Zermatt, Chicane and final days in Morzine

Hello all

Sorry for the late final blog post. Things have been very busy since we returned back home. 

Our final week in resort was fantastic. We were very lucky to go on a trip to Zermatt for a few days. We drove for a couple of hours to the Swiss resort. You arrive at the bottom of the mountain, park the car and unload all your luggage. Here you travel up the mountain on a train for about 15 minutes and arrive at what felt like a small version of London Waterloo! (Only 5 platforms!)

 

Zermatt is a pedestrian only town and once you arrive out the station there are electric cars/buggy's/noddy cars waiting to take you to your hotel. The town is fantastic, very big and has everything there. 

We explored the town during the afternoon. I absolutely loved it. It had a lot of character to it, lovely hotels, chalets and old buildings. Different areas to the town, parts had modern hotels with private little cable cars to take you from the road up the hill to the hotel. Others were in older cobbled streets with grain stores around. Our hotel was linked to the hotel next door, which had a fantastic lift and dark tunnel with coloured lights on the walls down to the main street level by foot. It felt like you were in a James Bond film walking along it! 

Thursday we woke for a lovely buffet breakfast, clear blue skies and a fantastic view of the Matterhorn ready for a big days skiing.

 

We headed straight up to the glacier first thing and at 3883m we had perfect views. The slopes were in great  condition, as if we were skiing in January.

 

 From here we travelled across the resort to explore the Gornergrat and Rothorn mountains before the end of the day. Very close to the top of the Gornegrat mountain we found a Ice Hotel and Bar. We explored inside of the hotel, completely made out of ice and snow there were lots of rooms and a bar. Windows made out of ice blocks with frozen flowers for decoration in them. carvings on the walls it was quite an amazing place.

 

When we returned to Morzine it was ready for the last weekend of skiing and closing parties on the slopes.  The Saturday had a little bit of skiing, picnicking and slacklining by the river whilst the Sunday, final day on the slopes, we had snow falling and a little dusting of fresh snow over night. We both went up to Avoriaz with Emma, James and Paige. A good party atmosphere was outside Chez Flo whilst we danced in our ski boots to Chicane. That evening the 5 of us all got together and cooked a big final fondu with 5 different cheeses! We thought we have to finish in style.

 

 

 

Tuesday morning came around and at 5am the car was packed up with all our stuff and we made a fantastic journey back to the uk. Another great season was completed and many memories and fun had. Thank you to everyone who made it fantastic for us. 

Ant and Bex xx

Evian, Snow Shoeing and Easter

Hello,

We are now into the final weeks of our season. We have now finished our adventure of running Chalet Thalassa together and the last couple of weeks have involved getting the chalet cleaned and ready to hand back for the summer. Our last few groups of guests were great which is a nice way to finish the season. 

Last week we went for a day trip to Evian with some friends of ours, also another Ant and Becky!!! It is just a little further along Lake Leman from Thonon. Another lovely little town to walk around, luckily it was a wonderful sunny day so the view across the lake whilst having a coffee was fantastic. I thought whilst we where there I had to pop into the Evian Masters Golf Club where they hold the Evian Masters Ladies European Tour event each year and what a fantastic place it is. Definitely made me very excited to get back on the golf course soon. 

Last Monday we took some of the snow shoes from our chalet (like big tennis raquets on your feet!), drove up past the Nyon mountain where we lived last year and parked at Eringe. From here we walked up the Col de Cou. The first half was just on gravel and grass as the snow had melted already until we reached this wonderful lake. 

Then from here we had to use the snow shoes because the paths were snowing and our walking shoes just kept sinking! It was a lovely sunny day so our view for having a picnic lunch was wonderful. We didn't see another sole for hours, an extremely peaceful day. The best bit was that we took our snow skate up with us, which is a skateboard without any trucks or wheels on and just some groves to ride in the snow. So we could ride this back down the mountain which was so much fun.

Sadly last weekend the Morzine/Les Gets pistes all closed for the season due to the warm weather, the snow had gone very quickly and it is a lot lower than the Avoriaz slopes. You haven't been able to ski down the Plenny now for several weeks and as we look at it right now out of our window there isn't a single bit of snow on it! So we have been skiing a lot in Avoriaz, Chatel and Switzerland. We had some very sunny days but on Friday the temperatures changed once again and a drizzle of rain all day in town meant a drizzle of snow all day on the slopes. So yesterday was fantastic for so late in the season. Only with a inch of snow falling just meant that the pistes were firm again and covered up a few bits on grass that were starting to poke through to give us a few more days of good conditions. 

Not long now until we shall be packing up our car again and road tripping back to the uk. So for now bye and see you all soon! 

Happy Easter! 

Powder, friends and dancing

Hello,

So the last couple of weeks have been both busy and quiet. We were very lucky that just after the last post the temperatures dropped and we had a great snow fall. For 3 days it just kept snowing. This meant lots of great powder. We had a superb day around Linga in Chatel with our friends James and Dean. We traversed around the side of a peak and enjoyed a very peaceful untouched powder field. In the sunshine a snowball fight had to be done and make snow ski/board angels! 

