the snow keeps falling...........

Another snowy week in Meribel, the snow depth at the top is now over 2 metres. At any point in the season this is remarkable, to occur before Christmas is well like Christmas for everyone involved in the snow business. The conditions have created much work for the Pisteurs who not only have to groom the slopes but keep skiers and boarders safe from the threat of avalanches. the current risk is 4/5 and we have woken many mornings to the sound of blasting as detonators are set off to dislodge potentially unstable slabs of snow.
As safety work is in progress linlks in and out of the Meribel valley have been closed or at best slow to open in the mornings. Not to worry there is plenty of skiing to be had in Meribel and with such amazing conditions no one is complaining. One of the advantages of these conditions is that you explore areas you may have forgotten about or usually just fly past. On our last ski day the pick of the runs was la piste des animaux which is a lovely run through the trees at the Altiport. Complete with information posts and model animals it is a fun "bendy" run which is a bit more interesting than just flying straight down the wide Altiport run. It's tricky to find, the start is alongside the Col de la Loze chair but well worth seeking out and links straight into Lapin which ends in Meribel Village.

Start of Lapin run down to Meribel Village

Meribel Village looking very picturesque

Les Allues has not escaped the snow and we are woken every morning by the sound of the snow plough passing by. This morning the heated pavement in front of the office of the Marie was struggling to remain clear against the huge snowflakes which were falling. Last night a Carol service was held in front of the Village Bread oven - which was thankfully alight. Vin Chaud and mince pies were served until the cold got too much and most retreated to the pub to thaw out.

Carol sing a long Les Allues

Snow, Sun and a Crocodile

It was a beautiful sunny day in The Three Valleys today and time for us to find our ski legs. Today was day 2 of the season and for those few people who were out it was a real treat. The trees are laden with snow which together with the sunny skies makes everywhere look as pretty as a picture. Being so early in the game not all lifts are open but enough for us to touch Meribel, have a ski through Mottaret and get over to Courchevel to check out the lovely wide pistes of 1650 and 1850.

a good sunny spot in Mottaret for a break

lovely empty Pistes

The snow is in great condition even lower down the resort and the forecast is for snow almost every day this week so much to look forward to. One interesting thing we stumbled across in Courchevel today was a Crocodile, a red one at that. What it is doing there and where it came from are yet to be discovered.

a curious addition to the scene in Courchevel

Signing off on our building work

Today was a hive of activity at Chalet Vache Bleue, our Architects arrived for a final meeting with the Tradespeople and we signed off on the amazing work which has been done. As with most things the process is slightly different than it is in Australia so we are grateful to have patient Architects to guide us.
One of the original features of the Barn we managed to save can be seen on the main facade, a wooden structure which would have originally been used to facilitate the drying of wood or hay. Jokes have been made in the past about putting it to use to hang Architects from, no such requirement from us as we have been delighted with the work Iain Stewart from RAS Architectes and Jean-Michel Testud from Testud Thevenin Architecte have done for us and their ability to take a joke can be seen in the picture below.

In the hive of last minute activity our plans for professional photographs of the interiors have slipped by a week or so although we have identified a Photographer and now just need to line up a date suitable for everyone. In the meantime here is a shot of the Kitchen in Apartment B which is ready to welcome our first guests this weekend.

 Les Allues enjoyed the first taste of snow for this season as the pictures below which were taken today show. The lifts in Meribel will open at the weekend so we will go out for a slide around and report back on some of the new developments in the area.

View from Chalet Vache Bleue

Les Allues Centre

La Croix Jean Claude - great spot for a drink or something to eat

Curtains, Lighting and "Bucky"

Elaine and I took the day off today from a hectic schedule and went walking.  Temperatures have dropped dramatically but the sun still shines.  The footpaths, stream and Lac de Tueda were all frozen over today on our walk up to Col De Fruit. Streams are looking like giant crystal chandeliers with several centimetres of ice covering many of the large boulders and cascading in icicles back to the water up to metre below. From our walk we could see mounds of snow where the snow making machines have been busy creating what will be the base for the rest of the season.

Most of our work in the past week has focused on curtains and lighting.   Elaine is a bit of an expert at sewing so many trips to Laurent Tissus in Albertville to select from thousands of choices for material and poles have been in order.  The work to measure, sew, hang, hem is hugely time consuming but rewarding as the final product is much better than shop bought.

I have been doing the simple, straightforward but high volume job of installing light fittings.  So far by count I have completed 20 from around 35 lights so we are on the homeward straight.  The biggest challenge has been a large rustic chandelier in the living area weighing close to sixteen kilos and needing to be hung from a ceiling close to 4m high.  A true test of balance and strength on a single step ladder when Elaine was getting artwork framed in Annecy.

Finally an interesting addition was made to the wall above the fireplace in the Lounge area of Apartment A - Bucky a large Deer trophy. Those opposed to hunting need not worry no animals were hurt in the process as Bucky is made entirely from cardboard. The construction took a while but we think you will agree he is rather handsome.

 

  

Autumn colours and new arrivals

The Three Valleys is a riot of autumn colour although as temperatures drop and winter creeps in this will not last for long. At Chalet Vache Bleue the final touches are being added to the Chalet ready for opening at the start of the season. The Chalet has now officially been named with the addition of a sign on the most prominent wall of the building. This is helpful to the delivery drivers who are frequent visitors as the fit out is completed.

Last week included All Saints Day in France which is a national holiday. On this day many people visit Grave Stones and memorials to leave flowers, the local church in Les Allues was no exception with a mass of colour which looked stunning against the backdrop of the autumn colours in the trees.

Once All Saints day had passed we were reminded of the impending winter season by the arrival of workmen to put the Christmas Lights on the office of the Mayor. The following day a new arrival in Les Allues appeared positioned at the entrance to the village, attached is a picture taken during daylight however we are sure he will look even more splendid at night.

Winter is upon us

A winter chill is in the air. Snow has been falling on the high peaks and the Merinet Web cams are showing the seasonal progression from Autumn to much colder winter temperatures.

Chalet Vache Bleue kitchens and furnishings have been arriving and trades people have been working hard to deliver and install the largest items such as sofas and beds.

Elaine and I leave sunny Australia at the end of October to arrive in Meribel Les Allues to fully commission Chalet Vache Bleue in mid November.  We still have several weeks of hard work ahead to get things ready for our first guests arriving in December.   We have taken 9 weeks of bookings for the 1 bed apartment and 3 bookings for the 3 bed apartment which is pleasing considering this is our first season of operation and there are still around 8 weeks to go before the season opening day.

We still have several peak weeks available and expect that trade will become more brisk when we have completed a professional photo shoot in mid November and loaded the new pictures to our web site and marketing sites.

If you or anyone is still looking for a great place to stay, we are confident that Chalet Vache Bleue have two of the best Chalet Apartments in the 3 valleys.

Bon Ski