Le Fornet is great as is what's open of Grande Motte glacier.
Orange &. OK both shut due to competition preparation, the only run open down to La Daille is pretty dire, very thin & icy.
Runs to Les Brevi open, but barely will attempt to post a pic in a minute or 2

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Ok, I give up with the picure, suffice it to say I've not been down to Les Brev itself, but the run down to Les Boisses bubble is an icy path about 6 feet wide in places with green/brown fields to each side!
Up high all is excellent & I can't remember when I last skied such deserted pistes! 😎😆

Today marked the official opening of the Refuge du Col du Palet, so as it was another bluebird day, there was only one thing to do. It was out with the skins and off into the backcountry with the promise of lunch towards the end. We rode up to the top of Grattalu and traversed round to the Col du Palet, for the first ski down. Then skins on up tot the top of Col de La Grassaz. There were still plenty of freshtracks and light snow in some places it was very sugary, which may make it dangerous when the new snow comes. Here's a quick shot of us on the way up:

Not bad since it is 3 weeks since it snowed. After a run down in sublime conditions it was back to the refuge and the culinary delights served by Nicolas. There were only 7 diners today, 2 Brits, one Frenchman, 3 Danes and a bloke from Hornsea! Yum Yum! A quick skin back to the resort brought us back to reality but we were back home in time for tea and medals.

Now the weather it has become complicated, the weather elves are disagreeing so from Tuesday it would now appear that anything could happen. there are distinct differences between the 2 global forecasting models, so no promises! Tomorrow is easy - same as today. The big change comes on Monday when it will be mostly cloudy with clouds on the peaks and a strong wind which may close the higher lifts especially in the afternoon, warp up warm winter has arrived. Tuesday is going to be windy cloudy and potentially snowy. How much is anyone's guess as it is coming from the east, regular readers will know that this makes forecasting depths of snow difficult. Hopefully the forecast will firm up a bit more tomorrow. Wednesday and Thursday will be mainly cloud with the odd sunny spell and a breeze, beyond that it is unsettled. I know this is a big change from yesterdays musings, but that is the chaotic nature of the atmosphere for you!

For some of those traveling by air today it will have been a fractious one with a lot of delays because of the fog and some cancellations out of Heathrow (where the fog was much worse than forecast by their Met officer). However, over here the traffic did not seem to case too much bother. For those flying tomorrow, fog in the UK could happen almost anywhere south of Newcastle, it will be breezy and damp up north! So very much like today, it will be a bit of a lottery so some delays, sorry. For landing it will be fine at Geneva, but there is a reasonable likelihood of fog at Grenoble and Lyon, this could cause some problems at Grenoble where the landing system is not as capable as Lyon. there is a thin chance of fog at Chambery in the morning, if it happened it is likely you would be delayed on the ground in the UK.

You know it makes sense.

How is quality of snow off-piste right now? Still good consolidated snow or has sugary transformation happened?

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

Cracking piste conditions here in EK, just a bit better-less hard pack and fewer ice pellets-in Tignes overall. Some bits are hard when in shade and the artificial has been skied off. But a nice crust on most of the pistes, fsr better than we were hoping for!

A snowHead

@peanuthead, Very varied. All lift served stuff has been tracked out, so most of that is hard lumpy crud if it has been in the sun. As you can see from yesterdays report, if you skin good soft snow can be found on Northern facing slopes, but even there it is sugary. Also most of the snow lying arrived 3 weeks ago as slush lower down or doing 60mph higher up so there was very little true powder (by my definition wink

) in the first place. In 3 hours this morning I probably saw 20 people off piste - all hiking or skinning. I think that sums it up.

After yesterday's exertions and a fairly boozy Strictly Final Party, today was a very gentle morning on pistes. As @snowhound, says there is still lots of good skiing between the poles, for off piste we will have to wait for new snow. There was a nasty accident in the Val Park this morning, so much so the Park team have been appealing on social media for folks to read and follow the rules. perhaps there will be more later.

