Tag Archives: chamonix

Mont-Blanc shrinks to 4,808.73m

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Today’s big news. The height of Mont Blanc is 129 cm lower than in 2013. Read on for the full story:

Mont Blanc was First climbed on August 8 1786. In 1863, the official height was measured as 4807 meters.  At some point after then it became 4809m. That’s the height given by Wikipedia. Now it is recognised as 4810m. The IGN (Institut Géographique National) have it at this height on their maps. You can take a look here.

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Every two years since since 2001 the height of Mont Blanc has been measured to keep a track of the amount of snow on the summit. The result so far.

2001 : 4 810,40 m
2003 : 4 808,45 m
2005 : 4 808,75 m
2007 : 4 810,90 m
2009 : 4 810,45 m
2011 : 4 810,44 m
2013 : 4 810,02 m
2015 : 4 808,73 m

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A full report on the current measurement can be found on the Dauphine Libere website. http://www.ledauphine.com/haute-savoie/2015/09/10/l-altitude-du-mont-blanc-mesuree-a-4-808-73-metres. In fact the height of the solid bit (rock not snow) is only 4 792m, the rest is the snow cover, up to 18m of it! The summit moves around depending on the prevailing wind and amount of precipitation.  In 2009 the summit was 34 m further East than now.

September is the time of year when there is least snow on the mountain. This does not tally with the height measured in May (greatest snow depth) of this year at 4807,88m. The discrepancy is probably down to the winds.

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These pictures where all taken on a ski trip to the summit in June 2009. the top one shows the route. The summer walking route takes a different line.

 

 

 

Property Prices across the Haute Savoie

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I am often asked about current and historical property pricing data in the Haute Savoie. It is a fair question. In the UK very accurate and open data is available. The answer for France is not quite so straightforward. The Notaires collect all the data, it is publicly available on a broad scale. More accurate information is available on a pay basis, it’s not easy to get though. the free stuff has to be read with caution!

Below is a coloured map of the Haute Savoie, the redder the colour the more expensive the commune. It makes sense, Chamonix, Megeve, La Clusaz, Annecy  and Les Gets come out as the most expensive. Followed by Morzine, Combloux and the rest of the Chamonix valley. Manigod, Le Grand Bornand and  Chatel follow along after that. Samoens should be in that last group too but a quirk of stats has knocked it down a peg.

prix immo

You can click on the image and make it huge or go to the website I took it from.

http://www.meilleursagents.com/prix-immobilier/bonneville-74130/

Take the actual value/m2 with a pinch of salt, this always reads too low in our experience. The price trend graph looks about right though. But read the title, it is for the whole of the Haute Savoie and not for each commune as it seems to suggest on the website! So it shows a massive price increase between 1999 and 2007, a small drop for the following 2 years and then stability. We think this will start to climb again at the end of 2015 and into 2016 driven by the weakened Euro compared to Sterling.

property price evolution

If you zoom out a bit on the commune map you start to see what sort of bubble there is in the ski areas. We already know that you only have to drive 15 minutes from the resort to see the prices half, well looking at this and you’ll see you have to drive an hour from the resort and the prices drop to 25%.

prix immo 2

Good reasons to buy in the Alps

The first one is in The Times, it’s topical as it features Vallorcine (see Chalet Regards above) in it’s article “Where to ski this winter”. Here is a link to the article, and a little image too.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/travel/holidays/wintersports/article3885982.ece

The Telegraph has the “Worlds best ski runs”, the Haute Savoie gets one, the Swiss Wall in Champery, though they claim it’s in Avoriaz, France, doh!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/snowandski/features/10356840/The-worlds-best-ski-runs.html

and the best family ski resorts, Avoriaz again and Flaine.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/snowandski/10339051/The-best-family-ski-resorts.html

The Guardian went left-field with an article by Andrew Gilchrist, very engaging too with loads of comments.

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/oct/04/italian-dolomites-ski-snowboard-safari

Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc update

Here are some images from the 168km Ultra Trail race that took place last weekend in the Mont Blanc area.

Competitors left Chamonix at 4.30pm Friday and these pictures are from the first feed station in St Gervais. The earliest runners reached it in under 2 hours. Volunteers, friends and family lined the street to cheer them on, very conscious of the mental and physical challenges that lay ahead: to get through the entire night and following day, running. Just running.

After St Gervais, participants were headed for Les Contamines and then over the col de Croix de bonhomme into Italy and finally through Switzerland back to Chamonix.

 The Frenchman Xavier THEVENARD, won the race after 20:34 hours.

My friend who took part said it was the single most difficult thing she has ever done in her life. She finished after 37.58 hours, coming 11th in her category which is amazing in itself given she has only seriously taken up running a few years ago after the birth of her second child. When I saw her Sunday afternoon she was understandably beyond exhausted having had just a few hours sleep since completing the equivalent of ascending twice Mt Blanc from sea level and running 100 miles.

‘The last 10 hours of the race were brutal and no longer enjoyable’ she reckoned, as I struggled to comprehend how any of it can be undertaken for fun. My hat goes off to this busy mum of two young children, for completing this monumental event and for returning to work as a full time cardiac nurse after a day’s rest!

