Tignes Glacier Skiing This Summer

Published: 16 September 2024

The glacier in Tignes and in Val d'Isère are both open for summertime skiing and whilst the Tourist Office  may no longer be able to boast about 365 days skiing a year, they can at least still offer a few precious and gorgeous weeks in July and early August for holiday makers keen to satiate their ski fix in the sunshine.

Tignes has a lot more to offer in summer than just skiing and boarding, in fact more than most other alpine resorts - via a plethora of activities which make use of the resort’s exceptional altitude gain (1550m to 3456m). So, when the ski pistes close at lunchtime (in summer) you've got plenty more to choose from - such as whitewater rafting, biking, golf, climbing or glacier hiking to name a few.

Summer ‘24 - what was it like?

Just like the summer of 2023, the glacier was open for about 7 weeks in late June to early August and the conditions were good, sometimes fresh, but mainly warm and always fun. These days, the ski teams are not so interested in the glacier here, so if you are a holiday-skier or boarder you can have the place to yourself without the stressy ski teams and always gives you a welcome activity and a real novelty in the summer sun.

We went up with a videographer to shoot some footage for our summer 25 holidays to Hotel Tetras in Tignes and had a real blast, making some fun and smooth turns in snow which resembled Easter skiing at about 1800-2000 metres in any other resort.

How to do it and what to expect

First, book a holiday in July. In August it is not a certainty that the skiing will still be open. We stayed in Hotel Tetras in Tignes Les Brevieres which was a 20 minute drive up to the free parking in Val Claret which is at the base of the funicular. Although the first train up is at 06.45, we’d aim to get there at about 8.15am and often be up and skiing by 9am. We were on holiday after all! 

This still gave us 3 hours of fun skiing before the snow got a little too soft for the sticks, but was still a-ok for snowboarding. The lifts close at 1pm, so most people enjoy just a few hours in the morning before another activity at Tignes base in the afternoon

You can buy a lift ticket online or buy one at the base of the funicular and the train departs every 30 mins. Plan for all weathers (not just sunshine) as believe it or not it can get cold, you can get fresh snow in July and you can definitely get sunburnt!

You will have about 4 lifts open: a drag lift and two chairlifts, plus the main gondola which takes you right up to 3456m. Sometimes there will be an extra chair or button lift depending on snowfall. The glacier offers about 20 Kms of piste, which is more than enough to satisfy your ski fix (even as an expert skier or boarder) for just a few hours.

By James Hardiman

September 2024