Val d’Isère and Tignes. Jean-Claude Killy’s family moved to Val from the Vosges region and he grew up racing in Val. He went on to become a national hero at the 1968 Grenoble Olympics when he won gold in all three disciplines. Some of us old geezers will remember the Killy Challenge that used to air on American tv. He was also the subject of an amusing profile by none other than Hunter S. Thompson.
The French word “espace” is hard to translate properly into English, but since Val d’Isère and Tignes are interconnected to form a vast skiable domain, the idea was to capitalize on Killy’s image for marketing purposes, thus the “espace Killy”. The word “espace” is meant to convey the vastness of the area.
I am not sure if Val and Tignes still use the moniker in their marketing, since Jean-Claude Killy is no longer the household name, even in France. A pity, one of the great ski racers and blessed with beautiful style.
February 9, 2023 at 10:57 pm
Val d’Isère and Tignes. Jean-Claude Killy’s family moved to Val from the Vosges region and he grew up racing in Val. He went on to become a national hero at the 1968 Grenoble Olympics when he won gold in all three disciplines. Some of us old geezers will remember the Killy Challenge that used to air on American tv. He was also the subject of an amusing profile by none other than Hunter S. Thompson.
The French word “espace” is hard to translate properly into English, but since Val d’Isère and Tignes are interconnected to form a vast skiable domain, the idea was to capitalize on Killy’s image for marketing purposes, thus the “espace Killy”. The word “espace” is meant to convey the vastness of the area.
I am not sure if Val and Tignes still use the moniker in their marketing, since Jean-Claude Killy is no longer the household name, even in France. A pity, one of the great ski racers and blessed with beautiful style.
February 11, 2023 at 6:39 pm
Val d’Isere and Tignes(our favorite European skiing)
February 13, 2023 at 7:17 pm
Val d’isere and Tignes. Val d’isere is far more British than French, a reflection of just how many decades the Brits have been in the French Alps!