Tag Archives: morzine

Cycle paths in the Alps (or the lack of them)

#See the note at the bottom, it seems the council has been listening to my dreams!

I’m not talking about mountain bike tracks here. I’m talking about transport. At the moment cyclists mostly share the alpine roads with motor vehicles. On the mountain cols that can work OK. Unfortunately, as the valley roads get busier and busier tensions between the two communities rise. And before I polarise this discussion, it should be remembered that almost all the cyclists drive cars too! And some of the drivers ride bikes. So these two communities are really one community.

Between Morzine and Les Gets, my dream, nothing more at the moment © Please do not reproduce this image!

We see all the new investment being spent on skiing, on snowmaking, ski-lifts, new pistes. Not forgetting the new buildings, chalets and apartments. It’s easy to see the link between investment and return. This is not a criticism, I understand the business. We are used to seeing money being spent on new tarmac, new roads, bridges, tunnels. We don’t question this necessity. But I think we are missing a trick.

Between Morzine and Les Gets, the solid blue line exists as a gravel track. The rest is just a suggestion.

We all rely on the mountains to “provide”, we know that they offer more than just skiing. I came here 20 years ago looking for mountains (not skiing). Skiing provided the industry to pay the bills. At that time I was in the minority. Now it’s normal. Now the majority come to these valleys for the mountains. They might ski but they will also bike, run, swim, climb…the list is long. There needs to be a change of emphasis in investment to reflect this.

Cycle paths

I don’t need to state that more people are cycling on the alpine roads. It’s obvious. Many, many times more than 20 years ago. And now we have e-bikes too. Yet another explosion, and this is just the start. All across Europe, there is fantastic cycling infrastructure being created. If you have never been to the Netherlands on a bike, I recommend it. It’s another world. Even closer to home, just the other side of Lac Leman you never have to ride on a busy road. Almost no expense has been spared to keep powered and non-powered transport separate.

Wooden cycle bridge — Pont Rotary on route 5 in Switzerland, for walkers, bikes, roller skis or skates!

But it’s not just in Switzerland. France is catching up too. Near us is the mighty ViaRhona, 815km from Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) to the Mediterranean. There is still work to do around Lac Léman, but the section I rode this summer from Geneva to Lyon was either on smooth cycle tracks like the one pictured below or quiet side roads.

*Pont du Lit au Roi on the Via Rhona cyle track, pretty much the “middle of nowhere”.*

The bridge in the next image is due to be finished by the end of the year. Again, on the ViaRhona, it’s an investment of 1.8m€ so the cyclists can avoid a busy road. More information here https://www.savoie.fr/entre-la-balme-et-virignin and a reportage here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXCBQJwI9DI

A 170m bridge being constructed on the Via Rhona

At a departmental level there is progress being made. From Chamonix to Geneva the Véloroute Léman Mont-Blanc is progressing well. The Tour du Lac d’Annecy and Annecy to Thones too. There is more information on this dedicated website. http://veloenhautesavoie.com/plan-departemental-74-velo-voies-vertes/

The cycle tracks under construction in the Haute Savoie.

It’s not just national infrastructure either. In the Abondance valley the local municipalities have got together and linked the quiet roads from one end of the valley to the other. 20km in all. An excellent job.

It wasn’t all easy. This section of raised route clings to the side of the river valley, to avoid the main road on the other side. Unfortunately, it is not a route that is likely to attract the dedicated road cyclist. To do that it would have to have a smoother surface.

However, it is at the Municipal level that progress is much slower. There is so much more work to be done, and some very particular “pinch points”. One of the worst is from Morzine to Les Gets. Two villages only separated by 5km, but if you are a cyclist it’s a very unpleasant section. People even try and walk it, sometimes with tragic consequences. The first two pictures in this blog illustrate what could be done. It should not have to be a dream. It should be a priority. There are plenty of others. Morzine to St Jean d’Aulps, Samoens to Taninges, I could go on.

This sort of thing should not be an afterthought anymore. Cycle provision should be a priority. It does pay too. If the local municipalities prioritise this sort of infrastructure the visitors will appreciate it as much as the local inhabitants. And that is good business!

