Tignes

Hello guys, just booked a late deal for week after next to Tignes and after
a bit of searching around the web I'm still struggling to find answers to a
couple of questions.

It seems that Tignes has enough skiing for new visitors (experienced
intermediates and below) for a week without venturing over to Val d'Isere.
Is that right? Is it worth taking a day trip to Val and if we buy the local
Tignes pass can we extend it to cover the whole valley for a day?

Is the ski pass system hands-free or do we need to provide passport photos?

We're staying in Le Lac, can anyone recommend slopes for 1 week only skiers
to get their ski-legs back.

TIA

Paul Schofield

Paul Schofield wrote:

Hello guys, just booked a late deal for week after next to Tignes and after
a bit of searching around the web I'm still struggling to find answers to a
couple of questions.

It seems that Tignes has enough skiing for new visitors (experienced
intermediates and below) for a week without venturing over to Val d'Isere.
Is that right? Is it worth taking a day trip to Val and if we buy the local
Tignes pass can we extend it to cover the whole valley for a day?

Is the ski pass system hands-free or do we need to provide passport photos?

We're staying in Le Lac, can anyone recommend slopes for 1 week only skiers
to get their ski-legs back.

TIA

Paul Schofield

Hi Paul,

Let's hope we get some more snow then :-p

Without popping out to the forfait shop, which I think is currently
closed, we can't be sure, but the general consensus in the pub I'm in
is that you *can* extend a Tignes pass to cover the Espace Killy for a
day. However, with only 28 Euros between the two for a 6 day pass I'd
be tempted to just get the whole area. If the warm weather stays with
us then the best snow will be at either end of the area - Grande Motte
in Tignes and Fornet in Val D'Isere.

The passes are all hands free now (hooray!), but I did need a photo for
my season pass. They do however have webcams at the STGM office in Val
Claret (and probably the one in Lac too) if you need the photo on the 6
day pass - the system now seems to be you 'rent' your electronic pass
for 3 years and can charge it up through the website, so for this
reason they probably still put photos on them.

Best slopes for you to get your legs back, in ascending order of
difficulty (all blue though):
- lys and anemone under the Palafour lift.
- grattalu under the Grattalu lift.
- lac and perce-neige under the Merles and Grand Huit lifts.
They're all connected and accesible via the Palafour lift in Lac.

If you're really shakey, the nursery Rosset slope is in Lac and the
chairlift's free.

When you've got going, hop up the Aeroski and check out all the lovely
blues between Tignes and Val. Beware Piste H at the end of the day
though - getting back to Val Claret is not a problem because the busses
are so good, but it's the main blue run home in the afternoon so gets
choppy and busy. Assuming you won't fancy Trolles (red/black to Lac)
you're often better off just getting the Aeroski back down again.

Come visit us in Lavachet and support our little community!

Cheers,

Matt

Paul Schofield paul_AT_sonifex_DOT_co_DOT_uk wrote:

: It seems that Tignes has enough skiing for new visitors (experienced
: intermediates and below) for a week without venturing over to Val d'Isere.
: Is that right?

Yes - easily. BUT the Espace Killy Pass is only 29 euros extra for a full 6
days!

: Is it worth taking a day trip to Val and if we buy the local
: Tignes pass can we extend it to cover the whole valley for a day?

Most people will, at the very least, want to ski the Bellevarde bowl (we did!)
and those lifts are all Val D'Isere's - someone ahead of me found he could
not get onto the Borsat lift, for example, with a Tignes pass.

Don't know about any extension.

: Is the ski pass system hands-free or do we need to provide passport photos?

Passport photos not needed - it's hands free.

: We're staying in Le Lac, can anyone recommend slopes for 1 week only skiers
: to get their ski-legs back.

Quite a few off the Palafour lift.

Matt T wrote:
: my season pass. They do however have webcams at the STGM office in Val
: Claret (and probably the one in Lac too) if you need the photo on the 6
: day pass

You don't!

