Caroline Pratt’s Review: SAS Ski Trip in Tignes
By Caroline Pratt
Eat. Ski. Party. Repeat. If there had to be any three words to sum up this years St Andrews Snowsports’s ski holiday, those would be them.
Where: Tignes, France (pronounced ‘teen’). 420 St Andrews students ventured on lengthy bus rides from either St Andrews, London, or Dover, arriving in Tignes approximately 30 long hours later. If you were lucky (like me) you flew to Geneva and took a four-hour bus transfer to the resort, making it a much more chilled journey. Tignes is a small ski resort nestled in the northern French Alps. Within skiing distance of Val d’Isere and Val Thorens, Tignes was just enough remote yet it close enough in proximity to other skiing slopes and ski villages that students didn’t feel too confined.
Cuisine: Carbs, carbs, carbs, and more carbs. When in the Alps, eat ski holiday, student budget food (or whatever basics the grocery store offered). Exhausted after a long day of skiing, my flatmates and I would often make pasta bolognese or pesto pasta for dinner. While skiing around midday, we would often stop at restaurants on the piste or in the village and grab a bite to eat. By a bite I mean huge personal pizzas, more pasta, or even some crepes to spice it up. My personal favourite restaurant was Pepe’s in the village of Tignes that offered a various assortment of delicious pizza, pasta, fondue, and salads.
Skiing: Tignes was a perfect student resort because of the various amounts of levels of ski slopes. For beginner skiers, lessons were offered and there were green slopes that one could stick too. For more experienced skiers, the blues, reds, blacks, and off-piste slopes were plentiful. To make the most out of the nighttime snowfall, however, it’s best to start skiing early in the morning to avoid the overall afternoon rush and iciness.
Partying:
Funicular- The funicular ride up the mountain was well worth this party. After being served dinner and having time to get a few drinks, the dance floor opened and let’s just say clothing was optional.
Pool Party- After skiing in the freezing cold all day, St Andrews students were keen to trade their bulky ski jackets for some bikinis and swim trunks at the pool party. Just after being bussed about five minutes away, students changed into their swim gear and hit up the swimming pool (equipped with a water slide), saunas, hot tubs, and steam rooms to let loose and relax.
Aprés Ski- What’s better than after a long day of skiing to let loose and have a drink? Daily around 3:00, Le Coffee in the village of Tignes would host an après ski complete with an outdoor seating area, DJ, and beverages of your choice. Another option for a more wild après ski was La Folie Douce, a short ski over from the Tufs ski lift. Complete with people dancing on table tops, a serious lack of clothes, a whole lot of alcohol, and DJs, singers, and dancers staged on the rooftop, by 4:45 you definitely don’t want to leave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT3ki_Vw_94
Clubs- The main clubs in the village of Tignes were The Melting Pot and Blue Girl. Both opened around 1:30 AM so it was essential to pre back in the hotel or go to a bar before hand, such as Saloon. The Melting Pot was my personal favourite, as the music was amazing and it was always buzzing. It’s safe to say I rarely made it out before 11 to ski after one of these nights out.
Rating:
4.5 stars out of 5