Espace Killy
Wednesday 6 January 1999

Weather

Perfect .. blue skies and sunlight all day.

Overall

We booked private lessons for Cathy and John, so the day was a series of short sessions.

Cathy stayed back in Tignes and did a few runs off the Claret drag lift, trying to improve her basic technique before her lesson.


The peaks beyond Grand Pre lift


Run marker and the peaks beyond Grand Pre lift


Chris and John near the top of Grand Pre run

 Chris, John and I headed off via Tufs, Mont Blanc and Borsat to the off-piste area from Grand Pre which we skied on Tuesday. We fitted in two runs before heading back towards Tignes via Fontaine Froid and Tommeuse 1, for an early lunch back at the apartment.
At 12 o'clock we dropped John off at the ski school for his off-piste lesson which proved to be a great success (after his lesson he headed back to the apartment to get on with his college work).


Claret drag lift in Val Claret passing under the TUFS chair


Looking across to Tichot and Grandes Balmes

 Chris and I did one run with Cathy down Carline A before leaving her for her lesson and heading up Les Lanches towards the Grand Motte glacier area. To get to the top we had to take another lift, Vanoise, and the Grande Motte cable car. The 20 minute wait for the cable car was only worth it once.


Val Claret from Carline'A'


Val Claret and Tignes le Lac


The Grade Motte cable car


The Grande Motte cable car


Chris taking photographs near the top of Grande Motte


Chris on the Grande Motte Glacier


Looking up to the Summit above the Grande Motte cable car


The Grande Motte cable car


The panorama looking down from Grande Motte


Grande Motte with Tignes in the valley


Grande Motte glacier with Tignes in the valley

 After spending a few breathless minutes at 11,400 feet admiring the scenery and taking a few photographs, we headed back down, 4500 vertical feet, which was hard work and left us needing a rest. The run down the glacier, strangely enough called Glacier was a steep, wide, groomed run and with no frame of reference everyone seemed to be skiing very fast. There was a cat-track around the top of the funiculaire, looking down on the Snowboard Park. Grand Plan was a relatively short, red run, which took a heavy toll on my legs at least. Double "M", the main run back to Val Claret, was obviously groomed overnight but had been heavily skied. It was mostly fine, but there were some slick spots, especially near the bottom.

After a drink and recovery time, we headed back up Les Lanches and this time we took Cairn down. This blue run proved to a roller-coaster with several uphill sections that needed speed to get past. We avoided Prarfond which was in appalling condition by keeping to the right and taking the ungroomed black run, Campanules.

We were going to sneak in one quick run from Tufs before meeting Cathy, but Fresse was broken and Tufs was the only way back to Val d'Isère and hence crowded. Cathy actually finished her lesson early so we met her almost immediately.

Her lesson obviously helped her confidence a great deal and after a quick refreshment break, the three of us headed back up Les Lanches to repeat the run down Cairn, Génépy and Campanules.

We were tempted to fit in one more run but the queues on Tufs were still too long.

Vertical: 18,897 feet {Cathy and John different)

Vertical (feet)

18897

Runs

Lift Vertical Easy Runs Intermediate Runs Top Intermediate Runs Advanced Runs
Tufs 1837 Edelweiss
Mont Blanc 843 Moutons
Marmottes 843 Diebold
Borsat 656 Genepy
Grande Pre Off Piste
Grande Pre Off Piste
Fontaine Froide Verte
Tommeuse 1 1450 Piste 'H'
Lunch
Tichot 1194 Carline A
Lanches 2453 Cairn
Vanoise 787
Grande Motte 1424 Glacier Double 'M'
Break
Lanches 2453 Claret, Cairn, Genepy Off piste
Claret 230 Bollin
Coffee Break
Lanches 2453 Cairn, Genepy, Claret Off piste
Claret 230 Cafe
Total vertical 16853

Last updated: 03/02/99