Alpine Angels Property Blog

Kate Scott who represents Alpine Angels in St Gervais and Megeve provides a guide on non-skiing activities in the mountains.

For many years, for us non-Continentals, the Alps has been the play ground reserved for die hard skiers and snowboarders and those of us who don’t ski at all, have left it too late to learn or have given it a go but really not enjoyed it, have been left at home to wonder what all the fuss is about. Well, nowadays there are plenty of alternative activities which allow you to get out and enjoy the great outdoors without strapping two big planks to your feet and pointing them down a precipice.

Have you ever tried Snow-shoeing?

By strapping an ‘oversized’ sole onto the outside of your walking boots, you spread your weight over a larger surface area, and are then able to walk in the snow without sinking up to your ears. Originally these were made from wood and string, and were rather heavy and cumbersome to use, but thanks to plastic technology the modern snowshoe is shaped to make the walking easy, with minimum weight on your feet.

Once strapped into your Snowshoes you can go anywhere, … be it low level undulating forest walks, looking for animal tracks and traces, or catch the cable car up the mountain with your ski friends, whilst they go off for a ski, you can go for a lovely walk and enjoy the stunning distant views, and then join them for lunch on the mountain. One of the great beauties of snowshoeing is that you really can go anywhere and get away from the crowds.

Being the fastest growing winter sport in France, you can now hire snowshoes from many of the sports shops in the Alps, and most resorts will have guides (Accompagnateurs in French, or International Mountain Leaders) who will take you out safely and choose an appropriate route depending on your fitness, desires and the snow conditions.

What about cross country skiing?

Cross country skiing (known in French as ‘ski de fond’) is worlds apart from the down hill world of lifts and pistes. This is generally on flat or undulating terrain, and most resorts have a pre-cut and pisted cross country ski area. There are two types of cross country skiing, one being the ‘classic’ cross country where your skis slide along in pre cut tracks and one being ‘skating’ where the technique is more akin to ice skating.

If you’ve never tried either but fancy giving it a go, you will probably want to start with the ‘classic’ style. On these classic skis there is a ‘fish scale area’ on the underside of the skis below the feet, and the tip and tail of the skis are smooth. The idea being that as you walk when you un-weight your ski you slide along on the smooth bits, then when you put your foot down it grips on the fish scale area and you use this to grip and push yourself forward onto the next step.

The skating technique takes a bit of getting used to, but if you like a challenge, why not give it a go. The skis are thinner than Alpine skis and your boots softer with an ankle cuff. With each step you push off the side of one ski and glide onto the base of the other, rather like ice skating. This feels very wobbly the first time you try but its amazing how you can improve in a very short space of time.

The great thing about cross country skiing is that its do-able by all levels and abilities, be it high level competition, or a more leisurely walking pace, and as a general rule, most folk that you meet on the ski de fond piste are genuinely pleased to see you and help you if you need some pointers with your equipment or technique. Being largely on flat or undulating terrain, you can control your speed to suit your level, and don’t have the intimidation of the big, steep mountains. Many resorts, such as Les Houches and Morzine, have ‘ski de fond’ tracks up high on the mountain, on flat areas, so you get to cross country ski with great views, and other resorts such as Chamonix and Les Contamines, have tracks in the valley floor where you are sheltered in the forest, away from the main ski areas.

Any areas where there is a ‘ski de fond’ track will have a ‘foyer de fond’, which is where you can buy your ticket, which is a fraction of the price of a normal lift ticket and covers the cost of the piste bashing and maintenance of the trails, and also you will be able to find an instructor to set you going.

So if you have friends or family who say they can’t join your skiing holiday, because they can’t ski, don’t let them miss out on the beauty of the mountains in winter, just suggest they try an alternative activity.

Below are some links that you may find helpful

www.tracks-and-trails.com, Chamonix area

www.british-snowshoe-tours.com – Chamonix area

www.thesnowshoecompany.com – Morzine, Les Gets & Samoens area

kate@alpinefootprints.com – St Gervais, Les Contamines, & Megeve.

Katy Stebbing works with Alpine Angels in the alpine village of Les Gets where she lives with her husband Ben and Roxy the dog. Katy has a dual role within our team taking care of our vendors and also working with our buyers. She has been enjoying the bumper snow conditions this year and has promised to share a few of her mountain secrets with us.

What is your favourite part of the mountain for skiing this season?
The whole of the PDS is pretty special this year – there is so much snow, but like most people who live and work in Les Gets I love to ski on Mont Chery – the local’s mountain. It has the best views, quiet slopes and a great restaurant.

And your favourite place for a drink on the mountain?
That would have to be the Grande Ourse on Mont Chery again. Alternatively we love to walk across to Mont Caly to the wonderful mountain restaurant Les Chevrelles, accessible only by walkers, snowshoers and cross country skiers.

