French Resorts Open For Summer Ski Season With Fresh Snow
Friday, June 18th, 2010
Tignes is the latest French ski area to re-open for snow sports. It’s summer season begins tomorrow, Saturday June 19th and runs to August 29th. It joins Les 2 Alpes which opened on Wednesday, a third and final French summer ski area at Val d’Isere will open shortly.
Tignes has reported 5cm (two inces) of fresh snow overnight and has a 120cm (four foot) base on the Grand Motte glacier. The lifts will run from 7:15am to 1pm (as the snow tends to get too sticky under the warm sun in the afternoon).
Tignes has 20 Kilometres of runs on the glacier within an altitude range from 3,000 to 3,456 metres. There are 12 ski lifts and a snow park and it can all be reached in just seven minutes from the resort via a fast underground funicular.
The glacier’s snow park is the main attraction and features a half-pipe, rails, moguls, hip ramp, quarter-pipe and rainbow rail.
A summer ski school is also operating – you can learn to ski in Tignes in July (!) or just improve your technique.
As well as enjoying the snow you can take in the spectacular view of Mont Pourri, the ridges of Grande Sassière, the Grande Casse (the highest point of La Vanoise at an altitude of 3,856 metres and the majestic Mont Blanc range in the distance.
