 Poster: A snowHead
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Finaly, after exploring many avenues and getting 3 mates together to agree a destination we have booked Tignes. > Val Claret
Whats the sking like and where should we look out for /avoid?
Is it worth ordering the lift pass in advance or get in resort , is there a main lift with place to by the pass from in Val Claret?
Where should we eat and drink?
Plus any other usefull advice would be appreciated.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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You can buy lift passes in VC, although buying on line (assuming you can, I can't remember) is quicker. There isn't a huge choice of restaurants in VC and they get busy in the evenings; worth booking a night ahead. Everywhere we ate was good, if not sensational, and we weren't pushing the boat out. If you like lunch, ski down to the lowest Tignes village (Brevieres? Boissiere? One of them.); pleasant old resturant. Didn't seem to be particularly riotous in the evenings, but we weren't looking for late night whooping it up, there could have been loads completely unknown to us. We did most of our drinking in a little bar underneath our apartment.
We had a brilliant hol in VC, despite staying in a rabbit hutch. The Tours du Pramecou and du Charvet were good fun for us, complete off piste novices; we had a guide for both, but the latter was very well worn and quite a few people about (the former much less so, I'd never have done it without a guide, although it was easy enough).
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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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Renry...lots of skiing to be had. check out www.tignes.net for on-line bookings etc. We hold "tignes cards" which used to get some discount off lift passes. I'm not sure if you can still register for these on line. Discount used to vary depending on high/low season between 5% and 15% i think. You will probably collect your passes from the office adjacent to the funicular station in val claret.
The espace killy area gives you some varied skiing...from the 10,000ft.+ of the grand motte glacier down to the trees of la daille. With good snow cover you can ski down the valley below the dam to ????????( can,t remember the name).
The run down into tignes le lac from the val d'isere side (under the aeroski) can get gnarly and a bit cramped towards the end of the day.
We love to cross right to the far side of the area above le fornet. you HAVE to go on the "up & over" chair lift. we find that even at busier times like half term the pasillas glacier area remains relatively uncrowded. The "party on on the piste" restaurant above val 'd gets lively from mid afternoon onwards and you only need to ride the tommeusses(sp?) lift to get you back to the top of the return run to val claret.
Can't comment on eating out in val claret but the crowded house bar draws the brits. The bus service around the resort is excellent (connects val C/ le lac/ Le rosset) and runs late into the night. Other bars i know in Le Lac are the red lion,angel, alpaka etc.
Another good site for info is www.valdinet.com. I know you're not staying in Val'D but you're skiing the same linked area.
ps, i don't know if your group is a mix of skiers/boarders but i couldn't drag my son off the boardercross course & "le spot" above Val Claret.
We will almost certainly be returning to Tignes in Jan or Feb '07
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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nice.
PS How do you pronounce Tignes 
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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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Renry,
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PS How do you pronounce Tignes Thu Nov 16, 06 8:44
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Carefully... 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Renry, not a silly question I always pronouce it Teens as in Teenager. Always stopped in Le Lac so can't help on food/drink stuff, but there is a ticket office at the bottom of the funicular. Val d'Isere / Tignes have very variable piste grading, so you sometimes need to be careful of reds (you've been to autria in the past haven't you?) the reds in Tignes will eb steeper and more likely to have small moguls on than Austria, but having said that the right had side of the Tignes bowl looking up the valley is great for intermediates, some of the runs into Val d'Isere can be more challenging than theior grade; the green into La Daille and Santons into VDI proper, also most of the runs from Solaise into VDI are quite tough and busy at times. But please don't let this put you off it's big and has great skiing.
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| Quote: |
PS How do you pronounce Tignes
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I've always heard Brits pronounce it the way as teen or teens. However I used to work with a French woman, a skier from Lyon and someone very familiar with the Espace Killy. Her pronumciation was something between teenya and teenye.
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TIG-NESS
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Fantastic skiing area and in Val Claret you are the most well connected in lift terms. The little town centre (in upper Val Claret) has plenty of little restaurants including a Tex-Mex (amazing fajitas), a chinese and of course the usual traditional savoyard stuff.
Do try the Yorin FM Cafe, not many people know about it, but its just crazy! There's also a club called Le Blue Girl or something but never went there
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| Quote: |
Her pronumciation was something between teenya and teenye.
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'La Plagne' is locally pronounced La plan ya and La Plan. We all know it's La Plag knee of course..... 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Renry, Good places in Tignes ? Loads.... I don't know how much skiing you have done, but here's where I like to play.
The Leisse after recent snowfall..really nice bumps.
