Chalet la Bas

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Chalet la Bas

Ski, Board And Mountain Bike Chalet, Les Arcs, France.

Catered ski chalet offering great priced accommodation and high levels of friendly service to our guests

23/12/2024

It snowed down here at valley level. All set for a White Christmas.
However, the drive needed clearing and the car digging out.
I politely asked Connie of she would do it and she said " no, my dear sweetheart! Well, that what I think she said as she pushed me towards the snow shovel.

Lucky the snow was dry powder, so light and easy to move. The village roads are cleared by neighbours with a snow Plough, employed by the local council.
The main road is cleared every 15 minutes by the regional government ploughs.

So, all being easy ( not) our daughter Stef and Geoff decided they wanted to go to Sainte Foy ski area to enjoy the powder conditions. Normally it takes 25 minutes but today, due to the roads, it took an hour.

Here's the photos of our trip and when we got back I had to clear the driveway yet again.
And it's still coming down.

Will this be Snowmageddon 2?

I christened my Aussie Drover hat to the snow of the Alps
Purchased in the hot sunshine of Queensland and now suffering a real winter.

21/12/2024

We went up to Val d'Isere yesterday, very, very cold! Connie wanted to see the Christmas shops!

On the mountain it was minus 20, not including wind chill. Minus 6 in the town.

The driving , from just before Tignes Dam was on hard packed snow and black ice covered with a top dusting of loose powder snow. Hair raising!

Always a pleasure to see the spectacular Val d'Isere scenery, particulary the avalalanche prone drive up, but Connies verdict on the shopping was a thumbs down.

19/12/2024

Here's a tour of our Christmas decoration, mostly hand made by Connie.
I did the tree and I suppose most of the presents underneath are for me!

Last year I was voted second best chalet host by our guests..... and second best chalet chef!!!!

18/12/2024

Here's a magical picture from the top of the Aiguille Rouge at 3250m and looking over the Arc 2000 snowbowl towards Mont Blanc (4810m). You can see all of the lights of the various villages from the valley floor at 800m up to the high altitude Arc 2000m and over to La Rosiere at 1800m
A full moon tonight.

18/12/2024

CLB in full Christmas mode. The bar is now open, Pelforth Blonde on draught this week.
Pistes open, snow good all the way from the top at 3200m down to 1600m.
Current snow line about 900m, just above us. More coming tomorrow!

We are having a family Christmas this year, for the first time in donkeys years.

Our first guests arrive December 29th, a full chalet.

05/12/2024

We are slowly getting on with our Christmas decoration of Chalet la Bas.
I started at the most important part, the winter beer bar.
It's named Chalet la Bar.
I think I'm so clever!

Just an elbow high shelf for drinkers and a glass shelf left to fit!
I've been eyeing up the 6 litre draught barrels for Christmas outdoor refreshments.

As before, the beer bar is cleverly accessed from the porch window.

So far the beer is alpine air chilled, it was minus 3c this morning, but they are promising more snow this weekend.
Then I can build my snow fridge.

The weather forecaster at CLB ( me) has noted the smoke rising from the village chimneys as going from East to West.
This is always a sure sign of a front moving in from the West in the next few days.

Oh, forgot to mention, the tree is up.

27/11/2024

Well, we made it. There were incredibly strong winds from the South and directly up the Rhone Valley, so the traffic was light. There was as a do not travel warning in place, that we ignored.
We lost the gales as we turned into the Alps at Lyon.
The warm southern wind, it was 19c all the way until we started the climb up the mountains, had stripped the snow from the valley floor.
The current snow line is at 1700m. The snow conditions look very promising, with more to fall next week as the temperatures drop again.

Connies been sorting everything out inside and I've been removing all of the props and shuttering from the build of CLB2. The concrete has well cured now after the pour in August.
I even found a spare 30 minutes to enjoy the sunshine in the garden, until Connie copped me taking it easy.

Coming from outside to inside was like travelling to Australia again. 9c in the garden and a balmy 25c inside..

