Refreshed minds and sore legs: snowboarding in Tignes and Val d’Isère

My mind is refreshed but my legs are still screaming at me. This is what I was mostly doing a couple of weeks ago. I had a great week off playing in the snow in the French Alps, at Tignes and Val d’Isère.

Finding peace while snowboarding in Tignes and Val d’Isère

The mountains are probably my most favourite place to be. I can’t quite explain it; they are just stunning and beautiful, they take my breath away, and I find great peace when in the mountains.

I went with a good friend; we try to go every year if possible. Now our children are growing up they want to come too, so it’s going to get even more pricey for the next few years!

Returning to the same slopes 20 years later

This is actually the place where I learnt to snowboard a long time ago, so it was interesting going back nearly 20 years later and being much more confident on the runs than last time while snowboarding in Tignes and Val d’Isère.

I also managed to find some interesting buildings by accident, such as the contemporary church that has quite a modern design. I think you can see some influences with the roof design from the famous chapel of Notre-Dame du Haut by prominent architect Le Corbusier.

From glaciers to high mountain passes

I made it up to the Grande Motte glacier and snowboarded down the glacier a few times, and also made it to Col d’Isère, the highest paved road in Europe.

This year has seen a lot of fatalities in the Alps from loose snow and avalanches from people going off-piste. We stayed firmly in the boundaries of the resort and mountain rescue, and everything was fine for us. Not much dream powder and fresh tracks for us, but we were safe which is more important in my opinion.

Lucky with the weather

I think we got very lucky with the weather too as there was about 2m of snowfall [which is a crazy amount!] a few days before we arrived and then blue skies for all the time we were there. The pistes were closed for over a day the week before as it was too dangerous to go out.

Despite an amazing time away, I’m also very glad to be back. I think my legs are glad to be back too; they took a right beating. However, the experience of snowboarding in Tignes and Val d’Isère was worth it.

The Importance of switching off

I think it’s really important to get away from work every few weeks and switch off, and do something that you enjoy, whatever that is. My mind is definitely refreshed even if my body is a bit sore and recovering. You don’t just “need” a break from work; I think our productivity depends on it.

Keep an eye out for more building and architecture related posts soon! 😎