Snow Farming in ski resorts is a catch-all term that refers to all the various methods of putting snow on  a piste that would not arrive there naturally. It has piqued my interest because local to me Chatel and Les Gets have recently installed a “Snow Factory”. I have wondered how environmentally friendly it is! The obvious answer is that it is not great for the environment, however the fact that they have become so popular must mean they are cheaper and thus more eco than other methods available.

I’m no expert on the environmental impacts of creating snow, however I have tried to quantify it a bit

Pistes are created by natural snowfall.

Obviously this has to have the least environmental impact. There is not much to say here, apart from the fact they need to groom the piste with a piste basher (Snow groomer in the US and Dameuse in French)

Snow is scraped up from areas around the piste.

The is “snow farming” in it’s most basic form. The environmental impact comes from running a piste machine. Some ski areas are preparing these areas to be farmed (so removing trees, or clearing shrubs). There is also some shaping that can be done to the piste to help, shading too.

Wind fences

Wind blown snow is collected by snow fences, either permanent or temporary. You’ll have seen these on various parts of the mountain, especially in Scotland. These have a fairly low environmental impact, however the snow that has not collected on the piste will need moving with a piste basher. There is an article on this here https://gotowv.com/snow-farming/

Snow storage

It might seem like a mad idea but this is one of the cheapest (read eco-friendly) and oldest methods in use. It’s also frequently used. Many of our local ski areas use it, especially the cross country ski areas, possibly because they find it easier to pile up a large stock and keep it somewhere shaded. And that is the trick, make a huge pile of snow, ideally somewhere shaded, cover it in 30 cm of wood chip and there should be 70 or 80% of it left come the following Autumn. Mikko Martikainen http://www.snowsecure.fi/ has made his living doing this of the last decade. He’s been busy too, Sochi was a full time job and last year Pyongyang used his skills too.

The image below shows the results in the Haute Savoie. A round of the World Cup Biathlon was scheduled for early December, you can see there is no sign of snow in the background and the racer is wearing a T-shirt!

Permanent snow making equipment.

We are all used to these. The cheapest form is a lance, that mixes pre-cooled water with compressed air to form a mist, this is ejected from the lance 6-12m from the ground to give the water droplets time to freeze before they hit the floor. The air has to be below freezing (-1C or less) and the humidity of the ambient air is important, practically the air temperature needs to be <3C. The environmental conditions are crucial. Which is why when they are right, a resort will make snow whether they need it that day or not. Because it will be used to build a base that will extend the season possibly weeks away. In addition to the wands are “fan guns”, that look a bit like the turbines off an aeroplane. They can produced twice as much snow as a lance, but at twice the running cost.

Snow Factories.

These are simply refrigerated units, snow is created inside and then pumped out into the surrounding environment. The manufacturers claim that snow can be made at almost any temperature. It’s a bit of a fib, but hey, that’s the marketing. They are now being installed everywhere, pretty soon you will see them at every resort. However they are almost the most expensive way of making snow, so they’ll only be installed at the crucial spots.

Transporting snow by truck and helicopter.

I assume this has to be the last on the list. I’ve seen a local resort use the truck option to ensure they could hold a crucial event. It was late season and they had scheduled the race at the end of one of the local valleys. There was insufficient snow cover so they had to truck in 100 truck loads from somewhere else.  That’s not all, ski areas will go to even more extreme steps, using helicopters to carry snow to crucial areas to keep things going. They justify it as it keeps the business going. However the irony is no longer a joke.

One of the big selling points of a second home in the Alps in the excellent rental potential available. Around 16 weeks in the winter and up to 10 in the summer. And as time goes on there are more and more opportunities available inter-season too.  The rental side of the business is so crucial that many estate agents have their own rental arm. However beware, running businesses isn’t getting any easier and having a clear focus generally means you can do a better job. Here at Alpine Property we decided from our inception that we would focus on selling properties. We would then partner with specialist rental companies in each village. This article is about one of those partners.

We have worked with Tom and Ali Ward-Lee from Alps Accommodation in Samoens for over 10 years now. They started out by doing all aspects of the rental business. Marketing the properties, dealing with the bookings, cleaning and maintenance, seeing the guests in and dealing with any issues as they arise.  This is the usual setup, it is however quite limiting. A business will quickly reach capacity and the owners find they don’t know which way to look! Tom and Ali felt these pressures and decided to concentrate on certain aspects of the job instead. They focused on the systems, marketing and sales. So finding the customers and dealing with their bookings. They have partnered with other local business to deal with the other facets of the job.

I interviewed Tom to get some insights into his business.

