Skiing in Tignes

Imagine skiing on the first of May in the French Alps! That was the dream that Catharine and I were fortunate to live 3 weeks ago. The company employee organization books a hotel every spring in Tignes -- one of the highest stations in the Alps -- and 150 of us spent 4 days skiing our buns off, eating good French food and even racing each other down the hill.

We couldn't have been luckier with the weather. It was sunny but not hot. The snow was very skiable and, except at the very bottom, didn't turn to soup until the end of the day. The mornings were icy but by 10 am things would soften up enough to make it really fun. On my last run, I dropped 1350 meters (over 4,000 feet) in 10 minutes and covered close to 3 miles (and only stopped 4 times to catch my breath). What a rush. (Click here to see an interactive map for the ski buffs -- my last run started at the La Grande Motte, Glacier de la Vanoise).

My photos begin with a view of the station itself, which is quite ugly. It is all built above the tree line, which makes the skiing spectacular, but the village feels like it is built on the moon. And everything is modern. However, our room was charming and the view from the heated swimming pool was of mountains only.

See the photos or the slideshow. Look for the photo of Jean-Claude Richard coming in 19th of 120 (playing it too safe).