Alpinebreaks.com

05/10/2024

So please donate £1 each and together we’ll make a difference (click on link below)

This weekend - 3 mountains in 3 days followed by the 100kms walk along the Normandy Beaches raising money for injured British servicemen and women

I'm taking part in the Frontline Walk: The Western Front - a 100km trek commemorating those who fought in WWI whist helping to support the soldiers and veterans of today.

18/09/2024

Challenge Accepted! Please donate a pint (£5) to injured servicemen and women - click on link below

3 mountains in 3 countries in 3 days followed by a 100km trek along the Battlefields of the Somme and up to Menin Gate Ypres
Start 5th October

Your help is greatly appreciated for British people who gave more than just military service for their country...thank you

I'm taking part in the Frontline Walk: The Western Front - a 100km trek commemorating those who fought in WWI whist helping to support the soldiers and veterans of today.

08/03/2024

March skiing as we know it

29/02/2024

I do hope you have had a fabulous ski season and looking at posts have seen many of you trying new areas.....

I have been working with a Charity to help injured soldiers and their families and wish for people to join me to play golf, all standards welcome. We only require you to raise £100pp so not asking much but it would mean a lot.... and after all we're not asking you to run marathons etc lol If you would like to come play at our first event in Blackpool on Fri 7th June 2024, then please register through our website www.therugbyrelics.co.uk Thank you kindly for your time, Darren

Proudly helping our injured servicemen and women

26/06/2023

If made tartiflette they’d probably ask for my recipe 😉

10/06/2023

Another weekend, another challenge and possibly the weirdest pack gift I’ve ever had!! Enjoy your weekend peeps!

16/04/2023

That's all Folks!!
Thank you for another fabulous ski season

09/03/2023

Summer Chalet Auction 2023

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to start an auction with all proceeds going to the ABF The Soldiers Charity on behalf of the Rugby Relics Frontline Walk
Chalet Lac de Vonnes is a beautiful 4 bedroom chalet in Chatel in the French/Swiss alps which is rented out throughout the year.

The auction would be for any Summer dates for one week (7 days) apart from the last week in July and first two weeks of August, plus any already booked. So this can be reasonably flexible. This would be on a self-catered basis, travel to and from the area is not included. And a cleaning fee of €200 is payable in resort when you leave.

The final date for bidding would be the 1200hrs on 30 April 2023 For all details of the chalet go to: https://alpinebreaks.com/chalets/chalet-lac-de-vonnes/

The bidding starts @ £800 and can be open on the platform or send me a private message.

Please share this for everyone but also if you would just like to donate something to a fabulous cause for injured British personal who will be very grateful, go to:

Help The Rugby Relics raise money to support ABF The Soldiers' Charity

29/01/2023

The new lift in Super Chatel is another game changer

26/01/2023

19/01/2023

The balcometer says it will be a stunning day - plenty of fresh snow ❄️, remaining cold and clear skies!!

17/01/2023

The snow says we have enough snow

13/01/2023

Not often I get to say thank you to the media for reporting positively

Resorts set for ‘gamechanging’ snowfall after tricky start to the season due to unseasonable January heat

10/01/2023

Dates Available for this winter which maybe of interest now the snow is here:

Chalet Timide - up to 10 people
Sat 11-18 Feb 2023 - Self catered
Sat 4-11 March 2023 - Catered £675pp

Chalet La Fontaine
Thu 16-23 March 2023 - Catered £645pp

Chalet Lac de Vonnes
Sun 26 Mar - 02 Apr 2023 - Catered £595pp

10/01/2023

Good morning

09/01/2023

….and then there was snow!

09/01/2023

A super interesting start to the season and we hear the concerns. Here we go to allay those fears......

Chatel has an incredible snow record, and is deemed a snow sure resort due its micro climate, topography, amazing snow cannon system, huge reservoirs to support those snow cannons and incredible human resource management infrastructure.

Chatel is not fully open but there is more than enough to keep most people entertained. They are not the best snow conditions we have ever seen, but better than Milton Keynes snow dome (which incidentally I do believe is a fantastic amenity). The crucial thing to consider is that Chatel is open and the links to Avoriaz are open. Therefore, unlike many ski resorts across the whole of Europe which are closed, Chatel and Avoriaz are attracting people from far and wide searching for that skiing fix.... Therefore the only negative thing you will hear about Chatel maybe is that it is busy. Chatel and Avoriaz are the flames and the moths are attracted, if you excuse the pun.

The season started very well opening early December having had a healthy dump of snow end of November. However, following a long hot summer it seems the deluge of rain we expect in the later part of Autumn never came until just before Christmas. This washed away huge volumes of snow.

Some resorts did not recover from this, however Chatel has to be congratulated for its gigantic effort to repair pistes and to get the lift systems operating so very quickly. The photos are incredible that circulated.

Christmas and New Year weeks have seen ridiculous temperatures and some rain, but the Alpinebreaks team have been professional to the end and kept the flow of alcohol and service going.
Temperatures range from +6 to -13 over the next 10 days and everything in between. Snow depths currently in Chatel are between 5cm and 60cm at top. Consider that, we only need a thin base as we are skiing on pasture land and not rocks like higher resorts above 2000m. The winds are much lighter here. Take into consideration, protection from the Alpine trees but also every 1000m, the wind speed doubles. Sea level a 5km wind is 20kms at 200m and 40kms at 3000m.

Today as we speak, the snow is falling and temperatures are dropping. This week bodes well for snow and should see a vast improvement in quality and a few more places opening. We remain positive that we will eventually get a huge amount of snow, believing the season has just shifted this year.
We look forward to welcoming you all very soon, and love the fun and joy you all bring.

Our warmest regards, Darren and the Alpinebreaks team

ps. Am I meant to put a disclaimer here or do you understand this is my personal opinion and sales pitch? lol

03/01/2023

must be commended for its great snow management in such gruelling conditions making it one of the few resorts to stay open.

Happy new year from Châtel!
Some smart box setups in Pre la Joux from for making more out of your shred! (Merci! 🤟)
More resorts are closing around Europe, as we remain open to snowboard! Shh,
Conditions have turned very spring like. Freezing overnight, then thawing in the morning.
There's a light snow dusting overnight to come. And quite positive bigger dumps from the weekend on, to help reload the area.
Pre la Joux = 70% open
Linga = 70% open
Super Châtel = 10% open