The first proper load of snow just managed to catch the end of November, because yesterday we got about 30cms in the village. Had to give the snow shovels a dust off and quickly get the snow tyres on the car.
The lifts will be opening for the first time this weekend, with a special promo of ladies ski free when accompanied by a man !
Archive for the ‘Chatel News’ Category
First Big Dump of Snow Has Arrived
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009New Winter Ski Flight to Sion
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009This winter Snowjet have introduced a new flight to Sion airport in Switzerland.
The service from London Stansted on Saturdays & Sundays throughout the winter could be great time saver, as we all know the Swiss like to be efficient and the small airport at Sion should ensure quick baggage reclaim & check-in. Transfer times to Chatel should be about 1 hour.
Snowfall in the Village
Sunday, October 18th, 2009This weekend saw the first snowfall of the winter in Chatel village, only a few centimetres which didn’t stay for very long. It’s still covering all the slopes above the village but not quite time to get the skis out yet.
But definately a reminder that there’s not long to go to finish off any jobs on the garden & outside the chalet. Time to pack the garden furniture away.
The village now has a soundtrack of cow bells ringing, as all the cows have been moved down to the fields around the village before heading indoors for the winter.
What’s new in Chatel for Winter 2010 ?
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009It’s been a very busy summer up the mountain, with a new chair lift and extra snow cannons being installed.
Chatel is currently in the middle of a 4 year program to install snow cannons on all the pistes in the Pre La Joux area, this summer has seen the creation of a new reservoir to supply the extra water to the cannons that have been added to the Les Combes and Linga 2 pistes. These new cannons bring the total number in the resort to 173.
The new super fast 6-person chair lift will be called Echo Alpin and is a replacement for the 3-person old Linga 2 lift, the new lift will start further down the mountain and only take 5 minutes to get to the top.
Anyone who has skied the huge off piste bowl of La Leiche will be loving the new lift, because instead of having to get the Leiche drag lift and then Linga 2 chair to get back to the top which used to take over 15 mins in total, Echo Alpin will now do it in a third of the time.
The diggers have also been very busy up at Super Chatel earlier this summer, they’ve reshaped the red piste which comes down towards the village and upgraded the snow cannons that where there.
Busy, busy, busy
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008It’s been a few weeks now since I’ve had time to update the blog, it’s always a busy time at the start of the season as the first guests arrive. The huge snowfalls we kept having at the end of November and start of December finally gave way to blue skies and sunshine for the last couple of weeks, but the clear skies allowed the temperature to drop very low. Last weekend we had temperatures in resort as low as -16°C first thing in the morning.
The snow conditions have been excellent for the last couple of weeks, it starting to get a little firm in places with the low temperatures. The blue skies have clouded over today and its snowing again, its forecast to be enough to give the pistes a softer feel.
Christmas week was definitely busier than last year, and now we’re into New Year its as busy as it gets in resort and out on the slopes. There are a few queues for the lifts this week, but with the whole ‘Portes du Soleil’ open it not too bad and even the worse queues are less than 10 minutes.
We still have a few weeks left available in March, so contact us soon to discuss your trip.
Ski Lifts opening this Weekend
Monday, November 24th, 2008It’s probably not a surprise to anyone in the UK that we’ve just had a huge fall of snow in the French Alps. The several centimetres of snow that fell around the UK were produced by the cold Arctic winds sweeping down across Europe, the same storms have dropped over 50cms of snow around the chalet and nearly 150cms at the top of the slopes. With temperatures keeping well below zero, down to -20°C at night, the snow certainly going to be sticking around and staying in great condition.
Chatel and most of the other resorts in the Portes du Soleil are planning to open their lifts this coming weekend, one week earlier than planned
Autumn’s here, Winter’s rapidly approaching
Monday, October 27th, 2008The last month has been a riot of colour with the trees producing a stunning Autumnal display as they have dropped their leaves. Most of the leaves have now fallen, which is good timing as we’re due for a pre-winter cold spell. We’ve up to 50cm of snow forecast at the top of the mountain for the rest of this week, which will be 2 snow falls in the last 2 months. Got to be a good sign.
Preparations are now well under way for the winter, the street illuminations in and around Chatel have been going up for the last couple of weeks. All the snow cannons around the resort have been running today in a pre-season dry run, or more of a wet run as it wasn’t too cold.
New for the coming season
Sunday, September 28th, 2008Well the first thing you’ll notice when travelling to Chatel next ski season, although possibly the least exciting change, is that Thonon now has a new bypass. This should cut at least 10 minutes from the Geneva transfer time, making for about 75-80 mins drive from the airport to arriving in the chalet.
We are excited to announce that both chalets will have qualified and experienced chefs cooking in them next season, this should ensure we continue providing our guests with a gastronomic treat each evening !
The ‘Crosets 2′ ski lift, which goes from Les Crosets towards the Champery cable car has been upgraded this summer. Out with the old travelator style 4 seater and in with a new shiny high speed 6 seater.
End of Summer News
Sunday, September 14th, 2008I’ve had a fairly eventful summer here in Chatel, a new addition to the family arrived in July a healthy little boy called Xavier. He has obviously kept us pretty occupied since his arrival.
Before the new baby I did manage a fair amount of mountain biking. Exploring the ‘Portes du Soleil’ while its green and bushy is a lot of fun although its certainly not quite as soft when you fall, as my achy shoulder testifies.
But with the new term starting at school its getting to be the time to think about winter holidays. After last years great snow conditions bookings are already fairly strong for the coming season, with many people having booked earlier this year soon after returning from their last ski holiday.
So its time to get organised and make an that enquiry. Check here for our Pricing & Enquiry Form.