We decided to spend New Year's Eve in Tignes, France again for a week of skiing. We make this decision every year with some consternation -- "Do we really want to go to the same place again? What about all the other ski resorts in Europe?" But I've done a lot of research -- snowfall for the time of year, flight costs, transfer options, hotels, etc -- and it's not like much changes from year to year. Plus, it's a huge ski area to explore and no matter what your scene, there is something to do after the skiing is over.
So, we went to Tignes again with a little concern about Europe's drought earlier in the season. Europe's drought ended a little before we got there, and any concerns of it coming back were addressed while we were there. Reports varied, but it appears Tignes got 1-2 METERS of snow in the 10 days we were there. That means a lot of low visibility days, a lot of days where visibility, high winds, and avalanche risk kept the majority of the mountain closed, a few cherry days where some GREAT deep powder could be found.
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| Good turns. |
We went again with the Telemark Ski Company for some lessons and some off-piste guiding. On our first snow and blue sky day early in the week we went on a (lift assisted) ski tour from Tignes le Lac, out a gate, through some slackcountry, and eventually wrapped around to Val Claret. It was a beautiful run, but I probably needed a few more days of powder experience. I started out ok, made some solid turns, and felt reasonably confident. But as tends to happen in the backcountry, the snow conditions were pretty variable between deep, wet, soft snow to wind scoured slabs. Also, some bad habits you can get away with on piste really bit me in the butt.
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| Tips over head is not usually a good sign. |
Long story short, I took a few tumbles. Then the confidence got rattled around and I fell a lot more. None were immediately dangerous or painful, but they did eat up time, energy, and confidence. Since I have a decent aerobic base and it was a short tour it was fine, but I can see how it could quickly turn into a problem.
Later in the week though, we fought the visibility and manage to get some pockets of good weather and some excellent snow. My skiing improved through the week and I suspect if I had done the ski tour later in the week I probably would have managed a lot better. Good times were had either way.
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| Low Viz: It's even worse when you're trying to ski. |
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| Dusk in Tignes le Lac. |
