It's also a money pit, "charges de copropriété" for maintaining a building at altitude are high. Taxes for villages at altitude where you pay for the services you use and the services skiers from all over the world use are high too. Bills for water reflect the difficulty of maintaining service up remote valleys, and electricity use can be high in buildings that often have lousy insulation. You can expect your flat to cost you what you paid for it every ten years or so - not much of a retirement investment.
If you rent out expect the place to be trashed by drunks even if they are "friends".
Buy a flat if you'll spend a lot of time there yourself, months a year rather than weeks.
More glove choice: [url= http://10peaksgloves.com/ ]10 Peaks Gloves[/url]
Bought a pair last year off SportPursuit and they were great. Nice and warm, and the zip to release fingers was really useful, what with adjusting kids stuff, messing with phone and GoPro, holding hot drinks, etc. No leaks through the zip, but after a slushy day they were damp. Dried out quickly though in the room.
I went for the Mount Allen gloves.
[i]What's the Norwegian ski scene like? We're looking to tick off the northern lights, do some husky dog sledding, introduce the toddler to skiing, stay somewhere low key.[/i]
I wanted to do the Northern Lights and Husky sleds etc a couple of years back but by the time I got round to booking it it was seriously expensive. So we booked an apartment in Oslo for three nights and got the metro up into the hills every day where there is the winter park for some half decent skiing, plus tobaggon runs and stuff. Made a nice change between Christmas and New Year.
expect your flat to cost you what you paid for it every ten years or so - not much of a retirement investment.
Depends where you buy. Mine pays for itself even with me spending nearly 3 months per year there.
This first calendar year I think we (I, or me & family) will have stayed there c.65 nights. Once we get a pattern of use, we will then open it up to close friends to borrow.
Tax fonciere = €250 pa
Tax d'habitation = €250 pa
s/c (coproprietere incl water) = €500 pa
Elec = €150 pa
= €1,150 pa (c.£70 pm / £3 per day / £13 per day of use)
If I add a figure for cost of funds (but assume capital value moves in line with long term inflation) of c.3%, then it costs a further £25 per day of use. That's for a family of four, including Xmas, Easter skiing. And not even Feb half term.
Where is your place Stoner? That's staggeringly cheap on taxes and electricity. Is it tiny?
Is it tiny?
Said the actress to the bishop.
Yes. Yes it is. 😳
Yes, it's really just our own cupboard* in a 90's block. It's in a great location in Montriond (a great village just outside Morzine) with a Navette stop in front for the bus up to Ardent in 5mins.
It's a 225sqft pad, with a nice west facing balcony, bunk bed room (proper room with a door, not a coin motagne) for the boys to be shut away in, bathroom, bog, and main kitchen/living/bedroom. Works v well for us.
There's v v few "large" apartments of 500-750sq ft, and of course chalets are madly expensive as they are really "businesses" rather than real residences.
* although brilliantly it came with not only a ski locker, but also a basement store room in which I can store all our outdoor equipment as well as 3 or 4 bikes. And it also has an underground car parking space, which we use as a bike stand in summer.
Well if you get to wanting to do winter weekend lets Stoner I'm sure you'll have a customer base here from a few people 🙂
225sqft .... multiply by .3048... multiply by .3048.... OK gotcha!
I think my bedroom alone is bigger than that*, which explains why taxes are a lot higher (and my leccy bill!).
So used to working in Sainte Foy - a "small" apartment here is more like 700sqft. The whole shoebox thing really passed us by!
*Not chalet willy-waving here, this is my full-time abode, down in the valley!
And Swetty Mountain bikers !!
Was looking at something myself in Montrond for 2 weeks in august on the bike
What's people's thoughts on Goggles, especially their colour/tint?
I've only ever had one pair, with a slight tint. Used in rain, cloud an bright sun. they're a bit scratched so fancied a new pair.
Is it worth getting a couple of pairs for different conditions? Are there any colours that particularly enhance difficult, flat conditions?
Jeez that's cheap, Stoner! Even for the size.
Edit now I've done the sums and found some documents:
334 ft2 plus a south facing balcony
Taxe foncière 384e this year
Taxe d'habitation 496e (two years ago, it's gone up )
charges de copropriété 1600e and rising
water 160e
electricity circa 100-150e
What's people's thoughts on Goggles
I like Smith I/O. They have interchangeable lenses so that deals with any light condition. Plenty of brands now doing some kind of a quick change lens system. It's probably best to try them on in a store though, to make sure they fit your face/helmet (if you wear one).
What's people's thoughts on Goggles, especially their colour/tint?
As above, ones that fit/work with your helmet first of all!
Tints?
I have a Persimmon for bad weather, and Snow Black Iridium for the sunshine. Seems to cover everything I might need very well indeed. If the weather looks changeable, I'll take a spare lens in the goggle pocket of my jacket. A doddle to change the lens when having a cheeky coffee. Crowbars and a Smith lid, BTW.
Yep - go with the brand you can try on in your local shop. It's really important that they fit well.
