Choosing to stay in a chalet as opposed to a self-catered apartment was a great decision. It's kind of like a little ski club except the residents come and go. L'espace Killy, consisting of Tignes and Val D'isere, provides over 300km of ski-able terrain and is a key destination for the UK folks. As a result many British run chalets are setup much like the one I'm staying in. Everybody eats together and hangs out after skiing sipping on pints and whatnot. It's also easy to find ski partners.
On the first day, I skied with a couple who I met during the ride over to Tignes in the morning before exploring the mountain(s) from edge to edge. The sun was out in force and hardly any clouds in the sky which made for fantastic skiing. By noon or so it was slushy near the bottom but the snow on the glacier remained nice and soft. The Alps are simply amazing, nothing in the US comes close. I was having so much fun I didn't even stop for lunch so I had a solid 7 and a half hour ski day.
The sun was bright so I'm all squinty. Look at those mountains!
View from a chairlift. In Europe it's the law to put the bar down when on the lift. I must admit I forgot to follow this one a couple of times.
When waking up today for the second day of skiing I thought it was going to be whiteout conditions. Thankfully I was wrong and was able to enjoy the most ideal conditions when skiing. Sunshine and fresh powder. We received up to 20cm or so. The conditions are just unheard of for May. It's supposed to snow tonight and the next. Skiing off piste yielded many wonderful, untracked lines. Skied with some South Africans all day and stopped for lunch this time. First time I've ever eaten a pizza with a fork and knife. My pizza had potatoes and prosciutto on it. Delicious. BBQ was for dinner tonight. Definitely was not like Texas BBQ. Hamburgers were eaten with utensils and no buns.
A nice dusting yielded fresh tracks in morning. Up to 20cm in some points.
A portion of Val D'isere which closed May 1st
View of some runs leading into Val Claret
Looking forward to another two spectacular days here before moving on. If tomorrow yields similar conditions it will definitely be an off piste adventure day since I am familiar with the pistes now.
And yes I know the pictures are crooked and/or dark but I don't care/have time to edit.
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