It may not feel much like summer in Blighty but it officially starts in less than a week and the French ski resorts are re-opening for summer skiing and boarding after all areas in the country had been closed for more than a month.
Well, three are re-opening anyway. Val d’Isere has actually already re-opened its small summer ski area and will have just a five week season through to mid-July. Then two of the largest glaciers of the 20 that still open for some or all of summer follow on July 16th –Tignes and Les 2 Alpes.
Tignes used to be open year round but it is still open longer than any other French resort, closing for a month in September but re-opening nearly two months before any other French area in early Autumn.
But for now it and Les 2 Alpes will be open through to late August and run their lifts from around 7am to 1pm each day. Afterwards each day it’s too hot, the snow gets too sticky and it’s better to enjoy another summer mountain activity or just relax.
The ski areas say conditions are good thanks to the big snowfalls last winter and a few recent top-ups.
Tignes has 20 kilometres of runs on the Grande Motte glacier are open in the altitude range from 3,000 to 3,456 metres and thanks to the Perce Neige funicular which first opened in March 1993, it takes only seven minutes to reach the summer ski runs from the heart of Tignes, at an altitude of 2100 metres.
Les 2 Alpes says it has Europe’s largest skiable glacier a highlight of which is their famous snowpark, first established in 1993 and is now spread to cover 18 hectares and served by two draglifts and a ski tow dedicated to the two half pipes, one of which is an Olympic-size super pipe.
The park also features hips, quarters, modules, whoops, hand rails, big airs and has nine members of staff and 30 volunteer shapers every day.