The last hurrah for skiers this season in the French resort of Tignes
Skiing doesn’t have to finish at Easter, despite the common belief that snow can be scarce once we get to April. As the month came to a close, almost 120 Brits gathered for the Tignes Takeover, filling a hotel in the suitably lofty French resort – sharing slopes with Val d’Isere – for partying, perfect pistes and a chance to make new ski chums.
The Ski Club of Great Britain has been a guiding light on the slopes for more than 120 years and its Freshtracks holidays for members are a social whirl with big majority of guests being solo travellers.
Who goes to the Tignes Takeover ?
Ski Clubbers ready to roll, down the street from the hotel
There’s definitely an older clientele, although that’s far from exclusive. Here, there were avid skiers well into their 70s, but much younger guests, too, thrilled by the fact that the person next to you is here to ski and have apres-ski fun, rather than the other way round. There was Rachel, who works with private schools, who revealed that she’s also a hiker, having walked the Spanish pilgrim trail to Camino de Santiago… starting from her home in Warwickshire. Chris, 72, whose career in international commercial property had seen him travel the world. Andrew, a former ear, nose and throat surgeon who, at 75, is still a snowboarder (and who was there with grandson Will, a skier and a top one at that). Ages tended towards the higher end, but there were teenagers, too and middle-aged fans having a family-free week to expand their passion.
Ski Club reps are volunteers who simply love being part of the club scene and getting to ski with groups daily. They are across the age range and from a variety of backgrounds, there to direct the social scene, from drinks parties to quizzes to forming ski groups so that everyone gets to ski with others of their own level, and gets to see a resort from, well, top to bottom.
What’s it like?
Queens of the Snow Stage, minutes after we arrive in Tignes
Tignes Takeover is an annual event (there’s also a similar season christening week, the Premier Party). The week-long party has the feel of a social club rather than a rave – there might be dancing on the tables at slopeside apres-ski bars but we’re watching cheerfully rather than contemplating taking part. And with the bulk of guests being solo travellers there’s the constant interaction of making new friends, all of whom want to ski. And you do get to ski. The adventure features social skiing organised by the reps, with an on- or off-piste course as an optional extra.
We arrived late afternoon and dropped our bags at our hotel, the cosy, woody, chalet-like L’Aiguille Percee, just up the street from the lifts at the central Le Lac area. My fifth floor room with balcony had a view of the frozen lake and people wandering to and fro but we were straight on to the free shuttle bus to the Val Claret conurbation at the other end of the lake for a club rendezvous at Coco Rico, an outdoor spot where manic, wild-haired Brit band, Queens of the Snow Stage, had a already started, one of the many season-closing spectaculars. Several beers amid the dancing crowd then just time to get skis before the communal hotel three-course dinner with some wine. Over the week there was everything from curry to cod and chips, French onion soup to a very decent cheese fondue (with piles of cold meats on the side).
The skiing
The beauty of spring skiing…
I first skied in the super-fast group under the guidance of Rob, a Ski Club employee doubling as a rep. Easy to see why he’s known as Rocket Rob, whizzing us around Tignes, the main slopes, then in the gorgeous spring sunshine up the Grand Motte glacier, topping out at 3,456m. Many glacier areas offer short runs and drag lifts but this is a formidable ski area in itself. We stopped for a short lunch, then flew off for more, finishing at 4 pm (conditions were so good that the slopes didn’t turn slushy at lunchtime, unlike many post-Easter ski options). By now, we were at Bollin, an open-air bar just above Val Claret, where people were grooving on the tables.
Just wild, The X & Y with guest Rob on harmonica
Back to the hotel to discard boots and have a quick change popping out to Le Marmot, an indoor bar where more Brits, The X & Y, a madcap duo, were playing their final gig after a highly charged season around the resorts. Multi-instrumentalists Alex (bowler and green velvet suit) and Carey (top hat and pink hot pants) , stars in the making, tore through everything from the throb of clubbing music to the semi-genteel Horse With No Name, their friend from our group, another Rob, adding sensational harmonica. Alex ended up crowd surfing across the room. Needless to say, it didn’t end quickly, and we were very late for dinner.
Y not? Alex tries crowd surfing…
Group swapping was encouraged, and the next day I joined rep Lizzie for a friendly, marginally less speedy day, sweeping over the Val d’Isere then out the other side, taking Leissieres, the famed up-and-over chair that leapfrogs a ridge on the way to Val’s own Glacier du Pisaillas.
We skied to the opposite corner of the ski map, down the still-snowy path to Les Brévières, way past the reservoir and dam at the entrance to the resort, at 1,550m.
Another day, there was a morning of slalom training, with the French ski school, the ESF, followed by a race, then a lunch gathering at the suntrap La Savour. Then an early dinner followed by a prize-giving party.
And there was the pub quiz, a cheery evening of rather intellectual general knowledge, nothing about TV or pop stars.
The Ski Club slalom competition
The hotel
The view from my balcony on arrival – but the weather soon perked up
L’Aiguille Percée is one of the purpose-built resort’s older hotels, stylish in a timber-clad way. Rooms are equally wood and warm with big beds, smart shower rooms and balconies.
My room with a view…
The verdict
Tignes Le Lac with our hotel in the middle
A fabulously relaxed getaway and there’s always a group to ski with, led by people who know where they’re going. There’s a feel of being among friends, even if you’ve never met them before. And the slopes are high and reliable, so late-season skiing works well… the crowds have left along with the Easter bunny. And the late season meant we had sun – but only late slush – through the week.
How to do it in 2027
Nick looks back on the season…
The Tignes Takeover for 2027 runs April 17-24.
The Premier Party runs December 5-13.
Because the Ski Club (https://www.skiclub.co.uk) has so many solo travellers, its holidays have single rooms with no supplement. Ski Club reps are ready to organise skiing in more than 50 resorts on both sides of the Atlantic, with holidays in hotels as well as Ski Club chalets in Flaine and Chamonix in France. The Ski Club, membership from £45, also runs Peak Experiences holidays for members aged 60 and over. British-run Alpine Fleet (Alpine Fleet) works closely with the Ski Club and offers low-cost shared transfers from Geneva, Lyon and Grenoble to many resorts, with Tignes starting at €41one way.
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