The history

Tom and Ali had a dream to run their own business, they had already spent 3 skis seasons working in the Alps and decided they could combine the two. They searched for a suitable base. Somewhere that offered a friendly family atmosphere, was affordable and offered some growth potential. They settled on Samoens. The Grand Massif Express had just been installed which had precipitated a building boom. It was an ideal location. They sold up in the UK and started out running a catered chalet. They soon realised that this would not be enough to sustain them and started managing other people’s rental properties. After several years they grew the business to 50 properties!

Chalet Toubkal, 4/5 bedroom chalet for rent in Samoens

The change of focus

The first change was to start to focus on their core market, mostly families and professionals who tend to want to rent at the premier end of what is available. As time has passed this focus on quality has increased and Alps Accommodation have to reject more properties than they take on! They now have 85 properties on their books and have to keep upping their game to deal with the demand for luxury. No one can sit back and expect rental returns to roll in from year to year without putting in effort to maintain the standards. The main competitors who are leading the way with 5* apartments to rent are MGM and Club Med. Both have invested huge amounts in the area over the last few years. Alps Accommodation ensure the guests receive a high level of service from their property management companies. Everything is included in the price such as welcome hampers and luxury toiletries, in-resort support, in-resort discounts, many unique to Alps Accommodation such as maximum discounts on lift passes.

The ups and downs

Starting your own business is hard enough. You inevitably have to wear a number of hats. It can be like having 4 jobs at once! Add to that a French administration system that they have not grown up with and the whole process can be quite overwhelming.  Tom says it is the factors outside of his control that are the most difficult to deal with; such as building works right next door to a chalet, or a problem with a leak which means the property can no longer be rented. Families that run businesses in holiday areas have the added problem that they can only take a break themselves outside of the main holiday periods. This is when Seb, their 7 yr old is at school so finding time away from it all is a challenge.

The Future

All of our businesses are effected by so many variables, many of them out of our control, the weather, the market (the economy, exchange rate), legal issues (Brexit). Tom is currently focused on slow, organic growth, staying ahead of his competitors offer. However, watch this space, Alps Accommodation is a very scalable name! The next move might be out of Samoens and into the rest of the alps!

Chalet Le Strange, 5/6 bedroom chalet for rent in Samoens

So you have decided you’d like a chalet in the Alps. You have chosen the area you would like to be and have made a couple of visits looking for suitable properties. Unfortunately all the chalets you look at seem to be compromised in some way; either too old, badly built, overlooked by the neighbours etc.

So that leaves….looking for land to buy!

“Why don’t we build our own?” Good question, lots of people have. Individual chalets are being built around the Alps all the time. We “just” find a bit of land and the estate agent says she can put us in touch with a good builder. She’s shown us chalets that she has had built by the same firm in the past. So “why not?”

Land for sale near Morzine, more information at the bottom of the page

Pro’s of building a chalet from new

• You choose the location which suits you.
• You specify everything to your requirements; from the design of the chalet to the quality of the fittings.
• You can pay in stages. Ideally you have enough put by to pay for the land, the bank should lend the rest (in theory).

Con’s

• You’ll have to wait (at least) 2 years for the finished property.
• You think you will know how much it will cost before you commit, but in fact it is only an educated guess.
• You think the builders will do a good job (because they have been recommended to you) but in fact it’s more “hope”.
• If you change your mind and want to pull out half way though you’ll be left with an unfinished chalet. Worth only slightly more than the original piece of land. Full value will not be realised until it is finished.
• You will be working in French, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t speak French but if you don’t the project will cost you more thanks to inefficient decision making and poor communication.

OK, so in my list there are more Con’s that Pro’s, this is deliberate, you know this is not for the faint-hearted don’t you?

Land for sale in Les Gets, more info at the bottom of the page.

Choosing The Land.

What will the chalet be used for? A permanent residence / holiday home / rental investment? The answers to these questions are crucial in choosing the correct location. Alpine Property has 15 or so plots of land for sale. This includes examples of good locations for each use.

The key point is that there will need to be some compromises made when looking for the plot on which to build your “dream” if the price of the land is to remain reasonable.

A permanent residence doesn’t have to be close to the slopes and bars, it can be out of town. It would be good if it were reasonably large to allow you to build a decent sized home for your family.

An investment property doesn’t have to be on a large, sunny plot, it can be shady with a small garden, as long as it has good access to the skiing.

It is interesting to watch locals choosing land. They frequently prioritise sun exposure when making their decisions. This comes from generations of experience of the mountain winters.

The Locals Will Say:

South facing is good. Some south-facing slope is excellent, it means the land will act as a solar panel allowing the sun to warm the house and surrounds. I live on flat land, it’s great for the kids, 50m away the slope starts, all the houses there lose their frost and snow earlier than I do. There is only 50m in it!

Beware of frost hollows and the bottom of valleys, cold air sinks and when there is no wind it stays! For days sometimes. Frost hollows are easy to spot in the winter but harder to identify in the summer.

