Tignes Snow Report: 24th February 2012

The weather has been glorious the last couple of days. Wednesday was the first girly riders' day for Val d’Isere seasonaires, and we were really enjoying the sunshine. This is something that Kat Glover, the founder of this event, is hoping will happen once a month at least leading towards the end of the season. It isn’t very well publicised just now but it is exactly what it says on the tin - a day of riding just for girls. It’s great fun, really relaxed and fantastic to build up confidence and take a tour of the resort. We stopped for lunch at Tignes Cuisine and Loop bar and some of the Val d’Isere girls stopped at La Folie Douce on the way home. The temperatures were high, so high I was riding without gloves and with my jacket open. It really does feel like spring here!

Today was of a similar degree. It was roasting, I removed my usual fleece, the thermals had gone yesterday, and was riding in a shirt and shell jacket, and right at the end of the day, just the shirt. I was riding piste in the morning, all over the Tignes side of the mountain. The snow was fantastic, really smooth but still grippy. The Grande Motte cable car is also now running meaning that you can once again experience the breathtaking panoramic views from the top of the Grande Motte. It really is worth a visit, even if you get the lift back down.

This afternoon I met up with a friend who wanted to do a little exploring. We were back in Val d’Isere, avalanche transceivers strapped on our chests and pack on our backs. The first little bit of off piste we skied was down from Solaise towards the Laisinant chair lift. The snow pack was pretty rough, and it was hard work, there were the odd patches of nice chalky snow though. After that we headed over to Fornet, with the intention of skiing the Col Pers. We went right to the top of the Fornet Glacier, and let me warn you, that T-bar lift is not pleasant on a board. The traverse to Col Pers is normally fairly straight forward. Today is was a mix of snow, rock and mud. I was on my brand new board and was not too pleased about this, but onwards and upwards! We eventually made it round to the Col, with only a few scratches to show for it, to be faced with our next challenge.

The entrance into the Col was another mass of scraped bare rock and very little snow. I was not up for trashing my board, so it came off and got strapped onto my rucksack. The climb down was interesting to say the least. The rock was of the porous, sandy variety and offered a lot of hand holds. Being in snowboard boots, however, seriously limited the number of usable foot holds. My companion scraped down the rocks at the side and watched my descent. The bottom was reached, and skis and board were still intact.

The run itself was surprisingly nice, more chalky snow, open space, little to no obstacles in front, good skiing. We reached the point of no return, where you have to choose between the high, safer road, and skiing down to Gorge de Mal Passet. There were tracks both ways, and we knew people had safely skied the gorge so we continued in that direction. We saw the refuge de Prariond across the valley and continued into the gorge. It was like a funky border-cross track, winding along the river bed between the rock faces. Pretty interesting skiing, and very exciting! There was one slightly hairy point where we caught up with a group of skiers with a guide and were met with shouts of ‘keep left’. The snowpack had thawed just in front of us enough that there was a hole through to the river running below our feet. That was an interesting moment, but we both navigated the hole safely and continued on our way. The ski out along what is the road up the Col d’Iseran in the summer is a little too flat to board along to begin with but, after a short walk, I could strap in again and keep up with my skier. The route took most of the afternoon and, unless you know where you’re going, should not be undertaken without a guide. You could end up very cold and wet, especially if the river through the gorge thaws. It was a picturesque afternoon's skiing though, and I’m looking forward to my next adventure. I was skiing with Kieran Buchanan from TDC this afternoon, who is a fully qualified ski instructor and knows where he is going. He was a great person to be with for our mini adventure.

The weather forecast is for the sunshine and very mild temperatures to continue for the next couple of days. We could do with a little more snow, but spring skiing is all good.

Enjoy the soft snow!