And now the forecast - the high pressure system is finally breaking down. But the charts are a mess so accurate predictions are going to be difficult. The sky will progressively cloud over tomorrow, but there will be some sunny periods. But it will be windy especially later in the day, expect the high lifts to close and keep an eye on the links status. The air will also be colder, so with the wind chill it will feel Baltic compared with today. Wrap up warm. As the light goes there may be the odd flocon in the wind. Currently, Tuesday looks like a proper winter's day with snow and wind (there may be a brief glimpse of sun in the afternoon. As the weather is coming from the east, any forecast of snow depth is likely to be wrong, but Le Fornet will get more than Tignes Les Brevieres, such is the nature of this particular weather beast. Wednesday will be much the same as Tuesday but I would not be surprised of that forecast changes tomorrow. The 3 days after that would appear to be more benign with sunny periods. Christmas looks a bit blowy with some more snow.

A snowHead

Currently snowing slightly Very Happy

but it is also a little windy Sad

Time to wrap up warm after the sunshine & warm temperatures of the past few weeks Puzzled

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

Live snow reports will now rely on Stewart as I am now sat staring at the fog at Geneva Airport.

I did say yesterday that the weather was going to be unpredictable, and it proved me right! To wake up at half past very early to catch the bus to Geneva to find 5cm of snow outside was a surprise. But the roller coaster will continue over the next week or so here goes: Tomorrow will look much like today with a lot of cloud and a gusty wind stronger than today. The snow will be continuous but not as heavy as first predicted. Wednesday looks better with sunny periods and a breeze, Thursday may be quite a bit warmer in the sunshine and only a light breeze. Friday and Saturday will be mainly sunny with perhaps some snow showers late on Christmas Eve. It will be windy overnight and into Christmas Day, Santa will have to tie the parcels down firmly!

Just remember with high winds and new snow the avalanche risk will increase, beware the powder fever, it will be the first day of fresh stuff for the new seasonaires. Make sure you are carrying the trilogy and know how to use it.

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@chocksaway, Hope your journey back is uneventful. We were hit by fog on Saturday, our Geneva flight diverted from Liverpool to Manchester, pilot put down to 100ft and then aborted the landing and flew away again. Next stop Leeds Bradford. There were several planes at LBA which had been diverted, chaos all around but staff were doing their best to sort people out. First time I have heard of a plane being diverted to Leeds Bradford due to fog!

Anyway, hope you travel easily and have to great Christmas. Let's hope the snow gods are kind in 2017 to all.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Winter has returned/arrived with a vengeance! Slight snow falls, a drop in temperatures and high winds rolling eyes

probably not the best first day for the xmas crowd.

The slight snowfall has made the pistes a little more friendly but there has not yet been enough to improve the off piste significantly Sad

There is more snow forecast for tonight/tomorrow before the return of the sun which we are already missing after just 1 day Laughing

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@lynnecha, Just the reverse, Altibus on time, Easyjet on time, Trans Pennine choo choo on time. Had my first pint of real beer!! Merry X etc

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In tignes val claret for New Years, wanting to book a restaurant for a fondue for New Year's Day.

Recommendations please?

After all it is free

@scottydonald, If you want to stop in Val Claret for the meal, I like the Armoise (up the hill from the Curling Hotel and Daffy's Café. If you have kids and want a special night then La Ferme de 3 Capucines (google it) in Lavachet (a 10 min bus ride and a 5 min walk for Les Rives Bus Stop) is great as you can see (not smell) the farm animals through a plate glass window. Be worth booking that from the UK.

Well from Yorkshire, it appears that Tignes and Val are just about stormbound, I suspect the pools are busy. The good news is the wind will die down tomorrow to a breeze and it will be quite mild temperatures (above freezing at resort level at lunchtime). the sky will be mainly clear with lots of sunny periods. Thursday and Friday will be pretty similar, with a bit more of a breeze on Friday. Beyond that forecasting is tricky, but Christmas Eve looks unsettled with snow down to 1800m or so. Christmas Day looks better but windy. The Avalanche risk is 3 for today, with the wind it may go up again - take care high up when those lifts open.

Higher lifts started opening 11.30 and pretty much all running an hour later. Then great piste skiing again all afternoon. Bits of sun but still quite windy. No links to VD though. Nicely freshened pistes and no lift queues-parfait!

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A group of us are staying in Val D'isere in late January and are planning on going to la folie douce on one of the days. If we do that, what time would we need to leave in order to ski all the way back to our hotel?

Help!!

Tignes and The Espace Killy 2016/17 (Useful links in Post 1).

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