The wood from the trees I felled, logged and split 2 summers ago are burning nicely in the log burner .

I'm getting the outside beer bar ready for winter. It's going to be new and improved.
Nothing beats an Alpine air chilled bottle at the end of a day's skiing.

Here's today's view from the Vanoise Express cable car and another from the kitchen window.

24/11/2024

We're in France heading south. The temperature in Calais was 19c!!!

Hope the snow is not too affected by this warm spell!

Here's a hopeful picture showing the Arc 2000 snow bowl with Mont Blanc in the distance.

23/11/2024

So, the winter tyres are fitted and we are ready to head back.
Connie said I shouldn't try to save money on the channel crossing as the bad weather might affect it.
Well, turns out she's right ( as always). DFDS and P and O have cancelled all sailings until the gale force winds of Storm Bert have passed and dangerouscsea conditions have calmed.

Guess what I had booked!

No, all ye of little faith! I booked the tunnel departure on Sunday morning. At double the ferry price, I should add, which broke my heart!

Now all we need are clear roads

The recent snow looks to have completed Les Arcs pretty well. There's snow down to the valley floor, where we are situated, although it doesn't look as much as they forecast. Driving into the Tarentaise Valley should be straight forward on Monday.

21/11/2024

Filling in quite nicely in Les Arcs.
We are still stuck in Kent, the winter tyres are being fitted tomorrow. New scheduled departure to France on Sunday, arrival CLB on Monday.

We are now pretty much booked until February 9th.
A couple of spaces the week commencing January 12th.
Last week in March and 2 rooms available from April 6th and that's your lot!

The only thing to stop us now would be an overnight heavy snowfall in Kent......and guess what the forecast says!!!

19/11/2024

It's snowing in Scotland and Northern England. It's also started snowing at Chalet la Bas.
However, we are stranded in Kent with our daughter, just about to start our return to France.
We're stranded because, someone, me, decided to leave fitting snow tyres until we we're back home.
This is now a huge problem as there's a gigantic snowfall just started and due to continue until Saturday and it's illegal to enter the Tarentaise Valley and Savoy without proper snow equipment.

It's less easy to get the right sized full winter tyres in South England than the French Alps and ours are arriving and being fitted later this week.

There is then the long drive, that by the looks of it will be severely snow affected.

Needless to say, Connie has mentioned my lack of preparedness.

Will we get back in time for Christmas?
Will the tyres arrive?
Will we get the now ice cold Chalet la Bas warm enough for the festive season.
Will Connie forgive me?
Will.....and the rest!

Snow reports as this season begins

Winter has come!

15/10/2024

Around the World in 50 days

Here we are sat on the final leg of our journey, your modern day Phileas Fogg and Passepartout.
Who is which, I wouldn't dare to venture, just in case it offends my fellow traveller. It has been one of my traits that I am able to offend my co voyager with the greatest of ease!

I have felt rumblings from the cyber universe that some of you have been thinking that to go on such a voyage means either 1. A hike in prices at CLB next season or 2. I've already overcharged and now enjoying the fruits of my deceit.

Honi soit qui mal y pense ! ( look it up all you non Latin speakers) you can rest easy and quell those thoughts of negativity towards me.

We dedicate this trip to Whitbread PLC for who we laboured, decades ago.
They left us a pension policy that whilst it was not worth taking as a monthly income of £36, it has, as a lump sum, nicely covered our adventure.

But, can we please mention that we still have New Year available and the last week in February. It would be nice to get that filled up so that we can plan next years trip.

Do you remember when we lost a day of our lives whilst crossing the Pacific Ocean. Well, I've just calculated and it seems we've got it back and our trip is now entitled, Around the World in 51 days
Just got to get to the Reform Club, before midnight!

Phileas and Passepartout

13/10/2024

CLB on tour, day 43 to 50

Into The Raj.