Double M first thing after a frosty moring. But not last thing at night
The bumps under the Toviere lift.
Sache
Tignes also has vast areas of off-piste terrain, but I'll leave that for now.
Easier places that are good to ski;
Grattalau (which might be a lift, but there's a piste underneath it)
Carline
3500 and the other runs on the Glacier (can be cold tho)
Creux (piste under Toviere)
The Valley Perdue on the way to VDI is fun too.
Itls also worth a trip down to Les Brevieres, very pretty.
Places I try to avoid, some of the red pistes (especially the one coiung down by the Aiguille Percee) get very polished and skiddy. Not fun. The runs down to La Daille are like this too.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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While we're pronouncing things properly, what about Val Thorens?
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brian
brian
Guest
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Alpine trivia #238: La Tania's name was originally going to be "La Tagne" but they deliberately spelled it the way they did so anglophones could pronounce it 
FenlandSkier, Taw-rawn with a proper back of the tongue 'r' and a nasal 'n'.
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You know it makes sense.
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I'll second the Daffy's tex mex, great food, not too pricey, best looking lady I have ever seen working behind the bar. Perfect.
There are plenty of other decent restaurants about too from recollection 
Grizzly's is good for a wee pint but beware as it can be very expensive, i think it was the guts of £5 a pint. The skiing is amazing, its nice to get the funi in the morning then the cable car up to the glacier and ski all the way down to val claret. It was absolutely freezing when I was there though.
As a couple of others mentioned, if there are any nervous skiers in your group, avoid the green run through the trees to La Daille, its pretty tricky.
Should be a great holiday!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Many thanks peeeps.
keep the info comming.
looking forward to our trip to teeeens 
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Poster: A snowHead
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As regards pronounciation, this varies regarding the Frenchman/Franshman you speak to. I would pronounce Val Thorens as Vall tawran however the locals seem to be at home with the final "ess" as for Tignes why not try "Teaens" with a very short ess.
In terms of skiing, I believe there are few better places for the all round any piste resort, there simply isnt much missing, and great scenery too. If you enjoy trying to conquer all the resort you will almost certainly fail, but have a blast trying. I am going in January for the third time running, if that counts as some sort of recommendation.
Oh and I am staying in the rond point des pistes, but usually prefer to stay in Borsat area for ease of access to pubs/pistes.
Have fun!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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didnt want to start a new thread so I thought I'd tag on to this hope nobody minds, I'm in Tignes with my girlfriend for New Year staying at Val Claret, we have lessons with BASS in the afternoons leaving the first morning free. Now although probably as good a skier as I am my girlfriend is very nervous/cautious and the 'wrong run' at the start of the holiday can really shake her up so we are after a few nice and easy runs before the lessons in the afternoon.
Got my eyes on the Fresse lift getting me on to the greens around the Col De Fresse, just a little worried as I've heard some of the greens are the equivalents of a red at other resorts. Anyone give me some piece of mind? Or suggest some easier start-of-holiday runs?
Maybe I'm being a little protective but the 'wrong run' at Soldeu last year really shook her confidence.
ps
anyone stayed at the Aparthotel Alpina in Val Claret? Cheap but cheerful I'm hoping for...
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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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Bars I recommend in Tinges (Teen to the Brits, Teen-ya to the French):-
In Lavachet:- TCs, Lavachet Lounge, Brasero (also good restaurant), Scotties.
In le Lac:- Jam Bar, Alpaka, Loop, Angels, Yeti.
Suffice to say I don't go out in Val Claret - draw your own conclusions. The bus is free & runs all night, so getting around is not a problem.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Renry, a couple of people have mentioned skiing down to les Brevieres - which is fun and easy and increasingly pretty near the bottom.
A word of warning - the restaurant nearest the slopes at the bottom on the left is disproportionately expensive. Walk 20-30m further and pay 2/3 the price.
We have stayed in Val Claret in 2005 and Le Lac 2006 (last season) and really enjoyed the variety of skiing and would happily recommend to anyone esp le Fornet in VDI, vallee perdue and the area above VDI with the upand over chair (not to be missed!)
I agree with above comments about Santons (a "blue" which is the main link from Tignes to VDI) - often very crowded and cut up and quite scarey as a result - and cyclamen (red) which often seems to combine the ahzards of stones with the delights of slush 
There is a very nice restaurant called l'Arolay tel 0479 06 11 68 in le Fornet which is worth the trip for lunch but do book or you will not get in.