# It looks like Morzine and Les Gets municipal councils have mobilised to create something ambitious. Excellent! Have a look at this article for more information! https://c.ledauphine.com/culture-loisirs/2020/10/08/une-voie-verte-pour-securiser-les-cyclistes-entre-les-gets-et-morzine

Opening the pistes in Morzine

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Have you ever looked on in envy as you are waiting to go up the ski lift? Looked at one or two lonely tracks down through the powder. These have probably been left by the “pisteurs” checking the piste over before the lift is cleared to open. In Morzine you can do this yourself. Each Wednesday throughout the season you can sign up to join a small group to accompany the Pisteur secouriste (ski patrol) for the “overture des pistes”. And what’s more it’s free! The only hard bit is getting our of bed early enough to meet at the lift at 8am!

Ouverture des pistes

Morzine Source Magazine arranged for a group of business owners and workers from Morzine to join in this excellent activity. So 15 of us met Michel from the Morzine team at the base of the Pleney lift. We were also met by fresh snow and good weather. What more could we ask for?

As promised we set off down our private freshly groomed piste. In fact in places the groomers (dameuse de neige) were still hard at work. This provided Michel with a good opportunity to warn us of the dangers of venturing out on the pistes when they are closed. These grooming machines often work attached to cables that are up to 1km long! If you don’t know what I am talking about I highly recommend watching this film that demonstrates their use. It’s a pertinent warning as some local ski tourers were seriously injured in this valley by one of these cables a few years ago.

We’ve had so much snow in the Portes du Soleil recently that they were having to dig out the chair lifts! Using the piste machine is certainly quicker than digging.

But what is a “Jalon”?

As we went down the piste Michel zig zagged from one side to the other re-positioning the piste markers, signs and fences that had been buried by the snow or moved out of the way for the grooming operations. He was particularly keen to ask that people read and follow the signage. It’s obvious really, however as we all know, when on holiday there are many that like to leave the rules at home.

We all managed to learn a new French word too, “jalon”, which in this context translates as “stake”, these are the sticks that mark the sides of the piste. As opposed to the larger metal piste signs that have the name of the piste marked on them and a number. These jalon have orange tips on the right hand side of the piste and just one colour on the left. This is useful to know in a whiteout.

This was also a good time to explain one of the basic emergency procedures when out skiing. If someone is injured on a piste and you need help, then note the number and name of the piste visible on a nearby piste marker. When this information is relayed to the ski patrol they’ll be able to find the incident without any problem. These markers start at #1, at the bottom piste, Here we are stood at #9, on piste “B” the rather uninspired name of the “home run” in Morzine.

By the time we reached the bottom of the run it was 8.45am and the lift was just opening for the public. Michel radioed through to his office that the piste “B” was now open. This is something that is done for each piste in the area. The time and the name of the Secouriste that checked the piste is noted on a central register. If there is a serious incident and the police are called upon to investigate, this information forms part of their evidence.

First tracks

Back at the top Michel checked that we were all happy to ski a black run. This is not obligatory, however in his words “it can’t be all work can it?” As far as we could tell, so far none of this could be counted as work 😜NB. see note below. Though he did follow this up with a reminder that when it is the school holidays and the pistes are icy, his job becomes very busy indeed. So off we went putting first tracks down one of Morzine’s superb tree-lined powder runs.

We went back up the lift for a 3rd time, by now it was 9.30am and the pistes were transformed by the crowds gathering for ski school. Michel invited us into his newly built First Aid post for a coffee to finish a very interesting and enjoyable few hours. If you would like to take part then you can find more information about this event on the Morzine-Avoriaz website in English or French.

https://www.morzine-avoriaz.com/ouverture-des-pistes-en-compagnie-d-un-pisteur-secouriste

https://en.morzine-avoriaz.com/agenda-ski-slopes-opening

Seriously

The Pisteur secouristes in our area are having a hard time this season. Michel was very upbeat which was great. However in the last couple of weeks 4 have died in 3 separate incidents in France. 3 of them on our doorstep. I raised this question with another pisteur, and asked if this was just an unfortunate coincidence. He responded that thanks to the abundant snow falls in the last couple of weeks he had not seen any life outside of his work. 6am starts and getting home at 7pm after hard physical days. Combine that with a job that can involve having to work with explosives and ski in some very hazardous terrain and there might be a link. So keep this in mind next time you see the first tracks down the piste, or when you are held back from an area because of the risk of avalanche. These resort workers are literally putting their lives on the line to keep us all safe.

There is only one marker #21 on the Follys piste in St Jean d’Aulps!

An apartment for all budgets in Morzine !