Through the Red Centre, over Bali, along Java Sea and down into Singarpore. Just a city, not too interesting for us. We managed to find a beach for some warm water swimming, saw Raffles Hotel, took a walking tour where I got us lost as they would not allow us to take a short cut through the Presidential Palace back to our hotel.
The hotel was the Orchard YMCA and we thought about arriving as the Highway Patrol cop and the Red Indian , but thought again.
And that's about it, 2 nights, airport again and off.......to India.

Never been before and we've never, ever seen anything remotely like what we have experienced over the past few day.

This time the organisation was taken from my hands and passed to the very excellent tour company www.magictoursofindia.com ( credit to Tom and Max , our guests last season)

We were efficiently met at the airport, after I had delayed our entry by my greasy, sweaty hands sabotaging the finger print machine at passport control!!!!, then whisked to the hotel in Delhi.
We were fed, taken out on our own excursions with a guide, fed again, then bed and repeat.

Our own private driver throughout, an expert in navigating through the maze of bikes pedestrians, rickshaws, cattle, lorries, buses and cars.

He whisked us to site after site of what can only be described as the Magic of India.

It, of course Included Agra and the Taj Mahal ( that's it, ambition achieved, I can s***f it now). It also Included, as part of the Golden Triangle Tour, the famous city of Jaipur.

Today we've visited fortresses, old Harems( sadly no longer in use), ancient stairwells and the famous Water Palace or Jar Mahal. More to come tomorrow on our rickshaw tour of the old city.

Connie was nearly stolen away in marriage by a younger Sikh man on a Gurdwara temple visit and she has had numerous photo requests thinking that she was a movie star when leaving the Taj. Note how I casually refer to it as the Taj, since now, I am an old acquaintance!

At the.....Taj, I even informed the expert guide of something he did not know. I told him that the design of the palace conformed to the Golden Ratio of 1.618 and explained it to him.
How smart I felt! I think I explained a little louder than necessary, so others could hear.

Connie said I was a know all!

But, anyway, back to the story, no-one asked me for a picture or mistook me for a movie star, I wonder why. They seem only to push me out of the way for a better view of Madame!

Our charming Jaipur hotel is just around the corner from the hotel where the Best Marigold Hotel was filmed.
I've taken it to heart and I'm gradually adapting a Bill Nihey persona.

The trip is superb and many credit points have been added to my book by Connie.
I have even been addressed as Sir in the hotels and I'm sure the waiting staff have been impressed by my knowledge of Indian words such as, Aloo, Gobi, Chana, Puri, Naan, Punkawalla, Veranda and Kingfisher!
Such talent, they most likely thought.

Connie has once again suggested I take this level of service on board. Well, I might, but then again maybe not!

Enjoy the pictures

08/10/2024

Here's some statistics to chew on.
Our road trip in Australia was 4100 miles up the coast from Sydney to Townsville. Then, after an enforced vehicle change we headed inland into the bush, a bit of the Outback, The Highlands, The Blue Mountains and back to Sydney.

And we still barely scratched this surface of this giant nation.

Yesterday we flew from Sydney over the Red Centre and it took 4 hours to get to the North West coast.

By way of comparison our road trip is the same distance as driving from Smethwick Police Station in Piddock Rd to Kerman in South East Iran, not far off the Pakistan border.

Mind you, driving to Iran, just at the moment is probably not the best idea!

06/10/2024

CLB on tour, day 35 to 42

Into the mountains and down to the beach.

We stayed in Warwick but no medieval castle in this one. Then Glen Iness with the great historic main street and the Great Central Hotel and pub where we bumped into Geoff and Kate from the Central Coast. Kindred spirits, we held the same views on the world, was it just the beer? They were so entertaining too. Great Aussies!
How good it would have been to spend more time with them. But, our travel paths crossed, stuck, and then divided again as we went on our separate ways.
Geoff and Kate, if you do ever read this, drop us a line.

Next, through a succession of Scottish named towns as we headed into the New England Highlands of New South Wales. There must be a joke in that combo somewhere!

