Tignes - World Snowboard Guide

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The best week I ever had in Tignes was about 7 years ago when it snowed the whole time, the lifts didn’t open once but we just hiked around building powder kickers

Tignes is very snowboard friendly; long before the other French resorts welcomed snowboarders, Tignes opened it’s arms wide and said, 'come here and slide down that, jump over that, and listen to this while you're at it'. If Carlsberg made snowboard resorts they would have made Tignes.

Set at 2100 meters and part of the 290km of pistes that is the Espace Killy, it has a very good snow record, a glacier, a lake and a lot of varying terrain; Tignes can almost guarantee everyone leaves satisfied. You drive up to the resort on the same road towards Val D’Isere from Bourg Saint Maurice, accessible by Eurostar and the snow train. A painting of Hercules holding back the water greets you as you cross over the high dam, and as you pass a church on your right you can see Jesus, who has freed his arms from the crucifix and now points towards the old submerged village. Eerie, man, eerie.

Tignes is one of the major resorts in France, and has long been hosting national and international events, their web site even has a Japanese translation. BASI runs some of its snowboard instructors courses here. Snowboard teams and manufacturers also use Tignes to host training camps and events.

The main lifts open early September and close late May and with summer boarding on the Grande Motte Glacier from mid June to September. You can almost board every day of the year. This year they even had a summer funpark.

And if you're up for it, you can dive under the ice of Tignes-Le-Lac and look up at the ice-distorted mountains.

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New for season

2008/9:Replace Marsh & Tuffs chairlift with removable chairs. Snowmaking on Rhododendron and Cornflowers pistes.

2006/7: The 2 chair lifts at Palafour replaced with a 6-seater. Replacement of Bored Needle chairlift, new beginner lift at Boisses, snowmaking on Palafour.

05/06: new Tichot chair replaces the Balmes tow and the old chair. Increase in snowmaking area

Top holiday offers

£355

Tignes, France
05/Jan/13 , Gatwick

Lavachet Apartments - Self Catered
The Lavachet Apartments are conveniently situated close to the ski slopes, approximately 4 minutes walk to the Lavachet chairlift, giving access to t

Property	Date	From	Basis	Price
Chalet Alaska	17/Mar/13	Southampton	Cater	£ 715
Chalet Anne-Marie	17/Mar/13	Birmingham	Cater	£ 799
Chalet Chamois	07/Apr/13	Southampton	Cater	£ 725
Chalet La Perle	24/Feb/13	Southampton	Cater	£ 890
Chalet La Perle	16/Dec	Southampton	Cater	£ 680
Chalet Les Arolles	24/Feb/13	Heathrow	Cater	£ 884
Chalet Cairn	27/Jan/13	Southampton	Cater	£ 851
Chalet Atlas	10/Mar/13	Birmingham	Cater	£ 840
Chalet Atlas	07/Apr/13	Southampton	Cater	£ 791
Chalet Alaska	16/Dec	Birmingham	Cater	£ 654
Village Montana Hotel & Suites	16/Mar/13	Gatwick	HB	£2,382
Village Montana Apartments	09/Mar/13	Belfast International	SC	£ 733
Lavachet Apartments	16/Feb/13	Stansted	SC	£ 740
Hameau du Borsat	09/Feb/13	Birmingham	SC	£ 600
Hameau du Borsat	02/Feb/13	Manchester	SC	£1,368

Resort Statistics

Resort Type: Alpine
Winter: Nov to May
Summer: June to Oct

Lifts

Total Lifts: 47
Cable cars: 1
Gondolas: 2
Chair lifts: 24
Drag lifts: 19
Other lifts: 1 funicular
Max people per hour: 13,500
Board Leashes required: No

Mountain

Total pistes/trails: 67
Total ride area: 93miles (150km)
Longest run: 4miles (6km)

Top lift: 3450m
Vertical drop: 1900m
First lift: 1550m

Piste suitability

Green runs: 62%
Red runs: 29%
Black runs: 9%

Lift Passes

	Low Season			High Season
	EUR	GBP	Average	EUR	GBP	Average
Day Pass	33.00	26.98	-13%	34.00	27.80	-18%
6-Day Pass	165.00	134.90	-6%	165.00	134.90	-18%
6-Day Linked area Pass	193.00	157.80	3%	193.00	157.80	-12%

Lift Passes:
Early Autumn glacier only, day pass 25.50 euros
Espace Killy:
1 day pass 40€
Tignes only:
1 day pass 34€
Lift times:8.30am to 4.30pm

Snowfall

Average annual snowfall: 5m
Artificial snowmaking coverage: 40%

Facilities

Snowboard Schools: Huge (too many) number of ski & board schools in the resort
Snowboard Hire: loads of hire shops, all over priced. Board and boots start around 150 euros for 6 days.
Night Riding: : No

Other activities

Heliboarding: : from nearby Italian resort; 2 drops Miravidi-Ruitor (3300 vertical drop) 225€. Contact Snocool.com, tel: 06 1534 5463
Snowmobiles: Yes

Further information

www.tignes.net/
Email:information@tignes.net

Snow sure, true boarders' moonscape Great all-round resort with something for everyone, no matter what your ability. However, watch out some for long lift queues and crowds during school holidays and weekends.

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ON THE SLOPES: Fantastic
OFF THE SLOPES: Very good
MONEY WISE: This is an expensive resort in all aspects but not as bad as some of the unfriendly French resorts. Well worth the cash.

HALFPIPE: Yes - 2
TERRAIN PARK: Yes - 2
BACKCOUNTRY/OFF-PISTE:Yes
TREE RUNS:A few

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