Category: backcountry guiding

Ski Touring Now in Val d’Isère & Tignes

The lifts may not be open and running but the mountains still exist and Ski touring is allowed whilst still adhering to the local, governmental and international restrictions.

Ski Touring

Have you toured before??? Well, you are probably aware of it and that some of our instructors are highly passionate about the pursuit. Often ski touring after work for fitness, or on days off to more extreme locations, or running expeditions to Kyrgyzstan and Norway like Terry and Rich, where no ski lifts exist!

It’s pretty straight forward… We put some sticky skins on the base of our skis which allow us to walk easily uphill and the bindings are slightly different and pivot forward in a walking motion. It pays to have extremely lightweight skis and boots to fully love the days out. The rental shops are currently open in Val d’Isere and Tignes to hire the kit.

Ski Touring Lessons and Guiding: 

Our team of instructors includes some of the resorts most keen ski tourers. We know the location, the snow, the kit and how to get the best out of a 3 hour lesson or guided session. 

The reality of ski touring cannot avoid walking uphill, but at a pace where one’s heart and lungs are happy, it is like a summer hike but 1000% more beautiful. If you can walk up a hill for a few hours, and ski red/black runs, then the current conditions are perfect for you to enjoy the resort at it’s most tranquil. The pistes and off piste areas are currently being skied by about 100 people a day, which considering the capacity in February of tens of thousands means we are socially distancing at the extreme end of the spectrum.

Getting Skins On
photo credit @terryjameswalker

Travel 

The key point to consider in the current climate, is the travel restrictions in your home and France. Val d’Isere and Tignes are currently in a ‘Lock-down’ with a curfew after 9PM. Yet many of the shops are open and many of the restaurants for take-aways. If you are a home-owner in Val d’Isere or Tignes, and you can deal with the isolation and other logistical points, then you can come skiing with one of our knowledgable and entertaining instructors in a majestic landscape. 

It is worth reading any paperwork you have from your insurance providers. At present the local rescue services (pisteurs) are not really working in the same way. This puts us into the same position as if we were skiing Kyrgyzstan or Georgia or Iran, but actually a bit safer.

Conditions

Currently we are skiing the fresh powder that has landed on top of manufactured snow-cannon snow, however, we are due a massive amount of snow in the coming 7 days. Stay tuned. 

Please Bear with Us…!

The situation is changing weekly, there are huge protests going on in France, and nobody knows what’s going on with respect to travel and opening. The the snow conditions could throw some curve-balls too. So please be aware of the current situations and restrictions in place rather than the day this was written. 

We would love to ski with you, our instructors are very very eager to get out and work and spend time with everyone that we’ve skied with in the last 18 years! 

Love the TDC team x

Taking Skins Off - Ski Touring
photo credit @terryjameswalker

First ski trip from USA to the French Alps

In Dec ’19 we were contacted by Juliana Gansl from ultimate-ski.com. She was coming to Europe to ski Val d’Isere, Val Thorens and Chamonix.

TDCski was delighted to have her sign up for a few off-piste backcountry guiding sessions so that we could get the chance to show her around what we already know to be the brilliant skiing on offer in Val d’Isere and Tignes.

Here is Juliana’s thoughts on Val d’Isere –
You can read the full article here.

Val d’Isere

Val D'Isere village night
Val d’Isere

©Juliana Gansl

After landing in Lyon, I got my rental car and started the 2.5-hour drive to Val d’Isere at the eastern end of the Vanoise National Park. Several Brits I met described Val d’Isere as a “chocolate box town,” meaning it’s wonderfully picturesque. They were right.

The main street is lined with ski stores, bakeries, restaurants and bars. Some of the side streets are located next to the base area, making everything centrally located and easily accessible. Val d’Isere, combined with its neighbouring resort, Tignes, make up one of the largest ski regions in France – the Espace Killy I purchased a 6-day pass with access to both resorts for USD $290 (including insurance for $2 per day, which would come in handy in case of an emergency). I also pre-booked two off-piste group guided days with The Development Centre (TDC), so that I could explore more challenging terrain and get the most out of the Espace Killy.

Pro-Tip: for skiers used to North American resorts – where mostly all trails, trees and bowls are considered in-bounds and therefore avalanche controlled, patrolled and marked – in Europe, plenty of lift-accessible terrain isn’t avalanche controlled, patrolled or marked. Make sure to familiarize yourself with Europe’s piste and off-piste definitions to avoid ending up in potentially life-threatening situations. Local piste maps are clear, but if in any doubt check your understanding on arrival.

My guides, Steve Angus and Rich Jones, were both professional, easy to communicate with, and extremely knowledgeable about the area. I happened to ski with them on two of the cloudier days, and they did an excellent job of finding untouched powder runs unaffected by the wind. Most importantly, I felt incredibly safe in their care, and would highly recommend them both.

Pro Tip: ensure you have a good low-light lens when skiing in Europe as most resorts are above the tree line, which means that visibility will always be poor when it’s cloudy.

As a solo traveler, I made a sincere effort to talk to strangers and say yes to as much as possible. My first afternoon after skiing I stopped into Chez Jules and the owner and I ended up taking shots of Génépy – an aperitif native to the region – in honor of sharing the same first name. On my second day, I started chatting with a group of young French skiers on the gondola and ended up skiing the entire day with them – including stopping for a delicious lunch at La Fruitiere and then for champagne and dessert at the infamous La Folie Douce next door. While walking around town another night, I befriended a group of lads from Manchester, UK, and met them the next several afternoons at CocoRico to dance on tables and drink caramel flavored Polish vodka.

In Val d’Isere my AirBnB apartment was in a small building located on Rue du Cachay in Rond Point des Pistes, next to the central bus round-about. It was a one-minute walk to the Solaise and Olympique lifts, 30 seconds to the CocoRico, and 5 minutes to the main street (just walk across the ski trail). The apartment luckily included a free, covered parking spot. I highly recommend staying in this area if options are available.

When my seventh day came, I was truly sad to have to leave Val d’Isere – I would have been perfectly happy spending my entire trip in The Espace Killy – but the Three Valleys was up next.

Ultimate-Ski guide to Val d’Isere >

Read Juliana’s full article here.