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Chalet d’alpage, a little history.

The Chalet d’alpage are the mountain chalets that you come across far from the tarmac road, they almost (but not always) have 4×4 access and in winter the access is normally on foot, snowshoe or ski. These are the ancient summer residence of the farming communities that used to be the life of the Alpine valleys. In winter the cattle would be stabled in the valleys and in summer the cattle and the farmers would move up to the high pastures. The cattle would be milked in situ and cheese made on the spot too. This still goes on but for the whole process to be done in the old way is rare. The only place I can think of in the Morzine valley is the Ferme Auberge de Freterolles. I’ve just Googled them and see they have a page on TripAdvisor! Another is LaPisa just over the border in Switzerland. They have a website too. If you pass in the summer you will see them heating their milk over a wood fire.

Farming in the Alpine valleys fell apart after the First World War, the Alpage were abandoned by most families as they lost their men to the fight. The requirements of industry pulled the young out of the valleys to the cities too. During the period between the Wars the tourist industry in the Alps started up. The Second World War was less devastating to the population but then skiing arrived. This industry was much more lucrative and was the final nail in the coffin for Transhumance .

Nowadays these chalets are generally retained by the original families and used as weekend retreats. They require a lot of upkeep though and they need owners that treat them as a labour of love. I have often heard it said that corrugated iron is the saviour of the Chalet d’alpage. Without that cheap lightweight covering most of the properties will have rotted away. Now at least roofs are easy to repair and a property can be “kept on ice” until someone in the family comes along to look after it.

Rarely do these properties come for sale. When they do they are very sought after. Often they are more expensive than you might imagine! We don’t have a category on our website for “Chalet d’alpage” because we never have that many to sell. I’ve had a look through and have found 4 at one time. This might be a record!

Chalet Paradis
For Sale: 273 000 €
Le Petit Bornand Les Glières
https://www.alpine-property.com/le-petit-bornand-les-glieres/chalet-paradis/2608

Chalet Sous Les Crètes (next to the pistes!)
292 000 € Habère Poche
https://www.alpine-property.com/habere-poche/chalet-sous-les-cretes/2494

Chalet Berger (comes with vehicle for all year round access)
495 000 € Mégevette
https://www.alpine-property.com/megevette/chalet-berger/2618

Chalet d’Alpage Bonnavaz
225 000 € Les Gets
https://www.alpine-property.com/les-gets/chalet-dalpage-bonnavaz/2343

alpagebonnavaz_2

Swimming across Lac Leman

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Swimming across lac Léman

AKA Lake Geneva to the English

During the heatwave last week (first week of July 2015) we decided to take the opportunity of a very warm Lac Léman to swim from France to Switzerland. We are not superhuman so we left the “classic” traverse from Evian to Lausanne alone (13km) and headed for the narrowest section instead. From Nernier to near Prangins (3.5km according to the map)

Nernier is a small quiet and picturesque little village. The is minimal parking available so get there early in the holidays. We arrived at 9.30am and found somewhere fine. You can drive down to the water’s edge if you need to drop off a boat but it’s not easy and best avoided. There is a public toilet at the Port if you need one.

We were a little worried about the various hazards the lake can present. We’d checked the weather forecast and there were no strong winds likely, go before 10.30am and the lake is most likely to be mirror smooth too. After this time the thermic breezes will start up adding some ripples. There is a regular ferry service which doesn’t like to give way to anything but it’s only an issue close to the port of Nernier, if you don’t set off or arrive as it is docking or leaving it should not be an issue.

The temperature of the lake changes very quickly. Up to 2 °C from the morning until the evening on a hot day. It’s easy to gauge with this website though.

http://meteolakes.ch/#!/hydro/geneva

The figure you need is the “Température eau 1m”. On our day it was 21 °C which was fine without a wetsuit. The only hazards we encountered where the occasional small wakes from passing boats.

The headland we landed on is private land, there was noone around though and it’s not overlooked. There is a sign which politely asks that you don’t venture beyond the beach.

We used a GPS to track our actual route, this is my return swim (the two of us took turns swimming and paddling the canoe), we had been heading towards the wrong landmark so had to change direction half way! According to the GPS it was a 4km swim which took 1hr 15min.

