Tignes '05

Tignes / Val d'Isere is absolutely massive. There is no other way to describe this pair of resorts. While places in California or Colorado (for the most part) are based on one main mountain, Tignes (pronounced "teen" I think) and Val, as we came to call them, sprawl across an entire mountain range. The first thing that struck me upon hitting the slopes was incredible amount of space on this mountain, a feeling amplified by the lack of trees in most of the resort. Right away I knew I was not at Lake Tahoe, but smack dab in the middle of the Alps....I can actually say the phrase: "Yea I've been to the Alps." No doubt they have their allure, whether France, Italy, or the legendary Switzerland.

In terms of pure skiing, Val had boatloads more to offer. Unfortunately I bought a Tignes-only pass in my package, so I had to drop another 45 Euros to get access to the entire resort. But Tignes still had it's charm, mainly in a student-packed, happy hour kind of way....while Val provided a more traditional allure (wooden cabins, quaint resort-town, family-oriented atmosphere).

Had to stop and take a picture after rushing to make the last chairlift home

Now onto the snow. There wasn't much of it. We were blessed with amazing weather (5 out of 6 days of blue skies and sunshine) but that only helps when there's enough snow on the ground. Rather than opening more of the park during the week, we found some runs that were open on Sunday roped off on Tuesday. Nevertheless, we made do with what was available, and when looking for ungroomed powder, it always helps to venture "off-piste." Of course these adventures into closed runs and away from the snow machines pissed the hell out of the ski rental place. Although they did give me a crappy pair of skis to start off with, so I didn't feel all that bad returning some nice Rossignols with a five-inch gash (through the black surface and into the metal) on one ski.

Following someone's off-piste path on my solo day of skiing (I don't think my ipod liked the cold, but it was awesome skiing to a soundtrack)

Throughout the week my skiing improved slightly, and then took a huge dive. I don't think my body has taken that kind of pounding since the timed mile run in fifth grade PE (> 10 mins). So while on Monday and Tuesday I was viciously trying to attack moguls where I could find them, driven at the same time by an excitement to explore the mountain, by Wednesday I was falling more than I can remember. My body just didn't respond quickly anymore...of course I switched skis because I was trying to convince myself they were the reason I couldn't stay on my feet, but of course even the new Rossis didn't help. I believe there were two times where I fell and slid down the run at least 40 feet. Not a good finish to the trip.

To make things more annoying by the end...on our last day came a huge storm that probably dropped 6-8 inches of powdery sugar onto the mountain. Of course we were caught in the middle of it, so for our purposes it just made visibility crap and the snow on the runs very inconsistent.

But skiing is skiing, so you really can't say that many negative things without remembering the times when you're thinking "Man, this is awesome." Add that feeling to the fact that I'm in France, and it just gets to a whole new level. Also, although everybody in the group was at different levels, it didn't stop us from sharing our stories of the day over pints of Kronenberg at the end of the day.

Now I love basketball, but you can't get views like this in the gym...

(On a brief side note the former members of 90 311 will be proud to hear that 7-11-Doubles has now gone international. My dice joined my skis, boots, and poles, as my accessories of the week. The game's power is tremendous).

Having arrived this morning after 20 hours of driving, I'm very disoriented, so I may have forgotten some things...but many thanks to the Ski and Snowboard Society for organizing the trip.

You guys will hear a lot from me in the next week and change, as I have about 10 days in London to explore before heading off to Brussels. I plan to continue the park tours, even though it's about 40 degrees here. For those of you still finishing up work, of course good luck. For the rest that are already home...I envy you, and not only because you can watch SportsCenter.