(Edited to include name of restaurant and correct name for the difficult red which I had to look up)
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Mon 27-11-06 12:18; edited 1 time in total
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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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| Monkfish wrote: |
didnt want to start a new thread so I thought I'd tag on to this hope nobody minds, I'm in Tignes with my girlfriend for New Year staying at Val Claret, we have lessons with BASS in the afternoons leaving the first morning free. Now although probably as good a skier as I am my girlfriend is very nervous/cautious and the 'wrong run' at the start of the holiday can really shake her up so we are after a few nice and easy runs before the lessons in the afternoon.
Got my eyes on the Fresse lift getting me on to the greens around the Col De Fresse, just a little worried as I've heard some of the greens are the equivalents of a red at other resorts. Anyone give me some piece of mind? Or suggest some easier start-of-holiday runs?
Maybe I'm being a little protective but the 'wrong run' at Soldeu last year really shook her confidence.
ps
anyone stayed at the Aparthotel Alpina in Val Claret? Cheap but cheerful I'm hoping for... |
For good blues try the Grattalu and Carline runs as mentioned above, you should get these straight from the lifts at Val Claret. There's a twin chairlift running from Val Claret too - its basically the same lift but one chair goes to to Fresse whereas the second chair behind it (Bollin) stops a bit further down, a nice blue run from there too.
At Fresse you can play around on green runs but they can get a little dull, Verte is most infuriating as it has a really long flat bit that I never prepared for so a bit of x-country action was needed. I wouldnt say they are red but watch out for the col de fresse in the late afternoon, it mogulled up slightly and I went flying as I was being too cavalier on a green!
I stayed at the Aparthotel Alpina when I went (we went with Neilson) - it's cheap but manageable, weird smell in our corridor I recall! Breakfast is all the basics, cereal, bread etc. The meals in the evening got a little dull after 3 days so we chose to eat out. However for the price and an unbeatable location for the lifts and the rest of Val Claret (there is a great spa just down the road if your girlfriend likes that stuff) it's fine.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Monkfish, sorry I didn't respond to your question too.
If your girlfriend is cautious then the col de fresse area would be a good place to start (take the fresse chair up).
I seem to remember that the initial part of the col de fresse run that you come to is a bit of a narrow track and busy which might put her off. Then it is a nice easy ski down to the bottom of the borsat express. To come back from that area you can take verte down to the bottom of the tommeuses chair. At Toviere (which is the top of the Tommeuses lift and also the aeroski and Tufs) the initial bit though wide is busy.
A complete alternative to aiming for Fresse would be to take the Tichot and then Grattalu chairs and play around on Gratallu and Carline which are wide blues with no surprises or go down lac and use the Merles or Grand Huit lifts - I actually think that this might be a better start point if she is a little nervous. However avoid cyclamen (a red) until later in the week as it is often stoney and slushy.
In Val Claret itself is a short chair (inventively called Claret) which serves a nursery blue which you could go round a few times to start.
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As regards eating, the restaurant we ate in last week (Brasserie du Petit Savoyard) was very good indeed.
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Thanks for the info, much appreciated. 'Narrow Tracks' at the start of the skiing are exactly what she will want to avoid! Just hope there will be enough snow for the lower runs like Claret! (Cant help but feel its too early to be worrying about snow cover for New Year but I cant help doing it!)
As for the hotel that sounds fine, I get the feeling I may too be ignoring the evening meal option once or twice.
As you have recommended a spa Nondescript I guess the hotel pool isnt all that great. It didnt look too special from the piccies to be honest. Still every penny saved at New Year goes towards my half-term ski fund. 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Monkfish wrote: |
As for the hotel that sounds fine, I get the feeling I may too be ignoring the evening meal option once or twice.
As you have recommended a spa Nondescript I guess the hotel pool isnt all that great. It didnt look too special from the piccies to be honest. Still every penny saved at New Year goes towards my half-term ski fund. |
they put up the evening menu in the mornings so before you leave for the slopes check it out - if you dont like it they will make you something else like Pizza which was ok.
Mate I would not go near that pool, it didn't look appealing at all and I only saw some kids in there once, its rather dark and well, just looks unpleasant! The spa isn't cheap (its part of a posh chalet but open to the public) but definitely worth going once to chill out if the conditions are bad
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Hotel was pretty much as you all said, we didnt go near the pool. I would not stay in the hotel with more than 2 people - the rooms are just too small. The one unexpected highlight was the food, it was excellent. Took a risk and went with the standard option everyday and was not disappointed. It varied between good and simply delicious French cooking. If you are on a budget and want to stay in Tignes I would recommend it, that said I've got my eyes on one or two nicer hotels for my next visit.
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