Campsites in the Portes du Soleil

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The campsites around the Portes du Soleil are “fine”. However they cannot be compared to the really big campsites available around France. No swimming pools in the campsites around here! I’ve made a list as a resource.

Camping in the Haute Savoie

The best campsite in the Portes du Soleil is probably in Chatel.

Camping L’Oustalet 4*
http://www.oustalet.com/

For the Morzine area there are two. I know some people prefer the camping in Essert Romand, though Le Pré in Montriond offers better access to the river trail for bikes and dog walking.

Essert Romand
Camping Les Marmottes
http://www.campinglesmarmottes.com/

Montriond
Camping Le Pré 2*
http://www.savoie-mont-blanc.com/en/offre/fiche/camping-le-pre/74356

The best views are from this one in Les Gets, though it is quite a hike up the hill. No website that I can find.

Camping d’été La Grange Au Frêne
http://www.lesgets.com/les-gets/hebergement/campings.html

Camping in St Jean d’Aulps is just by the main road . It is walking distance from the shops though and it’s on the river trail and very near the stables for horse riding.

Camping Le Solerey
http://www.valleedaulps.com/camping-le-solerey-1.html

For short stays, there is the municipal camping at La Baume. It’s bound to be the cheapest option too.
Camping Municipal De La Baume, call 04 50 72 10 06, open July and August

camping 2

You don’t have to go far for some bigger and better options though.

Samoens
Camping Le Giffre 3*
http://www.camping-samoens.com/

Or there are a number down by Lac Léman (Lake Geneva). These two are by the beach at Excenevex.

Camping La Pinede 3*
http://www.camping-lac-leman.info/

Camping La Pourvoirie des Ellande 2*
http://www.camping-lac-leman.com/

Rain across the SE of France, the Haute Savoie gets flooded!

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After 36hrs of continuous rain the Haute Savoie has woken up to floods, damage and a fair amount of clearing up to do. According to the Dauphine Libere, the rainfall figures are:

– Est de l’AIN : 50 à 80 mm localement 130 mm à Chézery
– SAVOIE : 50 à 90 mm localement 140 mm (Valmorel, Aillon-le-jeune)
– HAUTE-SAVOIE : 60 à 100 mm localement 175 mm à Thônes, 190 mm aux Gets.
– ISÈRE : 50 à 80 mm sur le relief, localement 120 mm à St-Pierre-les-Egaux, 160 mm au Verney.

You’ll see that Les Gets takes the rather soggy biscuit.

I took this picture yesterday, the Passerelle in St Jean d’Aulps, shortly after the Commune turned up with a digger and removed it!

passerelle2

a before and after video of the bridge.

.and then this was taken the next day, if you watch you’ll see a big tree being uprooted.

I’ve been out this morning and taken quite a few pictures around Morzine and St Jean d’Aulps.

passerelle

This is the same spot, the bridge is gone, the river is twice as wide and the school is starting to lose its playground.

river trail 2

Further up the valley, this is the “river trail” across from Carrefour, or it was, it’s totally gone and there is no prospect of replacing it. If things carry on like this we’ll lose the road next.

river trail

More “river trail” pictures, this one is up by the Plagnettes roundabout. No sign of the trail here. This at least is repairable.

Plagnettes

Plagnettes again, near Morzine, the owners of the house probably had a sleepless night.

verd

Lac de Montriond and the Verdoyant.

montriond lac

The Bout du Lac end of the lac.

Les Mouilles

Near my house!

Some background to the episode here.

http://meteonews.fr/fr/News/N4270/Pluies-abondantes-en-France-ces-derniers-jours

The previous record for rainfall in Chamonix was 59mm (May 2010), this time they got 81mm. Les Gets got 190mm!

Extra Slippy Snow Forecast for this weekend?

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Watch out, if it snows this weekend, the roads may well turn out to be slippier than normal. I’ve experienced this a few times and wondered what was causing the effect. Is it because snow in spring is wetter? Is it the wrong sort of snow? In my opinion it’s neither. It’s probably just because your winter tyres have worn out.