It was chilly at 1400metres and we resorted to winter jackets . You didn't get the impression we were that high as this part of the Great Dividing Range was a gigantic plateau and we had climbed steadily over the past 100miles without noticing.
So, arriving at the Ebor Falls first and the Woolomombi afterwards we were awestruck by what was in front of us. A great cleft fault had opened the landscape and a marvel of nature was there to greet.

Slowly, down off the plateau and into very smart town of Tamworth for an overnight stay. We can very much recommend the laundrette there and the pub in the Tudor Hotel on the main street,serving good ales and grub

On into wine country and the Hunter Valley.
We stayed in a smart Mercure hotel and Connie was impressed. I was awarded merit marks. I didn't let on that I got the room on a special offer that saved ££££'s.
Please don't tell!

We were soon nearing journeys end but not the end of the tour.
But, we had left the best till last.The Blue Moutains. Some of the best vistas we've ever experienced.

Now, as I write we are relaxing on Bondi Beach after a couple of days exploring Sydney and now debating whether to chance a swim in the cool almost cold water.
Cool = 18c or 64f. Not much difference to England's South Coast sea temperatures.

Connie was plotting how to get rescued by the hunky Bondi Beach patrol after being a long time fan of Bondi Rescue.

However, it's more likely to be me as the embarrassing focus of a rip ride sweep away, with Connie watching on, but distancing herself from the stupid Pommie.

All was diffused when we decided to swim in the sea water pool. Still cold but safe.
Connie didn't get her hunky life savers but she got better, me ! What...... I heard that thought.

We leave Sydney on Monday 7th, but this party ain't over yet. Really enjoyed Sydney, a fantastic place to live and visit.

We may well be back.

29/09/2024

CLB on tour, day 29 to 34.
Into the Outback.

Sad to leave Airlie Beach but eager to continue the road trip.
Unexpectedly we had to head further North to change the hire car.
Connie had left the car booking to me. I got a medium sized SUV from a company called Bargain Car Rentals in Sydney. It was a very good deal!

The car turned out to be a Chinese made Huval Jolion. I'd never heard of it, Connie was immediately disappointed by its performance and it proved the old adage buy cheap, buy twice. Well, in this case it meant changing the car, as all sorts of "car needs a service" messages and images of red spanners had flashed up on the dashboard. It did not amuse Connie, nor did my explanations that we got a good deal. But, we did get a good deal, really!

So, we just had to head to the nearest Bargain Car Rentals depot, 3 hours north, off our planned route, to Townsville.
As it turned out and lucky for me, Townsville was rather nice, lovely Queensland architecture on the main street and a bit of a party town.
So, after an afternoon stroll along the lovely Strand and it's beach and vistas over to Magnetic Island we visited a fabulous Greek taverna.
They served us late lunch and me specifically,several chilled, genuine Mythos Greek beers. I , then, full of bonhomie, invited Connie on an early evening pub crawl, to enjoy the highlights of this tropical city.
She sceptically accepted , but lucky for her, I proved , yet again, to be a lightweight and we were tucked up in bed at 8.30.

Next day, with the new and much newer, better performng, cleaner, nicer, medium size SUV car, we set off inland and outback.
First, visiting the charming Charters Towers the gold rush town, then south to Clermont another gold rush town, Emerald the gem stone town, Springsure the one donkey town, Injune just about a town, Roma the non Italian town and Miles the everything was shut on Saturday afternoon and the swimming pool was cold town, where we were yesterday.
Today we left the Outback and headed for Toowoomba and the Great Dividing Range of mountains.

We are now some 2000km from our (second) start point in Townsville and 5500km (3500 miles) total into our road trip.

To be perfectly honest, much, but not all, of the Outback part of the journey was monotonous flat landscape and uninspiring towns. Not too many tourists come this way but all the Aussies we met en route, were friendly, warm, open people beyond anything we've experienced before.
Normally people take an instant dislike to me and want to pick a fight, but not the Aussies. They laughed at me , with me, about me and Connie was always eager to join in.
Needless to say Connie was more popular than me.