I've got Oakley something (Canopy maybe?) with a rose prizm lens which suits me in all conditions.
With goggles I have found that certain brands and models come down too low on my nose so as others have said try out some. If you pick a set with interchangeable lens you can swap around depending on the day. Smith have some photo-chromatic if you want to avoid the hassle. Pricey though.
Really like my goggles from [url= http://www.summitworldwide.eu/ ]Summit Worldwide[/url].
First comfy pair of goggles I have found, they have interchangeable lenses and look great. I went for the Evolve.
Price is reasonable too.
Haven't managed to damage them. I'm a bit hard on eyewear, no matter how much I try to look after them.
For anybody else who sweats like a Turkey at Thanksgiving, I can recommend the Smith Turbo Fan range.
They have a little fan at the top that maintains airflow across the lens. The only goggles I have ever had which are mist-free.
As above, ones that fit/work with your helmet first of all!
Yep! You'll notice that I didn't ask about brands or interchangeable lenses... 😛
I wanted to low-down on colours & tints first. I know that Bolle work well with my helmet, as do my current ones (though 've forgotten who makes them). Once I know what tint I might be looking for, if I can't get them in by Bolle then I'll go down my local S&R and try some on!
Serre Che have moved their opening back a week. Was due to be this weekend, but there's still grass showing on the Cucumelle!
I reckon avoriaz may move theirs forward from Dec 19.
chamonix opens this weekend
Chamonix [Grand Montets} opened last week !!
did it?? my mate lives there said this weekend
Hochkoenig in Austria opens this weekend, think Zell does too.
I have some Bolle goggles (Nova I think). Bought them reduced off somewhere like Sportpursuit. Lens was Vermillion Gun which turned out to be a bit poor in low light. I got on to the UK distributor (Bushnell I think) and ordered a photochromatic lens for £25 - rather than sending me a new lens they just sent me new goggles with the photochromatic lens!
jedi - Memberdid it?? my mate lives there said this weekend
Sorry this weekend. Last week my daughter said she was going there next weekend, she meant this weekend.
Meanwhile in Morzine today
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Lots of snowy pictures from Verbier too.
Looking at those snow pictures is making my legs twitchy!
Back of Avoriaz (Le Fornet) apparently
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Looks like Monday could be a stunning day for skiing in Scotland. 2 days of storms followed a very calm weather window
rumours Avoriaz might open next weekend...
could it be a great, great season? I think so. 😀 😀 😀 😀
Yep, official Avoriaz Facebook page says they are opening the 5th.
Never been to Avoriaz before, once we get dropped by transfer service at the car park, what is the best way to get to the flat? It is the other side of the resort. Don't fancy walking with kids and suitcases.
there are skid/wheel dolly trucks around that you can use and leave at docking stations. They then get taken back to the car park for others to use. It's well thought out.
Great thanks.
Seems like its warming up in the Alps this week....NOT what we want to see, but is there enough snow to keep the open slopes open?
NOT what we want to see,
Not a bad thing, means at least a decent safe base will be created if not too much melts. Lots of people died last year because no solid decent base built up
I decided to bite the bullet and bought a pair of Hestra gloves. Despite the expense, they seem to be the one that everyone recommends. Luckily I found a place that had a pair of size 12 in stock, so I should have enough space for liners as well.
cchris2lou
Horse drawn sleigh from the top car park FTW if you turn up at a sensible time of day.
Never used it though as have only driven up the hill to avoid the queues at morzine
Anyone point me in the direction of a good quality purveyor of women's ski jackets?
Aside from Sport Pursuit.
piemonster - All kinds out there... Ellis Brigham/Snow and Rock if you want 2016 at full price. TK Maxx if you want a bit of a lottery (I got a Quiksilver goretex jacket for £75 reduced from £330 last weekend)!
I quite like Two Seasons.
If you are very confident on size try one of the European online shops - most are still offering Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals. The exchange rate means you can get some real bargains. Glisshop are really good.
We placed an order last night with Snowinn - good prices, not sure what the service is like though. Will be interesting when that parcel arrives if we're not in, not sure they'll find a neighbour willing to take in skis, coffin bag, poles and a load of other stuff.
piemonster. You could try [url= http://www.thesportsoutlet.co.uk/snow/jackets ]The Sports Outlet[/url]. They have a fair few last season jackets on there.
My wife and I have picked up jackets (Quiksilver Mission, Bonfire, North Face) from TKMaxx.
Wife also scours Charity shops and has picked up some amazingly priced items (As new North Face gilet for £16).
[url= http://www.westbeach.com/ ]Westbeach[/url] have a sale on at the moment.
piemonster - I've had some great deals from Blue Tomato (Austrian shop that delivers to UK no problem)
and Absolute-Snow.co.uk
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Thought I'd share this pic taken at Cervinia this past week. Just makes me want to bomb that all the way!
Nice Rockape. Cervinia is great in a point your skis and let it go type way. Pistes are very wide, very long and mostly not hugely steep. It's very easy to cover a lot of ground very quickly. It does suffer from strong winds though which regularly close the lifts.