Next time my 10k runs drags on, I will think of her. Bravo to everyone who took part!

On of the pictures above is of David Kadunc who was came 27th overall with 25.35 hours of running.

The Chamonix Trail Running Jamboree

If you fancy stretching your legs this week, then look no further than the North Face races.

A now yearly occasion, the 4 events are taking place in and around the Mont Blanc area, departing and finishing in Chamonix.

Today, 28th August the TDS and PTL races are currently happening and on Friday 30th, it is the turn of the UTMB and CCC.

In summary the races are:

UTMB- Ultra trail du Mont Blanc – 168km ,9600m of ascent

CCC-  Courmayeur Champex Chamonix – 100km , 5950m of ascent

TDS- Traces des ducs de Savoie  – 119km, 7250m of ascent

PTL – Petite trotte à Leon  – 300km, 24,000m of ascent – done in teams.

the fountian

The UTMB, starts in Chamonix, passes through Les Houches, St Gervais, Les Contamines before going over the col Croix de bonhomme to descend into Italy and Courmayeur and then on to Switzerland. It largely follows the Tour du Mont blanc route, one of Europe’s most popular long walks that takes an average of 7-11 days to complete.

Runners of the UTMB will however, be attempting to do this well within 46 hours. The quickest of them will finish in about 21.30 hours.

Starting this Friday at 4.30pm in Chamonix, the runners are expected to pass through St Gervais from about 6-8pm and then in Les Contamines from 7-10.30pm. There’s usually a very emotional and electric atmosphere in the village when spectators witness the 2,300 contestants coming down from the ridge that separate St Gervais from the Chamonix valley. Supporters line the streets to cheer and offer encouragement knowing that these incredibly fit participants are going to run through the night, the next day and the following night to finish no later than 2.30pm Sunday afternoon.

I will be watching the event on Friday so will post some images from the feed station in St Gervais.

In the meantime if you want more information then seehttp://www.ultratrailmb.com/ or to follow the events in real time herehttp://utmb.livetrail.net/

We currently have Chalet Fontaine, smack bang on the Tour de Mont Blanc route and close to the UTMB trail. I live 2 doors down from this property and watch from my decking the hikers with backpacks and sticks walk in the direction of Les Contamines through out the summer months. Almost everyone stops at the fountain to fill their water bottles and take pictures of the lovely hamlet. The picture above is of the fountain in winter. Chalet Fontaine is just out of sight.

Chalet Fontaine can be viewed here: http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=prop_3_chaletfontaine1&lang=en&hist=page_searchXreg_6Xlang_en

Police patrols above Chamonix

Europe’s highest peak Mont Blanc, towering over the valleys of Chamonix, St Gervais and Les Contamines in France and that of Aosta on the Italian side, stands at 4,810m2 high. Though visually very much part of the Chamonix mountain range, the administration of the mountain is shared with the town of Saint Gervais and Courmayeur in Italy, with St Gervais having the largest share of the area. It is therefore the Maire of St Gervais, currently Jean-Marc Peillex who decides on matters of safety and access of the mountain (and, not Chamonix as many people think).

Since it was first climbed by 1786 by Paccard and Balmat, whose names you will see gracing the streets in both Chamonix and St Gervais (Place Balmat, Avenue Paccard), it has seen the likes of US president Roosevelt in 1886 and countless others, make attempts to the summit. Today, 20,000 people ascend on average each year during the summer months.

Many consider it a reasonably easy mountain to climb, with some routes being long , but not technically difficult for fit, acclimatised people. Despite this, the rescue service flies an average of 12 times during peak weekends in summer to assist people who are often ill equipped or ill prepared and there are many fatalities.

For 10 years, St Gervais’ Maire has campaigned for better monitoring of the situation. Finally, the Prefet of Haute Savoie- the region in which Mont Blanc is located, has just announced that the 2 mains routes up to the summit via the Gouter and Three Monts will be manned by the Gendarmes (PGHM) during this June through to September.

Whilst putting police on high mountains could be considered extreme, much of their intent is to inform and educate climbers on best practice, mountain safety, ecology and to prevent problems. This will be achieved by reviewing people’s kit, fitness and advising on the weather for summit ascents. They will also play a part in protecting the site from an environmental perspective by keeping an eye out for illegal bivouacking which is only authorised at Tete Rousse.

In addition to this, St Gervais is providing 4 “ambassadors” who will offer tourists information. They will be stationed at the Tramway du Mont Blanc that passes through St Gervais town on the way up to Nid D’aigle and at the Tete Rousse hut. These measures are hoped to reduce accidents and manage an increasingly busy area.

The announcement of police on the mountain has been met with mixed reactions; Some are concerned about preserving what should be a pure sport and wonder whether the future holds a ‘copper behind every rock’ as one internet commentary read; Others, consider that the sheer number of people visiting the area demands some management for the good of all.

Some of our properties with the best view of Mont Blanc include: Chalet Tagues, Chalet Grepon, Chalet Champoutant, Chalet Mont Blanc, Chalet Bossons, Chalet Joux and Chalet Chouette, and check out our “Views to cry for” here http://pinterest.com/alpineproperty/views-to-cry-for/ on pinterest from past and present places.