New Ski Lift News in Morzine and the Portes du Soleil

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Back in April 2009 I first wrote about the proposed lift linking Morzine to Prodains (and then Avoriaz)…AKA “l’Express Morzine-Avoriaz”. It was part of a clutch of integrated projects the Mairie was proposing. The Department’s application for the Winter Olympics failed and it was suggested the l’Express Morzine-Avoriaz would fall by the wayside with that.

In that earlier blog I listed the projects.

1. The current Prodains lift is due to be replaced, it is old, inefficient and some say it is condemned thanks to the fact it sits (just) within a rockfall zone. NOW DONE.

2. The whole of the Prodains area need redeveloping, it was too busy for the current infrastructure. SOME OF THIS WAS DONE AS PART OF #1.

3. The county (Haute Savoie) has just won the opportunity to bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. WE LOST OUT TO PYEONGCHANG..it’s next year!

4. Avoriaz is just starting a fairly major expansion and remodelling. We have some of the new apartments for sale. NOW DONE.

However despite this the Morzine to Prodains project continued to chug along. In 2013 they produced a video presentation.

There have been various local objections but the Mairie and most everyone else I speak to is still behind it, last month a question and answer article appeared in one of the local papers.

http://www.lemessager.fr/chablais/a-morzine-la-creation-d-un-telepherique

In short the article says.

1 . The Express Morzine-Avoriaz will form part of a massive redevelopment on the parking area between the Post Office and the Rue du Bourg. This will include a new bus station, parking and social housing.

2 . The link will cut down on the 320 bus movements and speed up getting from Morzine to Avoriaz. It’s planned for 2020/21 and is projected to cost €50 million.

3 . The operating company for Avoriaz will pay for it.

4 . There are plans to extend Avoriaz beyond what was done in 2010, another 2,000 beds, thanks to Club Med and Pierre et Vacances.

So it is obviously still on the cards. Locally the Mairie is pushing the environmental and the business case. Both these arguments hold a lot of water with the local Regional government. In addition the Mayor is making the point that Morzine is in fact a business. Last year’s poor snow season is helping further this argument. For a skier staying in Morzine the quicker they can get to Avoriaz the better!

In other news.

The Swiss side of the Portes du Soleil reports 107 million CHF of planned investment over the next 10 years. More information here.

https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/forums/Les Portes du Soleil pg 58

Les Gets Mairie has approved almost €9m of work for their area. The bulk of which is the replacement of the main Ranfolly chair.

https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/forums/Les Portes du Soleil pg 54

The liaison from St Jean d’Aulps to Les Gets is still being discussed in the face of considerable environmental opposition.

http://www.lemessager.fr/chablais/liaison-les-gets-saint-jean-d-aulps-necessite-ou-heresie

Property Prices across the Haute Savoie

Campsites in the Portes du Soleil

Linen, beds and interiors for your new Alpine Property?

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Now that you have bought your dream Alpine property – it needs to be kitted out…..where do you start? This is a question that Victoria Taylor asked herself a few years ago and failing to find the answer she started her own company with Anthony (her husband) to plug a gap in the market. So look no further, now 6 years on and thriving, Linge des Alpes – Supplier of Linen, beds & Interiors.

Linge des Alpes takes the hassle out of kitting out or updating your chalet with quality beds, bed linen, duvets, towels and chairs/sofas.

Linge des Alpes have been the exclusive French distributor for Mitre Linen UK since 2008. Mitre are a leading wholesale hotel linen supplier in UK and Europe with honour of the Royal Warrant. They have a large range to offer and it is divided into LUXURY, COMFORT and ESSENTIALS to suit all clientele. Victoria is more than happy to chat with you about your requirements and will even help you choose the most suitable items for your property. She says “comfortable pillows are so important to a good night’s sleep”.

What do Mitre Linen sell – Sheets, Duvet Covers, Duvets, Pillows, mattress protectors, wooden hangers, bed runners, bathrobes, slippers, towels, tablecloths and tea-towels. You can view their website here.

After popular demand their clients were looking for comfortable British made beds. Their most popular bed is the Vogue Bed Company – PLATINUM 1500 POCKET SPRING – the feedback is so positive from holiday makers who have a great night sleep, this makes all the different to the holiday experience. They sell a lot of zip n link beds as this give versatility to selling a holiday – to either singles or couples. Winter & Summer Side. 90x190cm = 180x190cm Zip n link Bed Set with quality damask or suede fabric covered base and delivered to your chalet is from 939.35€ HT (2 single Z/L beds).

