Lac du Chevril

It was very overcast today so I didn't mind taking another day off from skiing to heal my blister. In the afternoon I drove down to Bourg St. Maurice for a big food shop in the hypermarket by the roundabout. Bourg is the gateway to a bunch of ski resorts so there were quite a few skiers as well as locals stocking up on provisions. On the way back the rain was turning to snow around 1800m so hopefully there will be some fresh stuff on the mountain.

The original village of Tignes was in the Isère valley below Val d'Isère. After the second world war, France needed electricity and it was decided to build a hydro-electric dam in the Isère valley. Whilst this was a great achievement for French engineering and was for the greater good of France, it meant that the old village of Tignes was drowned. The dam was completed and the village was submerged in 1952. A replica of the original church was created in Tignes les Boisses. Once every ten years the lake behind the dam (Lac du Chevril) is drained for maintenance work and the remains of the old village becomes visible.