Tignes April 8th to 12th 2024.

I looked at the Tignes snow report on Tuesday/Wednesday. Tignes always seems to report more than Valnd’Isere - and likely so from Western storms.

The Grande Motte glacier area always reports a high amount - almost 2ft in this case. Never got to verify/ski higher amounts.

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It wasn’t two feet. It wasn’t even one in any place I skied.
 
It wasn’t two feet. It wasn’t even one in any place I skied.

I think Tignes overreports a bit. Val d'Isere snow totals were typically less. Although I do not know if the highest point in Val/Tignes - Grande Motte - really might get more snow due to altitude.
 
It is a warm day today so Ewan spent the morning hunting down spring snow. The areas above Tignes that face the morning sun - around the Grattalu lift but just a short traverse off piste - were perfect at 9.30am.
I guess he’s a pro and it’s his job but his ability to get the spring snow with perfect timing is uncanny.

You might be able to find untracked snow on your own on a powder day with a bit of knowledge and observation.

Finding spring snow corn at the right time and in the right aspect would be even more challenging. A guide's knowledge is probably even more valuable on those days.
 
Anyone know where at Val d'Isere this is? About four seconds in, you can see lift towers in the distance.

I believe those towers are for power lines coming into Val d'Isere, and not a lift.

This is an insane video. You must know the run well to be going at that speed. However, it looks like many skiers get over their heads and ski it slowly. Seems ripe for a collision.

Vallee Perdue is on the La Daille side of Val d'Isere – sandwiched between the red Triffolet run and a tree-lined green, aptly named “Verte”. To access, ski down past the Tommeuse lift on the green. You'll see a gully off to the left, and that's the top entry point.

I have never skied it—I have no genuine desire to get trapped in a gully. Telluride has a run called East Drain, which is similar—a Frozen creekbed/gully that snowborders seem to like. Maybe on a powder day.

Vallee Perdue.jpg
 
Pretty sure today was one of my best days on skis. I’m relieved to advise my 92mm skis served me well but Ewan said the skiing would have been more enjoyable on 100mm skis. He’s on QST 106 but recommended the 98 for me as I’m a lightweight.
This Snoworks off piste course at 475 GBP is great value. 5 half days of guiding and instruction and this afternoon’s session was a free bonus.

It's pretty easy to have a 'best day on skis' on a powder day at Val d'Isere/Tignes—there is so much off-piste terrain for all ability levels.

The extremities are so poorly served by lifts (Col Pers, Vallon Sache) that the snow remains untouched for longer periods of time despite the crowded middle slopes. Gran Vallon is relatively easy to get to—bus to Fornet from Val d'Isere (then laps with HSQ and surface lift). Col Pers is a lot more difficult (3-4 lifts) and a bit of a runout.

You likely could handle 100mm skis. In Alaska, snowboarders had an even better time because they could push through the snow and not get knocked out by slough or sluff—obviously, boards are even fatter than 100mm+++. On steep aspects, sometimes slough/sluff can catch up to you, load the tails of the ski, and if you have enough snow weight, it will spin you around/knock you down. You need to let it pass by you at times.

Piste to Powder at St. Anton is another good value - € 649 for 5 Full Days. That's practically the rate for a one-day private guide rate in Switzerland. I had great days with them at Rendl, St. Anton, Stueben, and Zurs.
 
Tignes always seems to report more than Val d’Isere - and likely so from Western storms.
Mostly because snow is measured at the bases and Tignes is 1,000 feet higher. Fornet sector probably gets the most due to Retour d'Est, twice as much during our April 2018 week. Western storms I'd guess distribute fairly even by elevation in the Tarantaise.

While formal snow data I got from Fraser is measured at the bases of both areas, it is possible that marketing posts a SWAG like Snowbird does.
It's pretty easy to have a 'best day on skis' on a powder day at Val d'Isere/Tignes
That would be Liz on April 13, 2018. It was top 5 lift served for me.
 
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