Tignes has always been Val d’Isère’s smaller and uglier sister but people now come on holiday for sport rather than a show of wealth. Ladies who lunch are the preserve of Val - girls turning snowboard tricks in the snowpark are more Tignes.
The SPOT freeride zone on the north face of the Grande Balme is new this year, so people can learn about off-piste riding with different levels of snow to practise. Add to that a section of boarder cross, pipes and rails; the SPOT is an all-round brilliant concept.
Down in resort, there have been some great parties. In Tignes le Lac, the Loop Bar is building on its reputation as the place to go for its food and crazy parties. Flavoured vodka shots at £1.50 are a mainstay and they did a special jelly and ice-cream shot for their birthday party.
The Loop held a Back to the Future theme party and everyone was pretty hyped about it beforehand. The bar was decorated as the ‘Enchantment under the Sea Ball’ with glitter everywhere and a disco light in the corner. Fancy dress is a popular theme in Tignes and people generally pull clothes out of nowhere. This event was no exception, with many people dressed up as Marty or Doc Brown. These were the more conventional guises. Lack of fancy dress shops meant some lateral thinking on many people’s parts, with one of the bar maids dressed up as the clock tower.
Advertisement
The bar made up three big bowls of champagne and vodka punch which loosened everyone’s inhibitions. Guest DJ, The Slim Twin and resident DJ Smee took turns to play sets of funky house and hip hop, both mixed in with funny retro theme tunes. By midnight, a packed bar was going for it with the silly dancing and the vodka shots.
The Mover Café in Val Claret has expanded this year to fit even more people on its dancefloor. Covers band Blue Funkt plays once a week here and once at the Grotto du Yeti. Not many full bands play in Tignes but these guys have gained resort fame for being the loudest, funkiest and most fun. Their Nirvana covers always please the crowds.
In Le Lavachet, the popular TC’s Bar has bought Le Petit Pub next door and is knocking down the wall in between to make an even bigger bar and a new restaurant. Meanwhile, Censored Bar (formerly Harri’s) is carrying on its tradition of wild bar maids and crazy parties. They’ll have to go some way to beat last year’s end of season party when everyone ended up in the swimming pool.
It’s no surprise Tignes is popular with students, many of whom choose the budget coach option with companies like Action Outdoors and Outgoing Ski. The annual student deluge arrived in two halves this year. The first week of December saw 1,500 students from Oxford and Cambridge turn up while there was also the traditional Student Week (for non-Oxbridge types) seven days later.
The new Le Lac nightclub, below the Loop Bar, had a stomping start to the season. Having poached ex-Club 21 resident DJ Yann for their own, Le Lac is pulling the crowds in night after night with a mixture of commercial dance, old classics and late-night trance. Mostly it’s just great because it’s not good old europop.
Advertisement
The Melting Pot, up in Val Claret, is now a firm favourite for season workers thanks to resident DJs Boobies De Lux (don’t ask!), who plays classic rock, soul and funky house, and Mia Miz, who’s into drum n’ bass.
Interview by Mark Frary
For more information on Tignes, see the OTC website