How she beamed with happiness when the Hotel manager said "is she your daughter"!
How she laughed when the lovely lady in the shop I was buying my outback Drover Hat from said I had a big head and she had those sizes out back.
How she was thrilled when I got offered a senior discount on museum entry but she was not!

Every shop, bar, hotel, motel and coffee house we entered, we were treated like long lost friends and swiftly entered into long, fun chats with the best hosts possible.
Aussies, we love you.

Connie suggested I try the same charm with our guests next season.
Don't be stupid, I said, they all love my miserable face and my particular style of customer service and brand of humour.
You do, don't you?

Enjoy the pics

23/09/2024

CLB on tour day 22 to 27

Yes, I said to Connie, visiting my nephew, Sam, was a destination but not "the" destination. In fact, just one of many destinations. I said this to appease her as we only visited Sam and Alice for 1 day.
Plenty enough, from their point of view, I suppose and to be honest, I'd made the costly mistake of visiting during Alices birthday weekend so it was only good manners to invite her to a restaurant of her choice and foot the bill
Luckily, Alice chose the restaurant attached to our hotel as it was beautifully sited on the marina.
I was so happy with this choice because:
1 I had been given £30's worth of bar vouchers when we checked into the hotel
2 I received 20% discount on the meal as a hotel guest.
3 I had told Connie it was 10%, so I had plenty leeway for extra, secret beers.

What a winner and very good IPA, Guiness, Tropical Pale Ale, 4X, and Northern Breweries Bitter followed.

As well as great Barramundi and Red Emperor fish meals.

This naturally disqualified me from driving them home, Connie, said, never mind my dearest sweetheart, enjoy your semi inebriated state and I will do all the driving for you.
At least I think thats what she said.

However, next morning I noticed the book marked Errors, Misdemeanours, bad itineraries and inebriated states was open and it looked like a fresh ink entry.

We headed further North, me, delicate with a light headache, Connie seeking compensation.
We went to Fabulous Noosa, in the North of the Sunshine Coast. Excellent boutique shops, lovely beach, well, Connie Enjoyed them. I suffered in the shade.

We visited the interesting Glass House Mountains and carried on to Maryborough, birthplace of Mary Poppins author Pamela Lyndon Travers.
Ah, I said to Connie, thats why Mary Poppins was called Mary....
MARYborough.
Connie said I knew that an hour ago when we saw the Mary Poppins statue but thought it much too obvious to mention
I noted the emphasis on much.

Actually I also thought the public toilets, called The Cistern Chapel, were more up my street of interest, just look at pics or google it. I actually spent $10 on a golden wc keyring and thats a lot of money for me to part with willingly

Next stop was Rockhampton the Beef capital of Austrailia, followed by Gladstone the commodities capital and to make the hat trick of capitals we passed through Mackay the sugar capital of ....... You get the drift.

But, then we arrived at the gem of our visit so far. Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands.
The accomodation was in a tropical rainforest retreat. Connie thought it was excellent and I received credits.
I booked it because of the expansive camp kitchen area which meant we could shop at Woolworths supermarket and buy the beer at bottle store next door.
Connie got all of her favourites from home cooked for her and I had a fridge full of chilled liquid, a big saving on restaurant prices.

It got better still. I booked a circumnavigation cruise of the Whitsunday Islands. It was Superb!, with a capital S.

However, it looked like it had all fallen apart when our morning pick up point to join the catamaran was a bus shelter at the edge of the rain forest.
Connie had echos being abandoned at bus shelters north of the arctic circle, 2 years ago and naturally feared the worst.

No more to write, the pictures tell the story.

18/09/2024

CLB on tour, day 18 to 21

Lost at Curtis Falls.

