Tignes and Val d'Isère snow forecast

Skiing in Tignes and Val d'Isère

Tignes and Val d'Isère share one of the highest and most snow-sure linked areas in the Alps, around 300 km of pistes between about 1,550 m and 3,456 m at the top of the Grande Motte glacier above Tignes. The altitude gives a long season: the glacier usually opens in late autumn, the full linked area normally opens in late November, and the lifts typically keep running into early May.

Tignes is a group of high, modern stations clustered round a lake at about 2,100 m, with the Grande Motte glacier as its high point and a lot of open, above-the-trees intermediate terrain. Val d'Isère sits further up the valley at about 1,850 m in a more traditional village setting, and is known for demanding runs and big off-piste. The two link over the ridge between them, so a lift closure in high wind can split the area in two; the glacier and the highest lifts are the most exposed. With so much of the terrain above the tree line, flat light can make skiing hard on stormy days.

Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise is a separate, much smaller resort a short drive back down the valley. Its tree-lined runs and quieter off-piste make it the usual alternative when it is snowing hard and visibility is poor higher up.

Access is by road up the Isère valley from Bourg-Saint-Maurice, the nearest railway station, with Geneva, Lyon and Chambéry as the usual airports.