- the system now seems to be you 'rent' your electronic pass
: for 3 years and can charge it up through the website, so for this
: reason they probably still put photos on them.

The 3-year rechargable system is optional (The "Tignes card" - and you have
to pay extra for it!). The normal 6-day pass is a "no photo + single use"
one.

Brian McIlwrath wrote:

The 3-year rechargable system is optional (The "Tignes card" - and you have
to pay extra for it!). The normal 6-day pass is a "no photo + single use"
one.

Cool - thanks for clearing it up. You learn something new every day!

Matt

Matt T wrote:

: The 3-year rechargable system is optional (The "Tignes card" - and you have
: to pay extra for it!). The normal 6-day pass is a "no photo + single use"
: one.

: Cool - thanks for clearing it up. You learn something new every day!

Actually I've just learned that the single-use pass is "recyclable" and that
users should leave them in special bins so that they can be reissued. None
of our group did that!

No sign of an extension price on their web-price-list though!

"Brian McIlwrath" wrote in message
...
| Matt T wrote:
|
| : The 3-year rechargable system is optional (The "Tignes card" - and
you have
| : to pay extra for it!). The normal 6-day pass is a "no photo +
single use"
| : one.
|
| : Cool - thanks for clearing it up. You learn something new every day!
|
| Actually I've just learned that the single-use pass is "recyclable"
and that
| users should leave them in special bins so that they can be reissued.
None
| of our group did that!

I've got a dozen or so of the things scattered around on my desk already
from the autumn, early winter - can't see what's wrong with the deposit
system. It encourages you to take it back and if you forget, the STVI -
or should that read the new Compagnie des Alpes subsidiary - hardly
loses out, as it gets to keep the 3€ or so!

Pete
http://mysnowsports.com

pg wrote:

I've got a dozen or so of the things scattered around on my desk already
from the autumn, early winter - can't see what's wrong with the deposit
system. It encourages you to take it back and if you forget, the STVI -
or should that read the new Compagnie des Alpes subsidiary - hardly
loses out, as it gets to keep the 3€ or so!

Ooh - bit of politics! Although the Tignes ones are technically STGM
which is Compagnie de Alpes already. Are the cards (and costs)
themselves uniform across the Espace Killy now? Haven't seen any from
'over the hill' yet.

Dispite what seems to have been some teething problems with the
back-end admin systems (read weeks of backlog in issuing workers
passes) the system on the slopes does seem to be working.

Matt

Matt T wrote:
: Dispite what seems to have been some teething problems with the
: back-end admin systems (read weeks of backlog in issuing workers
: passes) the system on the slopes does seem to be working.

When I was there before Christmas the normal single-use passes (which are
a chip plus foil aerial embedded in flexible plastic) had a habit of stopping
working (if the card was bent too often?). It turned out to be VITAL to carry
the receipt around as well as the card itself has no duration data printed
on it and the lifties want to see the receipt if a card stops working before
letting you through!

On Thu, 11 Jan 2007 16:51:42 +0000 (UTC), Brian McIlwrath
wrote:

Matt T wrote:
: Dispite what seems to have been some teething problems with the
: back-end admin systems (read weeks of backlog in issuing workers
: passes) the system on the slopes does seem to be working.

When I was there before Christmas the normal single-use passes (which are
a chip plus foil aerial embedded in flexible plastic) had a habit of stopping
working (if the card was bent too often?). It turned out to be VITAL to carry
the receipt around as well as the card itself has no duration data printed
on it and the lifties want to see the receipt if a card stops working before
letting you through!

In La Plagne, I fell onto my pass and bent it, so it didn't work. The
lift guys let me on without checking the receipt but when I got to the
ticket office, I was told in no uncertain terms that it was
"forbidden!" to carry the pass in a low jacket pocket, I was told to
place it in an upper pocket where it wouldn't get damaged.

One little lecture and three Euros later I had a new pass.

--
-Pip