Also available are the amazing SPORTS THERAPY MATTRESSES

Cow hide is very popular in chalets. Holiday makers are looking for the alpine feel in a chalet. Gone are the days of red hearts everywhere, people want the real thing – cow hide. Anthony has selected a large range of cow hide chairs and he recommends you “choose your own hide”.

Victoria organises all the deliveries to suit your time frame and liaises with tour operators to make sure you are buying what is required to maximise rental potential for your Alpine property.

Should this be of interest to you or you would like to order, please contact Victoria and Anthony anytime on + 06 43 22 28 27 or victoria@lingedesalpes.com or visit her website.

They pride themselves on service and quality. You can even visit them at their office/showroom in Essert Romand (5 mins from Morzine) to discuss your requirements, otherwise you can communicate via email and phone.

Skiing and Saving: Renting your Alpine Property!

The apartment itself is set up for the rental market and has a solid existing client base, as well as a website that can be transferred to the new owner. With about €14,500 taken in bookings already for the season 2013/14 (which would be passed directly to the new owner), this property comes with a guaranteed return-on-investment of 5% GROSS ROI for the coming season.. That’s 10 times better than the Bank of England’s rate!

Chalet Frollie: €695,000 This 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom chalet is perfect for the rental market. Low maintenance, it means that management from afar is very low-hassle. Less than 5 minutes walk from the nearest ski-lift and the village centre ensures all the action is nearby, but the chalet itself is in a nice quiet neighbourhood. Perfect for family rentals! With an annual turnover close to €35,000, a solid client base and an established website, this chalet also offers a fabulous investment opportunity.

If you’d like to know what the annual costs are associated with these rentals please let me know via the contact form on our website. This will make the NET ROI easy to work out. It’ll beat the current rate of inflation which is 2.4% and that leaves capital appreciation which is doing well at the moment.

With the massive growth seen lately in road biking and triathlon holidays boosting summer rentals, and the well established family and mountain biking holidays the investment potential of a property in the Alps can only continue to grow!

We’ve written an article here on the different ways to gain a rental return.

Renting Property in the Alps, advice and tips

Virtually all the properties we sell are sold freehold and there will not be any restrictions on renting, in fact gaining a rental return is an essential part of many peoples requirements.

As far as renting via an agency is concerned there are many to choose from. It really depends on which town you are considering. Much of what I have written below is Portes du Soleil biased, this is where I work!

There are a number rental options, each with advantages and disadvantages. They are not all available to all properties! I will list them as I see them. The first offers lowest risk for least return, the balance moves from return to risk as you descend the list!

Renting Options

OPTION 1a. You can choose to rent your apartment on a yearly basis, for a fixed fee to a company that specialises in self-catering holidays. You can negotiate some weeks for yourself or you can negotiate a discount for weeks you want to rent.

Example: Alptitude, a specialist in Morzine
http://www.alptitude.com

Advantages:

Most secure form of rental return
If you choose the tenant carefully they will look after the property well, dealing with maintenance issues, taxes, Internet etc.
Minimum input from the owner

Disadvantages

Offers the lowest returns
Property will need to be in a good location, this type of company will see that as a priority.

OPTION 1b. Similar to the option above but with a little more risk. There are some companies that specialise in finding long term lets aimed at “saisonniers”, so people who rent for the whole season. You will need to check the tenants in at the start of the season and out at the end but beyond that it should be hassle free.

Example: Live The Season, http://livetheseason.com/owner.html

Advantages:

Full Seasons income paid before the season starts.
Higher return than 1a (annual lets)
Minimum input from the owner
Location of the property is less critical than the option 1a.

Disadvantages

Higher returns are available with the options below.
No time in the winter for the owner to use the property.
Unless there is a provision to periodically check on the state of the rental there is a risk the tenants might not look after the property.
apartment for sale in Les Gets

OPTION 2. You can use one of the independent chalet operators in the area, these companies often have one chalet that they run catered holidays from and then up to a dozen they arrange as self-catering. This type of company will often try to negotiate a percentage fee (up to 30%), for this they will arrange the booking, key holding and the cleaning etc.

