Poster: A snowHead
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Getting very excited about our trip to Tignes on 7th Jan, but could do with some advice on the following points :
Lift times - what time do the lifts open? I remember from last year they start closing around 4 to 4:30pm, but unsure of opening times, and following on from that......
First Lift - Late in the week, once 'lessoned up' would like to get an early morning first run in. We are staying Saturday to Sunday, so would the second Saturday be quietest and our best bet to try and get first tracks on a piste? And which one? We were thinking of heading up to the top of Grande Motte and taking the run all the way down into Val Claret, but we are staying in Lavachet, so could we make it across to the Funiculaire in time?
Daily Strategy - Last year our instructor gave out some great advice about which sides of the Tignes/Val D area to head to at particular times of the day, but I cant remember! Are the slopes in the sun noticeably more crowded? (This must be a general rule for all resorts though, surely?). Starting out from Lavachet, where should we head?
Black runs - Did the bottom part of Trolles last time out, dropping onto it from Combe Trolles. Which black runs could we work up to from there? Which should we avoid? Or failing that, which of the Reds is particularly challenging?
As always, thanks in advance for excellent SH advice!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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If you want to put down first tracks, you can buy a First tracks ticket at the funicular station. You get the lift up half an hour before normal and get to make the run down Double M to VC, before anyone else.
Lifts tend to open around 9 but some are 9.30. Closing times vary. The further away from Tignes or VDI towns you get, the earlier they close. Never leave it too late getting to Tommeuse. This lift shuts even when there are 200 people still queuing to get on it (probably not a problem on 7th Jan but can be a problem over Christmas and New Year).
Blacks - the top of Sache is lovely. It runs along the edge of a nature reserve and is in its own valley. The bottom of Sache is normally a mogul field from hell (unless bumps are your bag - not much fun on a board). I have only ever ridden it once without the moguls at the bottom. If you slide past the safety refuge, without polling, you are doing OK. Face is probably a better fun black and worth doing to say you have skied the steepest course on the World Cup downhill circuit. It is quite steep but is wide and the view is stunning.
So many favourite reds, that it is difficult to choose. If I were forced to choose it would be between Cascade (a wonderful roller coaster), Double M (just for the scale of it - a real leg killer) and Cyclamen (just because I love the view).
Favourite place to head in the morning is Solais for a coffee and then decide where from there. If Santons is open (closed when avi risk is high) this is a lovely natural half pipe and you can ride wall to wall all the way down. Best done early morning. Then there is a fantastic schuss out of the the bottom. Just slow down for the speed fencing at the end!!
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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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If you just want to be first down the slope, then why not be at the front of the queue when it opens?! If you race up Palafour to the top of the Aiguille Percée you might beat the lifties for the first run down Cyclamen.
Centaurée (blue, by the Aiguille Percée) you might get first tracks on at lunchtime... it's served by a slow lift (Grand Huit) so nobody bothers.
Combe Folles (off Aeroski) is great, and you can drop into it off Grizly if you're feeling brave.
Double M definitely my favourite run in the place (world).
Make sure you get up to the Val Glacier, it's simply stunning (quite a trek there, but quicker back (I think)). And don't ignore the ski tranquille off Borsat express. The off-the-edge-of-the-piste there is great fun with loads of gullies, whilst anybody who fancies just cruising will enjoy it. (Likewise Genepy's edges.)
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