Last week in the Portes du Soleil we had Rock the Piste festival. This is where across 5 days stages are set up on the mountains in different towns and acts perform. On the Wednesday we saw the Klaxons in Avoriaz whilst it was snowing and dancing in ski boots. It's a great event and something you definitely won't experience at home! 

On Monday our friend Charlotte arrived to come and stay with us and learn to ski. Having not ever skied before we took it very gentle on Tuesday, teaching her the basics and pottering along the nursery slopes. By Wednesday afternoon when we caught up with her after work she was flying! Conquering all the blue runs across the super Morzine area. Thursday we managed to ski to the Swiss/French boarder and Friday we completed every blue run in Avoriaz. Considering Charlotte had never put on a pair of skis before Tuesday morning she did extremely well and we all had a lot of fun together. 

We are into our final couple of weeks here in Morzine. Can not believe it has come to this time of year already. We have just a couple more groups staying with us on short breaks and then it's time to close down the chalet and hand back the keys. 

We shall report back with a penultimate blog very soon. 

Sun, skiing and snowboarding.

Hi everyone. 

This week we have done some great skiing. Started last Tuesday when we meet some friends in the Stash which is a wooden snow park run where there is various obstacles to ski and snowboard over and off. Ant took his camera and got some great photos. 

Wednesday was a glorious sunny day, we decided to enjoy the summer feel. We went for a walk and lunch in town. Then decided to go to the Action Sports Cafe and without realising the slope style shop had set up a snowboarding competition at the bottom of the slope. We thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the sunshine with a drink and watching everyone compete doing various tricks. 

We had heard about a great patisserie in Morgin which is a lovely little Swiss town we can ski to. So Thursday we arranged with Andy and Sylvie to meet them on route and all ski to what is now known as "pie land"! 

Thursday evening was the Cavern Bar's 24/7 film festival. Teams can enter and get 1 week to make a ski and snowboard video. Then they hold a big event in the local sports hall with a bar and live music. Everyone watches the videos and they get judged and winners announced. These videos are extremely good. It's a great evening and all the proceeds go to the new Morzine skate park which is planned. 

Yesterday on this weeks day off Host Savoie team had an outing to Praz de Lys which is a small resort just 20 minutes the other side of Les Gets. The snow was brilliant considering the weeks of great sunshine that we have had recently. This is us having a picnic at the highest spot at the top of the Haut Fleury. 

The weather for the last 10 days has been fantastic. Clear blue skies and warm sunny days it's felt like summer. However from tomorrow it is forecasted to become winter again and 10cm of snow due to fall on Saturday night. Although it's a shame the sunny days to stop for a while the new snow will be most welcome. 

Bye for now! 

The week everyone came to visit.

What a week it has been. After skiing with Tom and Dad in Les Houches we took a couple of relaxed days before our family and friends all arrived to stay with us on Sunday. 

All together we had my Mum, Dad, Brother Tom, Uncle and Aunty Pete and Lucy, Cousin Dan, Ants Mum Vicky and friends Andrew, Sarah, Philip, Maddie, Jack, Adam and Josie. All together there was 16 of us. We started the week off as they meant to go on with welcolm drinks and nibbles in the bar of the chalet. 

Monday morning we woke up to fresh snow so everyone was keen to get out on the slopes. Met for lunch and drinks in our favorite ice bar, where the bar is made of snow! After this Tom and I went to ski the off piste snowcross in Avoriaz. I must say this was one of the best runs I have ever done. Knee deep fresh tracks and we were side by side bouncing in the snow from top to bottom. We felt we were on Salomon Freeski TV! 

 

Tuesday morning the "kids" went for a blast straight down to the bottom of Linga with out stopping and then heading back and into Switzerland before lunch at Pomme de Pin for there delicious Tartiflette. The boys enjoyed a beer in the hot tub when they got back. 

Wednesday was our day off and we made it a big ski day. Getting up early to make the best of fantastic snow conditions we headed for Morgin town in Swizerland. Stopping at our favourite sun trap restaurant over looking the Swiss mountains for a coffee in the Boxer barrel. We had booked to go to La Dez Alp's restaurant for our dinner which was fantastic but before everyone came to our apartment for pre dinner drinks and nibbles. It was a bit of a squeeze to fit 14 in but great fun. 

 

Thursday was a more relaxed morning on the snowboards and meeting for lunch in Linderets. Now the sun was shinning and very warm so a great sunbathing day. The weather stayed like this for the rest of the week. 

Friday morning the A team went for a early morning blast around the Swiss towns before making it back for lunch in the goat village, Ant and I had a great ski with mum after we had finished work down to chatel and back. In the evening John and Esme drove around from Abondance to join us for dinner, making the group even bigger. 

So the last ski day came around so fast, Saturday was another glorious day with the favourite runs that weren't yet skied in the week covered and an enjoyable beer in the music box over looking Morzine town. The afternoon skiing with Mum, Dad, Pete and Lucy for there last few runs before they all finished for another year. That evening we had a pre birthday celebration for Maddie as her birthday was on the Sunday but going to be spent travelling! So more bubbly was drank and several rounds of happy birthday sung. 

