Tignes has long been a favourite amongst us Brits, and around a quarter of all visitors are British – which just goes to prove what excellent taste we have as a nation! To say Tignes is a safe choice is a bit of a disservice but it ticks all those boxes when trying to pick a resort. Snowsure? Tick. Big area? Tick. Good parties? Tick.
- Highest Point: 3,568m
- Descent: 2,298m
- No. lifts: 39
The villages, however are ugly as sin – no matter how much lipstick you put on them, they’re still pigs. There are lots of high-rise apartment blocks, which stick out of the landscape like the proverbial sore thumb.
What it does mean is that the villages (Val Claret, Tignes-Le-Lac and Le Lavachet) are pretty compact, and less expensive than Val D’Isere in the next valley. You can ride here almost all year, and the winter season is long – kicking off at the end of November and lasting until May. In the summer and autumn, a sizeable area on the glacier remains open.
What’s new for 2019/20
Tignes has been under several developments over the past few seasons, with upgrades to the link between the Brévières and Boisses villages and installing a larger gondola up from Le Boisses. Last season saw the arrival of the new Grande Motte glacier gondola, with a rooftop panoramic platform for those feeling brave enough for the open-air experience. For the coming season, a long-overdue upgrade is scheduled for the Marais chairlift, taking riders up to the Eye of the Needle in a fraction of the time.
The Parks – 3/5
The quality of the parks at Tignes has always been a bit of a rollercoaster. The main park, served by the Grattalu chairlift, features a number of small 2m-to-5m kickers and jibs with a bigger line accessible from either the chair or the Palet drag lift. Their ‘Shoot my Ride’ system records your run with a number of cameras, so you can later download it… or delete it as quickly as possible!
On the run back to the resort you can either drop into the full-sized halfpipe, or head for the airbag to practice getting inverted without breaking your neck. Access from Val Claret is a breeze, but if you’re staying in one of the other villages then you can still get there quickly by taking the free shuttle bus to the foot of the Tichot chair.
A better option for those wanting to take their riding to the next level is the very well-maintained Val Park. There are a couple of ways to get there, the quickest being via the Toviere that’s right by the main square in Tignes-Le-Lac. The jumps are bigger (8-15m) and the rails more technical, plus the park is serviced by its own tow rope to ensure you get plenty of fast laps in.
On the edge of Tignes-Le-Lac is the Gliss’Park, a small beginner terrain park served by the Millonex tow.
If you’re heading out for a summer glacier trip, they build a park towards the top of Grand Motte and install a couple of tows above the Stades T-bars. It features both intermediate and advanced lines of kickers and numerous jibs, and is shaped daily.
“There are few places more snow-sure than Tignes, and pow days are frequent“