Crossing from New South Wales into Queensland we were heading for Currumbin Rock Pools for a day of swimming in a Garden of Eden type setting. Except, when we got there the pools were cordoned off by the Queensland authorities and a remote Aqua-Drone was investigating below the surface.
I spotted a mud covered turtle and announced it. Connie said she saw it some minutes before and thought it not worth mentioning.
Rock pool closed, so we directed ourselves through tropical rain forested hills to Tambourine Mountain. The area, lived up to its climatic billing and lashed down with rain most of the way.
As we climbed to the top of the plateau at 1700 feet the cloud closed in and it got cold. It felt more like Scotland than sub tropical Queensland.Then, as if reading my thoughts, through the mist appeared Stonehaven Manor proclaiming itself a Scottish Hotel.
We shot past!

What could be done on such a day. I explained to Connie that a trek to Curtis Falls under the protective high canopy of the trees would be just the ticket!
Connie was reluctant and wanted to visit a cosy café for coffee and lunch. Luckily, she saw sense and with our winter down jackets on and hoods up we set out for Curtis Falls.
It turned into the usual nature spotting competition pretty quickly and when Connie asked me if I had spotted that Brush Turkey with different neck colouring, I said "no, where"? She said, "just behind your leg" . I looked down and knew I had lost.

We got to the Falls and they were worth seeing. To make the day more Interesting, I suggested we follow the alternative trail on the the return leg. It would add a couple of hours to the tour. The tree canopy had kept us quite dry up to this point, so we set out on a stumbly ,crumbly trail along the torrent leading from the falls.
Electro-synthesisor bird calls echoed, replied to by squawking, arguing Cockatoos.
Dragon faced Lizards watched us as we crossed over the old stone bridge. In retrospect I think they were saying no, don't go that way in Dragon Faced Lizard face language. But, I don't speak it, so we did.
Connie was beginning to show her disapproval of the route too, but not in face language. So, we continued.
After an hour or so we came to another bridge where I assured Connie we could take the short trail back to the car.
Except, the bridge was down and after seeing a small dark, thin snake slither by the waters edge, we were both reluctant to cross.
South East Queensland is home to 58 varieties of snake most of which can either kill you by venom or crush you.
So, it was trek all the way back again and that coincided with the tree canopy umbrella letting us down.
Wet and bedraggled we got to the car and dried off.
There was payment to be made for this slight slip and the cafés and shops of Tambourine Mountain town provided the remedy.

From here we headed North to better weather on the Sunshine Coast.
A near 2 hour crossing of the gigantic Brisbane urban sprawl was a negative.
Did you know that Brisbane is the biggest city in Australia? I didn't, it is!
It's like Bir.ingham with tropical plants and palm trees and a beach. In fact, it's nothing like Birmingham at all.

Eventually, after an overnight at a gambling hotel resort at Bribie Island (don't ask,) we got to Mooloolaba and the Sunshine Coast, our destination.

My sisters son, Sam or my nephew even, was living here with his other half, Alice. This was one of the reasons that stimulated this trip, planned as it was, some 8 months ago.

Connie noted that it had taken 19 days to get here in the book marked errors, misdemeanours, wrong turns and bad planning. Several entries seemed to be written.

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Videos

Ebor Falls, upper section

CLB on tour, extra. We had an encounter with a UFO over the desert. Connie hoped that I was about to be abducted and experimented upon to change me for the better. The aliens thought it would be a challenge so, breath out dear followers, I will be the same,warm,friendly chalet host, next season.

Cattle stampede at the top of our drive! Well, perhaps not a stampede but a race to fresh green pastures and the beginning of their slow 4 month climb up the mountains for the summer. They will be back at the end of October and greeted by thousands in their annual procession through Bourg St Maurice.

Chalet la Bas went to the Brasserie du Petit San Bernard bar and brewery tonight for a disco.......... However due to age limitations we left before it got going!

Dance routine practice at CLB. Problem is they are practicing above my bedroom- no sleep tonight.

Sheffield girls week. Here's some of the team getting the party going on the last funicular down (they almost missed it as they stayed too long partying and dancing in the aprés at Folie Douce Arc 1800)

Team CLB on the piste.

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