I used to drive 15,000 km over the winter season. I always started off in November with fresh winter tyres and they would see me through the difficult months of December and January just fine. The roads would start to dry up and I’d drive through February and into March without a second thought. The occasional snow storm tends to blow through in March and April, the effects don’t last long down in the valleys but you will still need to be careful when out driving. 15,000km is probably the furthest you’ll manage on a set of snow tires (it could be less than 10,000km). The trouble is they still look fine at this point and are perfectly legal. They will probably have lost all their winter qualities though.

Obviously none of this will mean anything to you unless you actually look at how much tread there is left on your tyres. Something I can’t help doing to any car I see, it’s a leftover from my old job.

Here are some Winter Tyre facts and some opinion too.

When living in the Alps winter tyres on a 2WD are generally fine. In fact most of the time they handle better than 4WD cars even on snow.
If you have to deal with any hills then you’ll probably need a 4WD. I mean “real hills”, the main roads in the Alps don’t count. But beware. 4WD helps with traction up a hill but it won’t slow you down – in fact 4WD cars can be harder to handle downhill due to their weight. They won’t help you around corners either!
Snow tyres have 8mm of depth when new, 4/5mm when used, 1.6mm is the legal requirement. There will be two TWI’s (tread wear indicators), the winter one is not always that obvious.
M+S tyres are not a patch on Snowflakes. This might sound like gobbledegook. A winter tyre has a snowflake symbol, an “all year” tyre is often marked as M+S (mud and snow), these are not the same and not a patch on winter tyres. They lack the softer rubber and the sipes (see image below)! You see them frequently on the big 4WD’s from out of town. There is a link to a discussion on this subject here. and one from a manufacturer here.
Winter tyres are not good in summer so change them! They are worse than the worst summer tires you can buy. It’s tempting to run them whilst they are legal but it shows a total contempt towards your own safety.

Some people complain about the cost of winter tyres, the hassle of storing them and the fact the whole lot need changing 2x a year. The real running cost of tyres is about 1.5 cents per km winter tyres come out at about 2 cents per km. And remember, whilst you are using the winter tires the summer ones are being saved.

Some general links on the subject here.

http://tires.canadiantire.ca/en/info-centre/winterTiresBuyingGuide/

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/winter-traction-test-what-price-traction-the-bottom-line-page-4

The Snowflake and M+S marking are often seen together. If there is no snowflake, then you don’t have a winter tyre.

The treadwear indicators often look like this.

But they can look like this. These are easier to spot, when the tyre is worn out then a smooth line appears across the surface.

Here is a picture showing off tyre sipes. It links to lots more.

Why do I think I know what I’m talking about? I took my driving skills gained in the Police in the UK and also 2 seasons of driving transfer vehicles in the Alps to train new drivers for the Tour Operators. I did this for 10 years. I used and fully tested a huge range of vehicles in winter in that time, including all sorts of minibuses, 4WD’s, Land Rovers and company cars.

Snow Socks or Snow Chains?

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During the last snowfall I stopped to help someone who was stuck on the side of the road. They were struggling with their Snow Socks. I’ve always wondered about these things. Do they do the same job as a Snow Chain? This guy had put his snow socks on his front wheels, unfortunately he was driving a Mercedes, which was rear wheel drive. Now he was stuck and seemed to have a big issue on his hands. To move the Snow Socks from the front wheels to the back wheels he was having to jack the car up. In the snow, by the side of the road. Not a good day out. I’ve done a little research and have put the fruits of my labour down here.

Driving on snow in Snow Socks is better than using nothing at all.
Winter tyres are better. So if you have newish winter tyres, don’t put socks over the top.
Snow Chains beat them both for traction in very snowy conditions but some people find them hard to put on. My advice is to do some practice! My 12 yr old can get 2 chains on in 2 minutes. He’s available for hire…
If you cannot move your car, you can still put chains on and get going again. You’ll probably need a shovel to dig around the wheels but at least you can help yourself. However you cannot put Snow Socks on the wheels when you are stuck! Not without jacking up your car.
Snow Socks do count as “winter equipment” on the French roads and have done since 2010.

