Catered Ski Chalet in Morzine

The blog for what we get up to at Chalet Joran and Apartment Joran!


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Pleney Lift 2013

As many of you will know, the Pleney lift is being rebuilt which will result a much needed improvement of efficiency and speed getting up the hill from Morzine town center.  As a result, the lift will not be operational this summer whilst work is carried out. 

The largest impact will be on the mountain bikers wishing to get their fix of the Pleney black run and other tracks – you will be able to get there, but under your own steam!  Getting to Les Gets will be relatively straightforward as described below and of course returning from Les Gets will still be possible…

The following information was released a few weeks back, so here it is:

MORZINE MOUNTAIN BIKING INFORMATION SUMMER 2013

The Pléney gondola will be replaced with new lift equipment for winter 2013/14. This key new lift will provide improved capacity and better access to the winter ski area and for summer Mountain Biking in Morzine . Ground level access to the top and bottom lift stations will make for quicker access and ease of use.

As we await the opening of this new lift, and due to the scale of the works involved, the Pléney gondola will be closed for the 2013 summer season.

To ensure MTB activities, the local councils and the lift companies of Morzine-Avoriaz and Les Gets, will put in place the following solutions:

Early opening, from the 15th of June 2013, of the Super Morzine gondola and the “Zore” chairlift. From the 28th of June, an earlier opening time of 08:30am and a 50% increase in the flow-rate will ensure
free-flowing traffic.

A bus service adapted for carrying Mountain Bikes will be run daily between the resorts
of Morzine and Les Gets from the 28th of June to the 1st
of September 2013 (dates inclusive). This bus service will be reserved
for those with a Portes du Soleil lift pass.
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The Mountain Bike tracks between the resorts of Morzine and Les Gets will be marked
out, signposted and maintained.

Further steps are also being examined to safeguard Mountain Biking in the Pléney area,
and improve the flow capacity of the lift links between Morzine and Les Gets,
by way of the the “Crusaz” and “Mouilles” chairlifts. More information
will follow on this subject as soon as possible.

Reminder of lift opening dates:

Les Gets: Every weekend from the 25th of May and every day from the 15th of June to the 8th of September 2013.

Morzine: Every day from the 15th of June to the 1st of September.

Portes du Soleil: The lift links will open for the Pass’Portes du Soleil VTT, on the 28th of June, and will run until the 1st of September 2013; allowing access to the 23 lifts open this summer and linking the 12
resorts of the Franco-Swiss area.

Everyone involved in the resorts of Morzine-Avoriaz and Les Gets is working tirelessly
to make sure that Mountain Biking, which is vital to our local tourist economy,
goes ahead this summer.

All other infrastructure in the resort of Morzine will run as normal for the summer 2013
season:

The “Crusaz” chairlift for pedestrians and summer toboggan.

The “Pointe de Nyon” chairlift for pedestrians.


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Biking time is here again!

Those who know Dave, know he likes bikes! With commitments away from Morzine for a friend’s wedding in Spain, he missed the opening weekend in Les Gets, but has made up for it with rides in the South of France an a few forrays since!

The lifts are open now for good, with a longer run times local to Morzine to make up for the Pleney Lift works closure… We will have more on that in our next blog post. Steffixx

Dave here now with some shots from the IXS Downhill Cup in Morgins. Morgins has some great, steep DH tracks under the Fellouise lift and less intense trails further afield. I joined forces with the guys at Mountain Event Photography, to get some shots of the riders on the two day DH Cup event at the beginning of June.

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Conditions were drying out, but with quite a bit of snow still up higher on the course, that needed clearing prior to the event, it was still a little damp in places. Great to see the guys, girls and groms getting stuck into a good course – there were plenty of crashes and near misses on Saturday practice, as well as on race day! Some crashers were taken down by skidoo from the top section, there was that much snow about!

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Great stuff for inspiration ahead of this biking season!!


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Win a free skipass!

We have had some great news, with the birth of Hanno Branfield, our second son, on Tuesday 14th May at 04:31!

To celebrate, we are offering one lucky person the chance to win a free 6 day Portes du Soleil ski pass for winter 2013/14. The closest/first guess to Hanno’s weight will win! To qualify, the winner must be booked and staying at an Alpine Highs Chalet or Apartment for at least one week in a group of 2 or more people. The pass will not be refundable or transferable. Competition ends on May 31st 2013.

Good Luck!Hanno


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New Prodains Lift Morzine Avoriaz

Here at Alpine Highs we have been awaiting the new Prodains lift, with eager anticipation all year. With building work starting at the end of the last winter season and carrying on all the year, the expected opening date in Feb had been pushed back and everyone was thinking, when will it actually open!

Well it has! Trial runs had been going on for a few weeks, then for the last week of the season the shutters were rolled up and people were allowed on!! By the way, it cost €25 million!!

New Prodains Lift Avoriaz

It has over doubled the capacity to get skiers up to the Avoriaz plateau, with shiny new telecabine bubbles that can take 35 seated passengers (more with standing) in one hit and has 12 cabines running on the cable. This allows up to 2000 people an hour to get up the hill!

We had some friends and family out for the last week of the season and had a great ride up on the unexpected powder day – 50cm with just one day of the season remaining!! Oli managed to get first lift after patient waiting!

Prodains lift entry

Prodains telecabine

Gate

Inside the new telecabine

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Prodains escalator

Lots of extra pics and info can be found here:


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Winding down for the season…

With all this sunshine, the snow is starting to slush and the river is full of snowmelt. Boooo! It is the last week of the season here in the PDS, with Avoriaz and Chatel still open – with actually quite a bit of snow still on the ground. I was up yesterday and used the new Prodains lift, which was excellent! I will go back up tomorrow with some of our friends that are visiting and take some shots…

Stay tuned.


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Chamonix Team Building Exercise!

Some companies build rafts or go bowling… Here at Alpine Highs, we go off piste! In Chamonix!

Great day out with Oli and Jason, beating the cloudy day in Morzine with some Chamonix altitude and some seriously good off piste riding on the Grand Montets glacier. We got clouded in after lunch and it was probably the worst visibility that any of us have ridden in, but it was amazing before that!

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Jason’s shot kind of sums up the day!

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Satirway to the Drus and Mt Blanc!

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Jason airing and Oli about to drop into the clouds…


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The Facey’s discover Switzerland!

A few weeks back, we had a lovely family from Sweden come to stay. Helena, Tim, Rebecca and Oscar had some great weather during their stay and sent through some pictures from their day out doing the tour in Switzerland, where Oli and I caught up with them on the piste for a few turns. Greta piste cruising and our last day out with guests, as it has no been made illegal!! Booo!

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Relaxing after a hard day!

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Oscar worked up an appetite!

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