 Poster: A snowHead
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Mrs B and I are staying in Val Thorens this week but had a drive to Tignes yesterday to meet Mountainadddict and Mrs M; and to have an afternoon skiing.
We arrived at the Tignes ticket office at 1.15pm, where I asked for 2 half day tickets. However, I was advised that they don't sell half day tickets. Hmmm. "Not to worry", I thought, as €35 (the price of a day ticket) didn't seem too bad for 3.5 hours skiing in good conditions, with 5,000 vertical feet to go at (from the top of the glacier back to Val Claret).
So off we went up the funicular - the only lift open from the valley, with its customary 10 minute minimum wait. We hadn't expected the strong wind that was blasting at the top but, nevertheless, enjoyed a great run back to Val C on almost perfect piste (with only the odd, sketchy, windblasted bit), which wasn't busy at all. We were in the queue for the gondola for our second run when Mrs B got chatting to another Brit in the queue, who dropped the bombshell.... The drag lifts on the glacier closed at 2.45 and the last ride up the funicular was at 3pm! We had flashbacks to skiing in the USA (and their renowned early closing)  . Our not bad €35 skipass suddenly felt like a ripoff!  The thieving tw*ts, thought I (Twits of course..) and consoled myself that it was still cheaper than a snowdome. By then it was about 2.15 so we dashed to the cable car, had a fantastic run (with some untracked powder turns) down from there and jumped on the last funicular at 3. We had a great final run and managed to get in 10,800 feet of vertical overall, despite the wait for the 3 train rides and 1 trip up the cable car.
Despite the wind at the top, and the bitter cold, we had a great couple of hours (with sunny intervals, good vis and great snow) and really enjoyed kicking off our 19/20 ski season. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Always check the weather forecast for wind.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Bergmeister, sounds like good value in the end. Probably no queues then either as the race schools will have finished for the day.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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If you just want to lap on the Funicular then the queue will clear soon after 9am.
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FAQ
. The wind was far worse than that forecast. 