So, learn to put chains on. Put them on before you need them too. If this is beyond you then get some Snow Socks, they are much better than nothing. YOU WILL HAVE TO PUT THEM ON BEFORE YOU NEED THEM THOUGH and obviously on the drive wheels of the car! I’ve made a video here

There is a nice explanation of how to use Snow Socks here

Smoke Detectors in France

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The French government has decreed that smoke detectors must now be used in French properties. Apparently every property must have at least one smoke detector installed. Ideally the property will have smoke detectors fitted in each corridor and main hallways. The following page stipulates the regulations.

http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000027169390

Of course it goes into great detail as to what type of detector is OK. Basically if you buy them from any shop in Europe you should be fine as they will have to conform with the EU norms. It looks like you should let your insurer know what you have fitted and where too. There are penalties to deal with properties that burn down without the smoke detectors fitted (so you’ll have to prove they were) and liabilities if 3rd party damages are caused too!

Probably the best “plain english” description of the situation is to be found here.

http://www.insurance.fr/blog/smoke-detectorsalarms-required-march-2015

The smoke protector pictured costs slightly more than the most basic, it’s positioned in the main living area and when it is triggered all the other smoke alarms in the house go off at that same time. Not rocket science.

New development in St Gervais

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La Folie Douce, a new ambiance for St Gervais.

So with winter fast approaching, there are a few new developments this season in St Gervais. Last year, the gondola cars were replaced between the town and the Bettex, and this year the Mont Joux chair has been upgraded to a new, faster, 6-man chair lift. This will be especially appreciated during the peak season as it’s a popular area.

At the top of the chair, the old Mont Joux restaurant has been completely changed. It is now La Folie Douce – loosely translated as “the Gentle Craziness”. For those who have previously been to Val d’Isère, Val Thorens, Méribel or Alpe d’Huez, they may have already come across La Folie Douce, a concept that started over 30 years ago. Luc Reversade, a former ski instructor, founded the first one in Val d’isere and it’s reputation has grown and spread to other resorts. It is now seen as “the place” for après ski.

Now it’s the turn of St Gervais where, at over 2000m just off the new Mont Joux chair, there will be the 5th Folie Douce. It will consist of 2 restaurants, one called “La Fruitière” with quality dining and a more low key self service style restaurant called “La petite Cuisine”. The key component with La Folie Douce, is that as well as a restaurant, it’s an outdoor music and clubbing zone.

Image used with permission of La Folie Douce

La Folie Douce will have DJ’s, live music and cabarets, which will be no doubt especially appreciated by young people, but apparently aimed at all ages groups. It’s about having a drink, listening to music in a fabulous setting, dancing and soaking up the atmosphere and coolness. Every day after lunch the St Gervais Folie Douce will provide a lively party atmosphere which will continue until the ski lifts’ closing time.

St Gervais has traditionally been a family resort, and Megève, which is linked into the same ski area, has always held a high-end, classy reputation, so this new venture shows an openness to branching out and innovating. As with any change however, some St Gervais associations and locals are less than impressed. They fear the (potentially far reaching) noise that the venue could create, and say it could detract from the peacefulness of the mountains. Given that St Gervais’ slogan is “la montagne à l’état pur”, “The mountain in it’s pure form”, it is debatable whether having House music blaring from the roof tops, will quite mesh comfortably with this ethos.

Other detractors comment that turfing out a load of drunk youths at lift closing time, causing them to funnel down the easy beginner’s run on the St Gervais side (Chateluy), could lead to overcrowded sections and increased accidents. However, as other mountain restaurants bar/cafés have served alcohol and also close at the same time, there is no reason why this should be the case.

The Maire of St Gervais, Jean Marc Peillex, has also been quick to defend the project and says it will operate within normal ski area opening times and within a framework. He doesn’t believe there’s any reason why it should be a bad thing. The project will also create around 40 jobs.

This season it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Hopefully La Folie Douce will be a lively place with an uplifting atmosphere, enhancing people’s enjoyment of their holidays without having a negative impact. It will help keep St Gervais fresh and attract a new younger generation of holidaymakers which is important in securing any resort’s future.

If nothing else, St Gervais is demonstrating it’s ahead of the curve. Some much “flashier” and better known resorts such as a Verbier, and Zermatt aren’t due to get their Folie Douce until the next few years.

St Gervais’ La Folie Douce will be ready to open its doors on the 20th December 2014 as the season kicks off.

