Here is a small portion of the terrain in Tignes / Val D'Isere, France. Allow me to point out where you can ski in this photo. EVERYWHERE."If you're Canadian, why are you skiing here?"
Was a question that I was asked a few times. While the west coast of North America has unrivaled powder and few people, there are still some great reason to ski in the Alps. Such as:
1. NO RULES. Wanna ski over there? Go ahead. No limits, No liability issues, No rules. You get hurt off-piste (aka 'out of bounds'), it's your fault. I like that - stupid people shouldn't be in the mountains. The skiable terrain is about 20 TIMES the size of Whistler. Oh, and most of the backcountry / off piste is lift accessable. Oh, and daily free avalanche rescue courses and practice areas...
2. History. These are the very same mountains that essentially gave birth to mountaineering. The history of great mountaineers surrounds you. Impressive, especially when you can see Europe's highest and most famous peak, Mont Blanc, from most parts of Tignes.
3. They still get lots of snow. Don't believe the hype. We found tonnes of knee deep (or deeper) powder, and no competition for first tracks.
4. 4 Canadian dollars for a bottle of Bordeaux.
The ski village of Tignes at 2100 meters above sea level. (photo taken at 3456 meters)Ok, now let me quickly tell you about the trip.
6 days of skiing...
DAY 1 & 2: Both bluebird (clear sky) days. Breaking my ski legs in. As most of you know, I ski telemark. (go to www.telemarktips.com if you need to know what that is). Which means that just about every part of skiing is harder for me. If it takes an alpine downhill skier 20% energy to do something, it takes me 90% of my energy. Add to that, elevation. We're skiing at 8000 to 11,000 feet. Air is a whole lot thinner. Even putting my skis on sends my heart and breath racing. Feel like throwing up at moments. Wicked.
Still, I do my best to keep up to my guide, and friend Emilien, who basically grew up in these mountains. He's an incredible skier, and I am the luckiest damn skier in the world to have him show me around. However, the pain and agony that I put my body through trying to keep up in unexplainable. I lied in the bath tub for over an hour the first day.
DAY 3 & 4: The word for flu in french is 'grippe.' As in, it had it's icy grip on me, and I struggled to ski hard through it. Succombing to it by noon on day 3 and skiing heavily medicated on day 4. My body is destroyed.
DAY 5: Flu is killing me. Can't ski. Can barely make it to Tignes Du Lac to check my email. Stay in bed most of the day. No matter - it's dumping mega snow. Must rest up for final day tomorrow.
DAY 6 (final full day): A beam of light pokes through the curtains. Wakes me up. Look out side to see a perfectly clear day, after 3 days of snowing. I FEEL GREAT. No wooziness at all. We quickly get ready and head out.
Today's itenerary - all the classic off-piste / backcountry tours and couloirs. I can't tell you how amazing they were, and how much fresh powder we found - but it was one of the best days of my life. This place is incredible. So many spots where we were the only ones around, just skiing from one couloir to the next. After my trip is over, I'll post all photos and videos. Until then, you can enjoy these, as I have to write a thank you letter to the makers of Advil.
L'Aiguille Percée
Dropping the first couloir of the Vallon De La Sachette tour. Steeeep. Wicked.
The long, but amazing and beautiful tour under Dome de Pramecou. Each step is max effort at 10,000 feet. Huff huff, puff, puff...Emilien appears to be unaffected. Damn him.
Emilien dropping into the final set of couloirs on the final day. Unbelievable. Unforgettable.Cheers. D.
6 comments:
Dale, That looks so awesome. It hasn't dumped here for a couple of weeks. Hopefully that changes this week! Glad you got some sweet skiing in and that you're feeling better! - yenners
Glad you're over la grippe, and the terrain there looks absolument incroyable. I'm a bit confused, though. You say, "when I get back," but I can't quite understand why you would leave there...
I come back for friends like you, Ken.
wicked shots! is that place covered in snow year round or can you climb those rocks in the summer? toronto is boring as hell lately - keep up the posts so i can live vicariously!
Hey Patrick, those shots are taken from a glacier - so yeah, other than the dome, it's snowy year round (although, give it about 20 years...) However there are several mega classic climbs in the area, including the Grand Jorasses beside Mont Blanc, only a few valleys over. I hear it's cold as hell in Tdot. Sucks.
Hey Kiddo,
Got yer e-mail and yes sir the snow was deeeeep and the conditions were absolutely solid. Only happens a few times in ones life so I too was thaking the gods (and unlike you I never got sick). On the othe hand - like you - I was 1 of 2 tele skiers in a group of 16. Pain defined is dropping 2000 m. behind a wiggle-ass AT'er in waist deep snow 8'ing their turns all the way. As it turns out thats also the definition of "fun" defined.
Your trip sounds tre'super keep on enjoying!
Bob
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