The end of the week came and we can't thank everyone enough for a fantastic time. The best guests we've had of course and we were sad it was all over so soon. It won't be long now until we are back so looking forward to seeing you all back home when I'm sure we'll share various funny stories to be shared. 

Road trips and surprises

Hi everyone, sorry we didn't write a blog post last week but it was half term so we were quite busy, plus the slopes were busy and we only pottered out a few times.

However we did drive to Thonon on our day off just to get out of a ski resort for a while. We picked up Sam and Lorraine on the way and it's only about 45 minutes away. Parked up near a few sports shops and got some bits a pieces there but then carried on to the main town. It was a lovely clear blue sky day and we walked through the town and down to Lake Geneva. Being around boats and the water was a nice change from ski lifts and snow. There are very nice bakery's and chocolate shops in Thonon so we all got our lunch and sat out on the grass area over looking the lake that we had just walked along.

This week on our day off we packed up the car bright and early and set off for Les Houches which is a resort near Chamonix to meet Tom and Dad. It was Dads birthday and he didn't realise we were driving round to join them so it was a nice surprise for him. Arriving at 8.30 we were ready for first lifts up. It had been snowing all night and the sun was out for the morning, so we were in for a treat. Some fantastic skiing in a new resort. We stopped for a beer and lunch overlooking the Chamonix valley and with a great view of Mont Blanc. 

This weekend we have the rest of our families joining us with friends also. We are very excited to see everyone and will write up all about the weeks antics when we're resting after they all leave again. 

Bye for now

Bex xx

Powder days and night sledging

Bonjour,

As of this weekend we shall be half way through this years adventure! Can't believe it, it feels like we have just arrived again. 

However the fun carries on. Last Wednesday we decided to do the Portes du Soleil tour. We got up early, packed some sandwiches and were out side the Super Morzine lift waiting for it to open. The route took us through Les lindarets down to the bottom of Linga and jumped on the bus down the valley to Panthiaz. From there we went right to the far Swiss corner at the bottom of Torgon. Having reached there it was time to head back to France via Morgin, Champousson and Les Crosets. By 1.30pm we were back in Morzine and thinking about heading to Les Gets when the weather turned and we decided to call it a day. 

On Wednesday evening our guests were going night sledging and as it was something we hadn't done yet, we joined them. Basically you get given a sledge and a head touch and jump on the Pleney cable car to the top and wait for it to get dark. From there the group of you and guide sledge all the way back in to Morzine town. There were crashes and people falling out but definitely laughter the whole way down. Amazing fun and another thing ticked of the list. 

Staying in Chalet Thalassa with us last week were some family friends of Ants. It was fantastic to have Paul, Vanessa and Natalie come and stay with us. We had a great ski day in wonderful sunshine over to Switzerland with them. 

The weather at the moment is great. There has been several snow falls making the pistes and off pistes great. Next week is half term so good timing before it all gets well used. 

Today we have been out with our friend Emma making use of the sunshine taking lots of action photos. We traversed across from the top of the Chaux Flurie lift into the powder, Ant carrying his shovel, and built a little kicker. One by one we hiked up and jumped off and the best bit was you landed in soft powder! Ant got some great photos and videos which after sorting out we shall share with you all in the next blog. 

It's not much longer until our family's join us for the week and we're very much looking forward to seeing them. See you all soon

Bex xxx 

New Kit, Sunny Days and Haggis

Hi all,

So another week has flown by, scary to think tomorrow is Febuary. 

This week has been mixed weather wise. Over Thursday night we had a huge snow fall which lead to Friday being a fantastic powder day out on the slopes, even with some sunny spells too. 

Last weeks guests were mostly Scottish and keeping to their traditions when normally back home, on Saturday night we had a Burns night super. They traveled armed with haggis which was served with neeps and tatties. The men dressed in kilts and Robert Burns Poetry books on the table, a good evening was in store. Unfortunately we couldn't find any bagpipes in Morzine available for the evening so they all played O Flower of Soctland on kazoos to walk the haggis in to! The haggis was then addressed and everyone raised a toast with Wiskey before the dinner began. 

The Winter Olympics start next week in Sochi and in case we get a last minute call up we thought we would have our ski boots prepared and got these Union Jack buckles. 

Sadly at the weekend my snowboard came to the end of its life. After a sad ride down in the cable car a shopping trip started for a new one. I tried Ants DC Ply board on Tuesday and loved it. We went into a local snowboarding shop and fortunately they had the ladies equivilant called the DC Biddy in my size. Wednesday morning I did try out another but it wasn't quite the same at the DC board, so I am now the proud owner of a new snowboard and having a lot of fun on it.

 I don't have the heart to throw my old one away, so we're going to find some old Ski poles and turn it into a coffee table or something! 

Today has been one of the best of the season so far. With fantastic pistes and clear blue skies we headed for Switzerland. The perfect opportunity for some action photos. Taking both the GoPro and Ant's SLR we traversed and climbed to a remote untouched spot with the Dents Du Midi in the background. Here is some of our photos on and off piste. 

Another weekend is here, hope everyone is well back home, bye for now. 

Bex xx