Example:

The Great Escape
http://www.thegreatescapemorzine.co.uk/
Example: Mountain Highs
http://www.mountainhighs.co.uk/
Example: Ski Fusion (based in Les Carroz)
http://www.skifusion.co.uk

Advantages

There may be the occasional unbooked week that could be used by the owner for a cheap holiday at the last-minute.
More flexibility for booking in friends etc.
If there are good bookings this can offer better returns than choice 1

Disadvantages

Riskier for the owner as they don’t offer any rental guarantees, this risk can be reduced by choosing an established company.

OPTION 3. You can use an Internet based agent who will handle all the booking and cleaning, in theory for a lower percentage fee (20%-35%)

Example: White Peak a specialist in Chatel.
http://www.white-peak.com/
Example: Alps Accommodation a specialist in Samoens. http://www.alpsaccommodation.com/
Example: Holiday in the Alps a specialist in renting properties in St Gervais http://www.holidayinalps.com/

Advantages

There may be the occasional unbooked week that could be used by the owner for a cheap holiday at the last-minute.
More flexibility for booking in friends etc.
If there are good bookings this can offer better returns than choice 2
Internet based administration can be convenient

Disadvantages

Riskier for the owner as they don’t offer any rental guarantees, this risk can be reduced by choosing an established company.
If the agency does not care about your property the wear and tear can be quite high. This can depend on their clientèle too.
Choose your Internet based agent carefully, they can be excellent but there is more room here for cowboys.

OPTION 4. You could use an Internet based “Bulletin Board”, these businesses charge a fee for you to advertise, you handle the booking and arrange cleaning and key holding via a local person or agency. My Mum uses Owners Direct for a property on the outskirts of Morzine, it costs about £200/an to advertise, she does very well and uses a local girl for the cleaning etc. This method is a lot of work for the my Mum and offers no guaranteed income but it can offer the best returns. In addition the renter can’t book with a credit card and they are not booking with a recognised “agent” or “bonded holiday company” so they don’t have much backup if the holiday goes wrong in some way (for instance in the case of a double-booking).

Examples:
http://www.chaletfinder.co.uk/
http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/

Advantages

There may be the occasional unbooked week that could be used by the owner for a cheap holiday at the last minute.
More flexibility for booking in friends etc.
If there are good bookings this can offer better returns than choice 3
More “hands on” can be more fun and it may give the owner the chance to “vet” the occupiers.

Disadvantages

Riskier for the owner as there are no rental guarantees.
The owner will have to find local people to deal with the changeovers / cleaning and any problems.
If there are problems or damage the owner might be called upon to arbitrate, this can be difficult on the phone!

OPTION 5. The traditional method, use one of the local French estate agents or the local Tourist Information Bureau , they will take a fee (about 25%) and handle the bookings and cleaning for you. This should probably be put between 2 and 3 in the income VS risk list.

Advantages

An established system, will probably be entirely legal.
Local agents normally have very good contacts with local tradesmen.
You may find that a particular agent will have an affiliation with a particular apartment block, this can help.

Disadvantages

No guarantees though, the owner will take all the risk. You will do better in the best locations. You might get nothing in a bad location!
Just because the agent has good contacts with local tradesmen it does not mean any maintenance work will come cheap.
Choose wisely, not all agents are fully Internet or email aware yet, this can come as a shock.

Confused about renting? You shouldn’t be. I am just illustrating how this is a very mature market and that there are a lot of options open to you.

Chalet dressing in Morzine

Lee Massey (our Morzine agent) needed to spruce up a property taken on for sale. He asked Liz Ockleton (Make Space Designs) from Chatel to have a look and see what she could do. Chalet Robri had been used by it’s owners for the last 10-20 years and had had no real attention paid to staging it for re-sale.

The original furniture layout, styling and photos of the property did no real justice to the chalet which has an unusual architectural style and huge potential for potential buyers. Liz’s brief was to dress the chalet for the purpose of adding value and to give it a freshened look.

The following pictures have been taken since the makeover:

The budget was 5000€ including design fees. For this budget Liz was able to address key areas such as lighting, decoration, bedding and the odd piece of furniture. By moving furniture around and re-dressing some of the key areas Liz has been able to add some warmth and character into the space to give it more of a ski chalet feel. The photos of the chalet now show the chalet off to its potential and this will hopefully attract more customers.

Chalet Robri is now advertised for sale in Morzine at 1 195 000 €uros with Alpine Property at http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=prop_3_chaletrobri

The original pictures are available here: