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Tignes Snow Report: 1st February 2013

Espace Killy - The Off Piste Adventure Land

featured in Snow report Author Justine Mulliez, Tignes Reporter Updated

It has been a pretty unreal last couple of days here in Val d’Isère. It could be the sunny skies, the soft snow, and the warm temperatures; that’s definitely a possibility. Or, it could be that we just had the most outrageous and fulfilling hors-piste experience! Yeah, I’m sure that could have something to do with it.

As we had some friends visiting this week, we thought we would get wild and start spending some money where we should have been this whole time: snowboarding, of course! After deciding to take it easy on our nights out, we pulled some funds together and hired a guide to take us to some fresh snow. Although the cooler temperatures had maintained our good snow conditions, everything within easy access to pistes had been completely tracked out. We knew that we’d need someone with extensive knowledge of l’Espace Killy to safely lead us to the pockets of the still untouched snow. By 08:45, all six of us were ready to go with our transceivers, probes, and shovels and of course our ESF guide Frank.

After a piste run so Frank could check everyone’s riding ability, we headed up to the top of la Face to begin our climb to hit La Table d’Orientation. Nothing like a little climb to get your legs prepped for the day! We huffed and puffed all the way to the top quickly regretting those extra tartiflette, and mojitos from the past week’s festivities. Promises to hit the gym starting next week were heard loud and clear. Once at the top, we realized that it had been totally worth the trek. Taking off one after the other according to our guide’s recommendations, we headed into our first couloir of the day. The snow was firm and thick, making turns easy to earn all the way to the couloir’s end. Here, it opened up and we took full advantage of the steep, wide run, all of us nabbing fresh tracks along the way. We gained speed along the flats and finally picked our way through the trees lower down to finish off the run. Mission # 1 complete!

Our next run involved less of a hike and more of a terrifyingly tricky traverse across a steep face with rocks waiting for us should we fall. I never thought of Jaws while in the mountains before, but those rocks definitely had some shark tooth quality to them… Once we had finally made it across, reassured each other that we had survived and grabbed some water, we strapped in for the second, less scary traverse. As we made our way across, the valley completely opened up below us. While I have been coming to Val since before I should have been allowed to ski, I had never noticed this completely track free face before. (Hint: take the Borsat lift and hike to the right. Scared, yet? If so, you’re in the right place!) We each dropped in one after another, relishing in the snow we were kicking up. Face shots were plentiful in this deep and fluffy snow. Hooting and hollering all of the way back to the bottom of Val Claret in Tignes, we couldn’t believe our luck!

Our final run of the morning was another adventure altogether. We should have known to take Frank seriously when he mentioned that the Borsat hors-piste was prepping us for our next climb. A climb it was! After taking the lift that leads to the top of the Tignes snow park, we dipped down to the other side of the mountain and hiked to traverse and hike again. This hike involved strapping our boards to our packs and digging in, hard. Here, we scaled the face with our bodies flat against the snow, slowly picking our way through the rocks, holes, and snowless spots all the way to the top. With clouds quickly coming our way, we were somewhat relieved to not be able to see where a fall could take us. Finally at the top, we traded water for some dried apricots, discussed our order for the descent, and began our final trek down. Here, we dropped into another couloir with better snow than the first and met up again at the opening lower down. Once there, we charged all together, taking on the snow simultaneously.

While I may or may not have broken my binding off of my board after flying off a roller I couldn’t see, resulting in having to be brought down by the Tignes pisteurs and another doctor’s visit for my ankles, this was one of the best days of the season thus far!

Can’t wait for another!

NB: Off piste skiing and mountaineering are dangerous. The opinions expressed in this article is very much time and condition specific and the content is not intended in any way to be a substitute for hiring a mountain guide, undergoing professional mountaineering training and/or the individual's own backcountry decision making.

Stats

Snow Report
  • Alt. Resort: 1550m

  • Alt. Summit: 3450m

  • High Temp.: Nord-Ouest

  • Alt. High Temp.: 1550m

  • Latest Conditions: Light snowfalls all day long!