Look around you, where does the sun track through the sky? Carry a compass. Is the sun blocked by the alp on the other side of the valley? Is it blocked by trees on the neighbours land (you may be able to apply to have these cut down) or is it blocked by the neighbour?

Think about the access, although you cannot be held to ransom by neighbours trying to prevent access to your land you might have to go to court to secure access rights. Though saying this it would be rare to find a plot for sale with access issues. We certainly would not advertise a plot that had no access. How steep will the access road have to be? How wide will the planners demand that it should be?

So, you have visited the land and you like it. What do you do next?

Ask the estate agent some questions.:

• Have you got a land plan (bornage)?
• Can we walk the perimeter?
• Please show me the access.
• Where are these main drains that you have mentioned in the particulars?
• What are the environmental hazards here?
• What “zone” is the land in?
• Do you know what sort of chalet I could build? The size? How high? What distance from the neighbours?

It’s quite possible that towards the end of the conversation your estate agent might not have the answers to hand. They are easily obtained, this can normally be done straight away. Ask your agent to accompany you to the local planning office, it will be situated in the local Mairie. They will be able to provide you with all the bits of paper you need, including the planning regulations that refer to this particular plot of land. It is quite possible the planning office could be very helpful and may raise issues the estate agent is not aware of.

To give you an example of the sort of issues you will encounter, consider the “zoning”. For instance a common zone is “UC”. To determine how large a chalet you can build, you must ask for the CES (coefficient emprise au sol) for the zone. As an example the CES is could be 0.2. It can be much higher in centre of town situations allowing for denser housing. You must multiply the size of the constructible land available by the relevant COS. So for land of 1000m2 multiply by 0.2 which means you can build a chalet with up to 200 m² of surface area, ample for 4/5 bedrooms. The regulations about this are in flux so be sure to check thoroughly what applies to you. An internet search will not cut it.

“Why isn’t all the land constructible?” You ask. The council worker chuckles and responds. “Some of the land is non constructible because it is in a risk zone, I’ll print off a map to show you the at risk areas”.

Risk zones

You are reminded of the fact that when it comes to environmental risks the mountains really know how to upset the apple-cart. It can be seen from this map that many plots are in a “safe” spot but still surrounded by risk from avalanches (from both sides of the valley), from flooding from the streams that run off the mountain and from rockfall and landslides too! You might decide to look at this map and run a mile. OR you can look at it and reassure yourself that your plot is in a small hamlet has been existence for over 200 years and that in those days you could trust the inhabitants of a valley to build with respect to the risks. Nowadays it is another matter. 30km away (as the crow flies) an event took place that illustrates the dangers well. The following link will take you to a long article on the subject. Well worth a read.

http://pistehors.com/backcountry/wiki/Articles/Montroc-Avalanche

After everything you have learnt you decide to make an offer for the land. This is accepted on the phone the same day. Things are moving along nicely.

The estate agent announces that she would like you to sign a binding contract (a Compromis de Vente) and that for the deal to be sealed you will need to deposit with the Notaire 10% of the asking price. This is easily done as you have the cash ready to be transferred for just this occasion.

Questions and Answers

(Q). We have the money to pay for the land, we have assumed we can ask the bank to lend us the money to build the chalet. Is this assumption correct?
(A). Your estate agent helpfully offers to put you in contact with a variety of possible lenders and mortgage brokers.

(Q). You need to apply for planning permission, you are fearful that if this is not granted you will end up with a piece of grass of interest only to the cows. What can you do?
(A). You need to ask the Notaire to add a clause to the Compromis which states that you do not have to complete the sale if planning permission for your proposed chalet is rejected. In this case your deposit will be returned. Demand that this ins and outs of this clause and subsequent consequences are made clear to you by the Notaire.

(Q). How will you apply for planning permission?
(A). The estate agent offers to put you in contact with a local architect well versed in the planning procedures for the region. Time is of the essence here.  Deadlines set in the Compromis must be met (you normally get 1 month for the “depot de demande”, 2 months for the “response”, 3 months for the “recours”, so 6 months total. You must try to meet them, particularly the first one, to keep your deposit safe.

Next stages

Now up until this point you have been fairly impressed with how things have gone, you have made some preparations but they have been fairly minimal, within a few hours of setting foot on the land you are within a few days of having a legally binding contract that will lead to full ownership and the construction of a chalet? So why the emergency appointment? We don’t need to rush do we?

You do. A bit. You will need to get the planning process rolling as soon as you can. In theory planning permission can be granted in 3 months but in practice 6 months is the minimum required. You cannot leave your “get-out clause” in the Compromis open ended, the seller will want to insist on a time limit. This may well be 6 months. A long time from their point of view, no time at all from yours!

To get you started, here is a link to all the plots of land we currently have for sale. It’s always up to date.

We’ve just published a video on this subject too