Run away to the alps

I have a dream. I’ve just done coding for the day and I’m sitting in a hot tub on the deck of a glass fronted chalet overlooking the slopes; glass panels around the deck so that nothing obstructs the view. Think the really expensive places in Whistler and you’re on the same page.

Well, maybe not yet. The great thing about working remotely for people is that you can do it from anywhere… The bad thing about being able to work from anywhere is that you want to work from somewhere else…

We were having a ‘where could we buy in the alps’ discussion the other Sunday. The focus started out as places that would sleep 6 and that we could get to quickly for a weekend away. Places that didn’t need to be let during the year so that we could drop in whenever we felt like it. By the end of the morning we were looking at 9-12 bed, new build, luxury places that were hugely expensive and that we would have to let out for most of the season and treat as an investment… I’ve been in design meetings like that…

Four of us doing online property searches, getting a feel for prices. I was doing the follow up work, someone would call out a resort name where they’d found a nice looking property and I’d google around for info on the resort. Miche was doing the hardcopy due dilegance using the Where to Ski and Snowboard 2002 Book.

I’m about to throw away the stack of scribble paper I was using and decided that I should preserve some of the info I wrote down for next time we go through the process.

1hr from Geneva; Chamonix, Megeve, Les Contamines, Courmeyer.

1.5hr from Geneva; Flaine (Intrawest) - Samones (750, too low but an 8 min lift from Flaine)

2.5hr from Geneva; Sainte Foy - pretty much unhead of, underdeveloped, lots of new development going on (Intrawest), most of the places fit into the ‘really big and expensive’ bucket. The skiing looks good for a budding off piste power hound like me but may be a bit challenging or limiting for a mixed intermediate party.

3.5hrs from Geneva; Meribel, Courcheval, etc.

Morzine - Too Low (this is why it’s lots cheaper).

Mont Chere Village - near to Morzine, see above.

Chalets - remember this is a free standing property in a COLD climate. It’s not just a case of locking up the place at the end of the visit and sweeping out the dust and cockroaches like it was in Tenerriffe. Perhaps an apartment is better as the heating and general building maintenance is taken care of for you…

In general I’d prefer a 3 valleys property, slap in the middle of Meribel. Let me hear you say Kerching. Going for something near a lift station on the way up from Les Allues would be cheaper… Or perhaps something in central Chamonix - you’d need a car, it’s less friendly for intermediates… Alternatively Les Contamines is a nice area for intermediates, drivable to Chamonix and near to Geneva…

Brain dump complete. Move along now.