What are your top tips for selling a property in the Alps?
Do all you can to ensure that your property is well presented. This doesn’t mean having to spend lots of money. It can be done simply by dressing living rooms and bedrooms with tasteful cushions and throws, or by removing unnecessary clutter to draw attention to the best features.  First impressions are important!

What are your top tips for buying a property in the Alps?
Whether you are buying a second home, a rental property or an investment, or all three, you should take local advice, spend time in the area and be aware of all of the options available to you.

Winter or Summer? Which is your favourite Alpine season?
We moved here for the winters, of course, but every season has its attractions. I love the open feeling in the Summer, when you can walk for miles in the sunshine, with meadow flowers all around and stunning scenery. I think, perhaps September is the nicest time here, because it is quiet and warm and there is the promise of snow just around the corner!

Katy is available year round to answer all your alpine property questions.

Research released by Alpine Homes and global property giants Savills confirmed that Alpine property still offers great rental potential. The report stated that despite the overall volume of UK holiday home buyers reducing between 2009 and 2011 the proportion of those investing in ski properties actually increased. The increase is attributed to good rental demand and year round tourism boosting the Alpine property market.

62% of the people surveyed by Alpine Homes said that they were buying Alpine property for both lifestyle and investment reasons. Alpine property offered them the opportunity of a “bolthole on the piste” while generating rental income when not in use by the owners. And whilst the ski tourism industry has seen a slight decline since its peak in the 2007/2008 season, Alpine destinations are increasingly opening up to summer tourism enabling rental property owners to benefit from year round lettings.

This positive nod to Alpine Property was followed up by a more cautious prediction from Credit Agricole, one of France’s biggest banks, who believes 2012 will see a national fall in property prices of between 5 to 6%. Frances involvement in the Eurozone crisis is one reason that Credit Agricole suggested transaction levels (the volume of sales and purchases) would decrease, possibly to their lowest level in 40 years.

But the FNAIM (the largest body representing estate agents in France) reported huge price fluctuations in 2011 with demand and sales varying hugely from region to region from a fall of 4.6% in Brittany to an increase of 10.1% in Champagne Ardenne.

The French Alps certainly seem to sit someway outside of the general French trend. An increasing number of alpine sales are to expat British buyers who are currently living overseas but would rather move to France than return home; and to expat French buyers, returning home after a life overseas. And with France playing host to more tourists than any other country in the world, and regularly topping the polls for highest quality of life Alpine property may be one investment that might just be as safe as houses. Savills certainly consider the Alpine property market to be among the healthiest and most attractive in Europe. Here at Alpine Angels we are inclined to agree.

Snow conditions this year have been bountiful. This week The Telegraph went to print claiming the best ski season yet. With 15 weeks of winter still ahead of us it’s a bold claim to make. We took a look at their vital statistics.

Snowfall figures so far show that most of the Alps have received up to four times more snow than normal for mid-January. Apparently resorts haven’t seen anything as dramatic since 1999 and even then it wasn’t until mid-February’99 that records were broken.

Even if it doesn’t snow again between now and Easter 2012, even if temperatures soared to the levels we saw last year during spring, the higher altitude resorts such as Avoriaz and Chamonix could still survive on the snow cover they already have. This is all great news for residents and holiday makers alike – and a timely boost for all those landlords with alpines rental properties to fill.

But is any of this really record breaking? Well apparently it’s the speed at which the weather changed that got The Telegraph in a tizz. And on that point I am inclined to agree.  Autumn 2011 was the driest and the mildest in the Alps for 148 years. Switzerland reported that temperatures had not been as persistently high at altitude since November 1864 which, to put into context, was when the American Civil War was at its height.

On the last day of November’11 I called friends in Morzine and was informed that they were all sat in the garden – having a BBQ. No blankets and scarves needed. They had sun lotion and bikinis. Even by the first week of December, with no snow in sight, I was about to cancel by pre-Christmas skiing trip, if only to spare the underside of my skis, still scarred from the snowless season of 2010 / 2011.

And then it started, a few flakes here, a heavy grey cloud there, and before you could say pain au chocolate the whole of the Alps, French, Swiss, Austrian and Northern Italian were under meters and meters of snow. And still it falls, which probably does make it the best start to a European ski season in more than a generation.

But the weather has kept us on our toes in recent years. Last year the biggest snowfall in the first six months of 2011 arrived in June. In the last week of April the French Alps were hotter than the Med. People sat by pools and played golf in the mountains as others skied by on the remnants of pistes.

There are few constants in the mountains, even fewer with the climate but one thing remains the same – the draw of the beautiful French Alps. Rain, Shine, Snow, Sun, people are eternally drawn to these magnificent mountains.  Whether you are looking for a chalet with a pool or a chalet with a piste, or perhaps a chalet with both, Alpine Angels will help you find it. All our current listings can be found here