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European Liftserved skiing in late August/early September?

post #1 of 15
4/8/08 at 6:57pm
Thread Starter 
The title says it all.

I know that there are a few areas that shutdown at the end of Summer (or are no longer in operations for Summer skiing).

What place would have lifts running from the late August/early September time period?

The bigger ones like Tignes, Zermatt, Solden?

I might be going to visit my in-laws close to Lyon ... it would be fun to get away from the heat.

Also partly related, is there any Summer lift served skiing in Iceland?

Thanks
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post #2 of 15
4/8/08 at 7:30pm
I checked into Tignes last summer and I believe that they close around the end of August.

I ended up at Saas Fee last September. This is what the lift-served skiing looks like on the glacier at Saas Fee:



This was on 9/16/08. The skiing was great. The scenery was fantastic. The town is wonderful.

I also skied at Zermatt in September of 2007. The skiing was very nice (although the only day I had to ski there was horribly foggy). Zermatt is also a wonderful town - bigger and more glitzy than Saas Fee but definitely a fun place to visit.

Here's a photo from Zermatt in September of '07:



The glacier skiing a both Saas Fee and Zermatt are open pretty much all through the summer and fall. I think that Solden has summer skiing as well, but I haven't been there.

Have fun. I want to go back!
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post #3 of 15
4/9/08 at 12:08am
Sölden, Hintertux, Tignes, Val Thorens...
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post #4 of 15
4/9/08 at 1:32am
If you're going to be in Lyon, then Tignes or Val Thorens would be the best bet. You can get a train from Lyon Part Dieu up to Moutiers, and from there it's a 45 minute bus to VT, or train to Bourg St Maurice, and again, it's just a short bus ride to Tignes.
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post #5 of 15
4/11/08 at 5:39pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the info and pictures Bob. (Yes, I was the Canadian skiing with Tony Crocker that you skied with one afternoon back in Jan 06).

I just need to figure out if or where I'll continue my ski streak? Looking for the European options if we visits my wife's family.

Schussboelie & Wear The Fox Hat, I was under the impression that Summer skiing had stopped at Val Thorens? This is what a friend from France told me when we skied there in March 2003.

Thanks for the directions Wear The Fox Hat, but I'm was already well aware of train travel from Lyon to the Tarentaise Valley (I have done it before).
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post #6 of 15
4/12/08 at 3:24am
I know the summer of 2003 was one of teh hottest we've had ever since they started measuring temperatures.
I was in Hintertux that July and every other major Austrian glacier closed down halfway through the month just because of teh really poor snow conditions, there just wasn't any snow.
I can imagine the same thing happened in Val Tho that year.
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post #7 of 15
4/12/08 at 3:24am
I just checked their site and indeed, it seems they extend their season only into May and there's nothing about summer skiing anymore...
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post #8 of 15
4/12/08 at 7:36am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Schussboelie View Post
I just checked their site and indeed, it seems they extend their season only into May and there's nothing about summer skiing anymore...
The impression from my French skier friend back in March 03, is that they was no longer any summer skiing at Val Thorens.
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post #9 of 15
4/16/08 at 6:30pm
I skied at Hintertux in July, September, and October, but that was before Al Gore invented global warming.
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post #10 of 15
5/17/12 at 7:13pm

Reviving an old thread from 2008. Tignes/Val Thorens does have summer skiing on the glacier (opens June 22 this year). See http://www.tignes.net/en/skiing-in-tignes/ski-run-map-28.html for English version of web site.

 

Does anybody have experience with summer skiing at Tignes? I would like to go there in August 2013 for my 50th birthday. I had been thinking about trying to visit Chile or New Zealand, but France would be easier and cheaper for me.

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post #11 of 15
5/23/12 at 12:29pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeff2010 View Post

Reviving an old thread from 2008. Tignes/Val Thorens does have summer skiing on the glacier (opens June 22 this year). See http://www.tignes.net/en/skiing-in-tignes/ski-run-map-28.html for English version of web site.

 

Does anybody have experience with summer skiing at Tignes? I would like to go there in August 2013 for my 50th birthday. I had been thinking about trying to visit Chile or New Zealand, but France would be easier and cheaper for me.

I have 7 TRs that are partially written including one from Tignes in mid August from last Summer (it was really hot in France at that time). I'll try to post that Tignes TR in the next few weeks on my blog  (I'll put a link here)

 

Unless you're in Europe, France 'might' be easier, but it wouldn't necessarily be worth it terms as other alternative (NZ and SA) if you want the best skiing experience.

 

You're turning '50'. If skiing is your main goal, go South young man. I decided to head to Mammoth for my 40th in June instead of heading to Tuckerman. :)

 

Pricing? European summer skiing is really expensive in term of what you could get for roughly the same price in South America.

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post #12 of 15
5/23/12 at 7:01pm
Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick View Post

 

Unless you're in Europe, France 'might' be easier, but it wouldn't necessarily be worth it terms as other alternative (NZ and SA) if you want the best skiing experience.

 

You're turning '50'. If skiing is your main goal, go South young man.

I think you're right. After I posted here I did some research on a French ski forum (http://www.skipass.com/forums/enmontagne/stations_ski_france/forum.html) and decided the risk of slush or dirt was too great. Indeed, Tignes is only open until about 1pm in the summer because the snow softens up too much.

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post #13 of 15
5/30/12 at 12:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeff2010 View Post

I think you're right. After I posted here I did some research on a French ski forum (http://www.skipass.com/forums/enmontagne/stations_ski_france/forum.html) and decided the risk of slush or dirt was too great. Indeed, Tignes is only open until about 1pm in the summer because the snow softens up too much.

 

I posted on skipass last summer (MadPatSki1a.). 

 

Tignes glacier doesn't have the best orientation too. I don't mind slush, if you make best conditions (ie. firm most of the day), Zermatt is the best I saw last Summer out of the 6 glaciers I skied : Tignes, Les Deux Alpes (France), Zermatt. Saas Fee (Switzerland), Passeo Del Stevio (Italy) and Hintertux (Austria).

 

Like I said above, if...

 

"You're turning '50'. If skiing is your main goal, go South young man."

 

I strongly recommended South. I've been 4 times since I turned 40 (no regional overlap in ski areas in the Andes, except on the 4th/last trip).

 

I opted for Mammoth (on a good year) in mid-June back in 2005. First trip to California. No plans for 50...I can't deal with it yet. :(

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post #14 of 15
5/30/12 at 1:26pm

It's clearly not a Winter experience though sometimes it feels close to it. Snow can be trench deep but Summer skiing is great fun to be mixed with other things in the afternoon. I've skied a few; Les Deux Alpes, Kaprun, Saas Fee but for me Hintertux is by far the best and can be a really worthwhile skiing experience.

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post #15 of 15
6/1/12 at 1:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adie View Post

It's clearly not a Winter experience though sometimes it feels close to it. Snow can be trench deep but Summer skiing is great fun to be mixed with other things in the afternoon. I've skied a few; Les Deux Alpes, Kaprun, Saas Fee but for me Hintertux is by far the best and can be a really worthwhile skiing experience.

 

Based on what I saw late August last season, I would say that:

 

Conditions: Zermatt and Saas Fee offered the best overall experience. Followed by Passeo Del Stevio.

 

Terrain variety: Hintertux, Saas Fee, Tignes ... and Zermatt is vertical.

 

Parks: Les Deux Alpes and Saas Fee.

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