Tignes Apres Ski Report: 31st January 2013

After saying goodbye to Bhaji, the Kiwis managed to fill the void by drafting a couple of small namers from Nellyville, New Zealand; Cam and Mog. They started the season down in Tignes les Brevieres, but made a name for themselves as being horrible dancers and Party Boy Will’s right hand men. They jumped at the chance to move up in the world, literally, and call their new home, the Kiwi Flat in Tignes le Lavachet. This resulted in a reshuffling of the rooms, wardrobes, bathroom space and 3 casks of the old favourite, Pays Doc Rouge. We had a big night of drinking games with new friends made and new flat mates. It eventually ended up with toboggan races down the road, where yours truly took it out. It was a great night to kick off the new household and welcome the lads into the flat.

On Thursday night, Sarah came home from work and couldn’t wipe the smile of her face. She had heard from multiple excited customers about the disco night happening down at the ice skating rink. This news stirred the flat into life with a 16:00 game of circle of death. By the time 19:00 came around, we were all well on our way. As it was disco night, Sarah wore her beloved Bee Gee’s sweater and got the Jive talking. It was a sponsored event from local businesses so the admission was free as well as warming the skaters up by providing free mulled wine and hot chocolate. The DJ was pumping out classic after classic which got most of the skaters dancing before even making it onto the ice. After stepping on the ice myself I quickly realised the previous 3 hours of boozy fun was probably a bad idea. A couple of falls and a skate change later, I managed to get myself together (sort of) and make it round the track. I called it quits before I broke a wrist, but sat and watched from a deck chair on the side, mulled wine in hand and kept my other drunken side kick Tarnz company. It was a fantastic night for young and old, and I will try to give the readers a heads up for the next disco night down at the Le Lac ice rink.

Although we are fierce competitors in sports, Kiwis and Aussies actually get along pretty well. So when it comes to their national day, Straya Day, we thought we should help them drink their booze and eat their food. Scottys in Le Lavachet, was putting on a bbq for the day and some drink deals. The food was class; ribs, sausages, chicken and steaks. It was a bargain at €5. We headed along for lunch, had a few wets and then took the Aussies down at foosball and pool. We then headed back across the road to our place where the Kiwi flag is proudly flying and finished the night off there. Cam jammed Riri in the lounge while the others sat and watched as he showed off his terrible dance moves. It was a great day and night with fellow Southern Hemisphere amigos, and everyone is looking forward to New Zealand’s national day, Waitangi Day this Saturday.

So after a not so quiet week you can see the Apres skiing is as good as ever. With more important days to celebrate in the pipeline, Tignes looks like it’s in for another entertaining week.

Let’s hope for some mid week snow and the beers are already on ice.