A refuge in the Alps

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Taking time out to go and visit an Alpine Refuge could well be one of the most memorable things you can do in the Alps. I try and visit one each year with my family and these trips never fail to disappoint. In fact I’ve been visiting refuges for the last 20 years, summer and winter, manned or not, I think each has left a memory to treasure.

Refuge Vogealle, nr Samoens

What is a refuge?

I used to call them “huts” but the term tends to confuse the uninitiated. In fact I’ve just done a quick web search and Wikipedia has a long article on the subject here the term “Refuge” is hardly mentioned. The problem with calling them Mountain Huts is this really doesn’t do them justice. Many of them are extremely well appointed with small dorms or bedrooms, inside toilets and 3 course meals served every evening. The latest ones do have hot showers too but unless they are heated via the local hot spring I won’t be using them (please see Eco Living? below).

Sleeping arrangements at the Vogealle

Where do I sleep?

The traditional refuges have communal dorms, long sleeping platforms provided with pillows and blankets. The major downside with these is people that snore. You would be well advised to take some ear-plugs! Refuges that have been renovated in the last few years will probably have bedrooms that sleep 6/8 people. These are ideal for most groups and families and reduce the noise considerably. These more modern places may have duvets instead of blankets too. Either way, you will need to use a sheet sleeping bag.

Sometimes more closely related to a high mountain hotel!

What to take?

Refuges are not hotels, but then again they are not bothies either. So what should you take? Beyond your “normal” day kit for the mountains you probably only need to take a sheet sleeping bag, either to protect the duvets and reduce the requirement for laundering or to make the itchy blankets a little more comfortable. I usually take a fresh t-shirt, socks and underwear for the evening and don’t forget most of them are at quite an altitude so the evening might be quite chilly. A torch can be essential, especially if the toilets are outside. But whatever you do, try and travel light, the less you have to carry the more you will enjoy the walk!

Bouquetin near the Refuge Presset

Which refuge?

I live in the Haute Savoie so my recommendations are based on this. In the Massif du Mont-Blanc alone there are 50 to choose from, there is loads of information on the web and a book that covers them all too. I’ll cover a few here:

The following have shortish walks so would suit families.

Refuge de Loriaz, Chamonix, old style
http://www.refuges.info/point/370/refuge-garde/aiguilles-rouges/refuge-de-loriaz/
2 hrs of walking, 680m of climbing (from the valley) or start from the dam at Emosson, same time but much easier walk.

Refuge Tinderets, near Chatel, old style
http://www.refuge-abondance.com/
1 hr, 295m, very basic, very lovely

Refuge Folly, Samoens, old style but with small dorms and fresh food.
http://refuge-du-folly.perso.neuf.fr
2hr15min, 561m, lovely spot, donkeys for the kids to play with too. These guys are running an old refuge but with excellent eco-credentials. Have a look at the “Ecologie” page on their website.

Refuge de Varan, Passy (nr Chamonix)
http://www.varan.tourdesfiz.com/
1hr45min and 520m, amazing views of Mt Blanc.

Walk to Refuge Presset

These two are a little farther to walk, maybe best left to the more experienced.

Refuge de la Vogealle, 1902m, Samoens, recently renovated
http://www.refugedelavogealle.com/acces.html
3hrs15min, 950m of ascent, a really smart refuge in a great location.

Refuge de Presset, 2514m, near Beaufort (Savoie), brand new
http://refugedepresset.ffcam.fr/
A CAF (Club Alpin Francais) refuge, discounts for members. Various routes 800m of climbing, about 3hrs.

Monta Rosa Refuge 2,795m sleeps 120 near Zermatt

Eco Living?

Placing a building that can accommodate up to 100 people high in the mountains will have an obvious impact on the environment. The most extreme example is the new Refuge du Gouter, at 3,835m altitude on Mt Blanc, it accommodates 120 climbers each night. There is no running water so most of it is collected as snow and melted. Although the building is covered is solar panels the energy uses by this number of people is enormous. The very latest technology is being used to mitigate the impact but the people using the facilities need to be educated too and foregoing a hot shower for one night will go a long way! The other step forward the modern refuges have made is how they deal with the toilet facilities. Nowadays they have managed to bring the toilets inside the buildings and make them water free. A huge advance on the old system which I won’t be describing here.

