Smells like Tignes spirit?

Mon, 07/26/2010 - 14:26 — jason

Don’t know about you, but I’m greedy. I want to go boarding, but I also want a bit of sunshine. So the Snow Disciples trip to Tignes sounded perfect: glacier boarding from 8am – 1pm when the lifts close, then activities around the lake including kayaking, mountain biking, skate park, even a dendex lake jump to help finetune your 360’s…

 
The reality lived up to its promise: we had 3 gorgeously bright and sunny mornings to play on La Grande Motte. Access to the very top is via a super-fast underground funicular followed by a regular cable car. Most of our crew then hit the park which was served by its own series of 2 rope drags so repeated laps are possible without having to descend and ride back up. I’m no park rat, but I was happy to hit some of the smaller features and the hardcore freestylers had plenty of jumps, rails and kickers to keep them happy. Conditions weren’t great for the park – temps remained above freezing, so even first thing in the morning the surface was soft and slow and after the first couple of hours it was rough and landings were well past their best.
 
 
For me soft snow means soft landings! My one reservation about glacier boarding was that it would be very icy – it wasn’t. There’s 20k of runs served by the cable car, drags and one operating chair lift, with enough variety to keep me happily sliding all morning. The soft surface was hard work on the legs but gave me the confidence to really push my carving style. After all, if you never fall over you’re just not trying hard enough! Warm temps took their toll on the lower slopes – by the end of the second day Rimaye was dissolving into pools and streams: guess what – waterslides, yay!! Wet arse – double yay!!
 
 
Between the various members of the group we tried most of the afternoon activities, torn between the desire to have a go at everything and just chill out and enjoy the scenery.  Will and Ben braved the lake slide – an experience spoiled by blatant anti-boarder bias and sheer incompetence on the part of the French bloke in charge. Kayaking was great fun, especially with a bit of piggie-in-the-middle and a bouncy ball. The mountain bike black runs looked absolutely terrifying but our one biker was already suffering a bad back and declined to have a go. There was an ambulance permanently stationed at the bottom though, to give you some clue. And while some chilled out with crazy golf two of us spent an afternoon on the Via Ferrata enjoying the challenge of an upper body workout and adding to the total sum of terror in the world.
 
 
Of course there was always the option of just chilling back at the hotel making full use of the bar, the sun terrace and the hot tub. I know, it’s a hard life… The hotel was perfect for this trip: English owned and staffed, know exactly what we’re there for so do the essential work of transporting us to and from the lift station and lake, not to mention feeding us royally night and morning AND providing tea and homemade cake in the afternoon! It really doesn’t take much to keep me happy does it??  They even came up with hair clippers when Steve decided that a mohawk would be the perfect end-of-holiday haircut, don’t forget the sun cream tomorrow mate!
Tignes is a perfect spot for this short summer break with plenty to keep us entertained for 3, 4, maybe even 5 days. Its one drawback is the 2 – 3 hrs transfer time from Geneva, and even that is offset by the chance to trail thru one of the staidest airports in the world, pumped up on adrenaline, dragging a board bag full of smelly snow gear being frowned at by smart Swiss businessmen. “I feel stupid and contagious, Here we are now, entertain us”!
 
Resort info: www. Tignes.net
Chalet Hotel Les Melezes: http://www.mountainsunltd.com
 
Debby Moss
26th July 2010
www.the-bodyworks.com