Books and games to pass the time

Swimming in the Haute Savoie

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The French Alps are known for the mountains. Most of our activities involve climbing up and down the Alps, skiing, walking or biking. Sometimes it’s easy to forget the mountains make a beautiful backdrop to the many swimming and watersports opportunities too. During the short summer months the Alpine lakes and numerous outdoor swimming pools come into their own.

At the end of the winter I decided to enter the Traversée du Lac d’Annecy, an annual event held on the “Quinze Août” a bank holiday in France. Over 2000 people take part in various swims across the lake with distances of 1km, 2.4km and 5km. As a result this summer has been a summer of water for me. I started my training in May in Thonon les Bains. The “Thonon Plage” could be one of the best swimming pools I’ve ever been too. Even in May they have two heated pools, a 50m pool and a 25m laned training pool. The main pool is surrounded by a glass wall which creates a sun trap. The 25m pool is surrounded by hardwood decking and thanks to the lack of surrounding wall it gives the impression of an infinite pool with just Lac Leman as the backdrop. This picture was taken on a cold windy day. The pool was 28C and I had it to myself for an hour. Not bad for the entry price of 3.20€. In July an open water swim starts and finishes at the plage, the “Rives Ripaille“.

Just up the road is the swimming pool at Evian, “Evian plage”, again 50m and surrounded by beautifully manicured grass. Once the lake has warmed up there is a secure swimming area in the Lac Leman too. This doesn’t happen until about July at which point the lake temperature is about 21C. This pool is great for the kids as the (free) slide is enormous and will keep them occupied for hours. Wind direction and temperatures are available from windspots.com.

evian swimming pool

Morzine swimming pool is the most local to me. Oddly I don’t have any photos of it! There is a new (opened in 2012) 25m indoor pool and in July and August the 50m open air pool is open too. The “Club des Nageurs Morzinois” is one of the summer only swimming squads in the area. There are others nearby in Samoens, Evian and La Roche-sur-Foron. These “club estivale” only train outdoors and compete against each other for the 2 summer months. This suits many of the squad as they spend more of their year on skis! Thanks to Morzine’s new-found status as a triathlon training venue you could easily end up swimming next to the likes of Jodie Stimpson and Alistair Brownlee. Stimpson in particular seems to have spent most of summer 2014 training around and about. Maybe it’s the altitude they like?

Or perhaps it’s the Lac de Montriond? A 1km long lake just 5 minutes outside of Morzine. Quiet and thanks to its altitude (1057m) this summer it has been rather cold. Summer 2014 has not been a good summer, we have had no period of sustained heat to warm the higher mountain lakes. I’d be surprised if it made it over 15C. I swam a length in June but even with a wetsuit that was a bit of a trial.

Lac de Passy is well-known to swimmers and triathletes from Chamonix. It has hosted the Mont Blanc Triathlon for several years now. 2014 saw the first edition of the Traversée du Lac de Passy too. The water is clean and thanks to its lower altitude (550m) it often hits 23C in a warm summer.

There is a beach, café and some miniature boats for the kids to play in.

Lake Annecy is world renowned and has plenty of beaches and access points. The most well-known is the “Plage de l’Imperial” which is surrounded by plenty of parking. Further along the east side are beaches at Veyrier-du-lac and Menthon too. Thanks to it’s lowly height (445m), shallow sandy bottom and large surface area it’s another warm lake, the temperature of the water can be found on the web, it’s updated every couple of minutes on the annecy-meto site. Considering it was August. This year’s Lake Annecy swim was pretty cold, even then the water was still 20C so it was better in the water than out!

The Alpine Property Blog

Selling properties in the Alps since 1999

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Chalet d’alpage, a little history.

Swimming across Lac Leman

Swimming across lac Léman

Campsites in the Portes du Soleil

Rain across the SE of France, the Haute Savoie gets flooded!

Extra Slippy Snow Forecast for this weekend?

Snow Socks or Snow Chains?

Smoke Detectors in France

New development in St Gervais

La Folie Douce, a new ambiance for St Gervais.

A refuge in the Alps

What is a refuge?

Where do I sleep?

What to take?

Which refuge?

Eco Living?

Swimming in the Haute Savoie