Issue 6 - Winter 2015/16 - Morzine Source Magazine

winter 16

burton

flight

at tend ant

snowb

oard

Sir Ranulph Fiennes

PistenBully - The future of the piste

Why does it always snow at the weekend?

issue - 3 summer - 14

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welcome ‘Legend’. It’s an overused noun that I’m certainly guilty of throwing about from time to time. What is a legend anyway? ‘A very famous person, especially in a particular field, who is admired by others’ cites the Oxford English Dictionary. If that’s the case, you’ll definitely find more than one legend in this Winter 16 issue of Morzine Source Magazine.

We hope our exclusive interview with the world’s greatest living explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes inspires you

to be more adventurous than ever during your winter ski holiday this year. You’ll also notice that there’s a distinctly snowy theme throughout this issue – from snow safety to snow art, snowflake photography to snow forecasting, we’ve got the neige covered.

On the 132 beautifully recycled pages that follow you’ll find as much local information, news and events for Morzine, Les Gets and Avoriaz as we could pack into one issue of Source

Magazine. It’s been a busy 12 months in our three favourite resorts and our mission is to help you make the most of your time in the Portes du Soleil.

As always, our website is packed with events, updates, local news and live lift updates and if you have any feedback on this magazine, we’d love to hear from you.

Go forth and enjoy the snow…

Amie postings | publisher amie@morzinesourcemagazine.com

Sourc e Mag

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Copyright - Origami Media Ltd 2015 Source Magazine is published in the UK by and remains the property of Origami Media Ltd. All material in this magazine is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved by Origami Media Ltd. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publishers.

Dates, information and prices are believed to be correct at the time of going to print but are subject to change and no responsibility is accepted for omissions or errors.

Any correspondence and advertising enquiries should be directed to: info@origami-media.com or visit www.origami-media.com Design and reprographics by Cuttin Edge Solutions Ltd: www.cuttin-edge.co.uk / info@cuttin-edge.co.uk Printed in the United Kingdom by the Magazine Printing Company Front cover graphics copyright Morzine Source Magazine Many thanks to the Office de Tourisme in Morzine, Les Gets, Avoriaz & Portes du Soleil

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Contents New Lifts & Pistes in the Portes du Soleil............................... 8 Source Magazine meets Morzine’s Mayor............................. 10 The Sir Ranulph Fiennes Interview ...............................................12 Ski Vs. Snowboarding – An Endless Conflict? ........................18 Mission Nepal ..................................................................................................22 The 2016 Source Awards For Excellence ..............................26 Snowflakes in HD .......................................................................................28 Must Do’s in Morzine, Les Gets & Avoriaz...............................34 The Ultimate Family Ski Holiday.......................................................36 The Source Winter Fashion Guide ................................................38 PistenBully – The Past, Present & Future of The Piste............. 42 The Sascha Hamm Interview...............................................................46 Why Does it Always Snow at the Weekend?.........................58 Rock the Pistes Festival.......................................................................60 Le Tour de France 2016...........................................................................62 The Source Accommodation Directory.................................65 Backcountry Tech Review..................................................................70 The Science of Snow................................................................................ 74 The Woods Hardware Guide..............................................................82

Contributors

Ski Alternatives in Morzine, Les Gets & Avoriaz...............84 Source How To’s .........................................................................................86 Redbull’s Crashed Ice ........................................................................... 90

Rob Purver

Source Magazine Group Editor

Be An Eco Warrior......................................................................................94 Winter Warm-Ups ........................................................................................96

Rachael Stallwood

Chamonix Source Magazine Resort Editor

The Source Love Ski Guide...................................................................98 Dogs on Tour.............................................................................................. 102

Chloe Hardy Victoria Lopez Cover Art

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The new Chalet Chic............................................................................. 108 The Source Restaurant Guide.........................................................118 Book Review................................................................................................. 120 Competition – Win a Snowboard ......................................................124

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New lifts in the portes du soleil Avoriaz

Les Gets

We’re always impressed by the continued investment in the Avoriaz lift network. Each and every winter there’s a new lift to ride on or a new piste to discover, and this year is certainly no exception.

Controversial plans to connect the Chavannes area of Les Gets with Mont Chery mid station on the other side of the valley rumble on. Mont Chery is our favourite part of the Portes du Soleil for entirely selfish reasons. Not only is the mountain heaven on a powder day, it’s always quiet and we rarely need to queue for a lift. And that, it seems, is part of the problem.

You’ll remember the Brochaux lift, (opposite the speedy Mossettes 6-man) as a rickety old 3-man with an unhealthy swing and a bit of a whip as it scooped you up.

It was also the site of carnage at the end of a ski day, with hoards of holidaymakers heading back to Avoriaz. The new Brochaux 6-man lift starts in the same place and ends slightly higher, making the charge back into Avoriaz much easier for everyone.

At the top station of the Brochaux you’ll also find the new ‘Blue Velvet’ piste, which as the name suggests, is a blue run named after the 1986 Academy Award winning mystery film of the same name that debuted at the Avoriaz International Fantasy Film Festival.

Fans of the Arare and Le Crot homerun into Les Prodains will also spot that the piste has been widened and smoothed in places and new snow cannons have been popping up across the Avoriaz network, whilst on the Super Morzine a new junction has been created on the Zore so skiers can avoid that sketchy steep section at the bottom.

There’s been a construction boom in Les Gets over the last five years and several hundred new beds have been created for holidaymakers.

This continued expansion is creating bottlenecks on the Chavannes and on the links into neighbouring Morzine. It’s hoped that improving access to Mont Chery by spending €6 million on a teleporter lift across the rooftops of Les Gets will disperse

Unsurprisingly, not everyone supports the plan. Collective Getois is the name of a new association formed to petition against the new lift. They argue that the need for the project cannot be justified due to the overall cost, its likely profitability and the disastrous environmental and ecological impact on the village.

There’s also the suggestion that €6 million would be better spent upgrading the old lifts of the Ranfolly bowl first. Anyone that’s been smacked on the back of the legs by the Rosta chair is likely to agree.

You can follow the discussion, the petition and the decision making process in the Les Gets section of the Source website this winter.

Morzine

La Grande Terche

As far back as 2010 we heard mumblings of a new ski lift to connect Morzine and Avoriaz. First proposed to support Annecy’s (unsuccessful) bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics, a new connection was suggested to link the two resorts via the Prodains Express base. An animated video was even produced to demonstrate the two proposed routes with the title ‘1 Town, 2 Resorts, 1 Future’.

Also known as the ‘Espace Roc d’Enfer’, it’s probably the last remaining ‘hidden gem’ in the area.

Included on your Portes du Soleil lift pass, it offers up 23 great pistes covering 50km (1 black, 10 red, 7 blue and 5 green), all served by 18 lifts and a great restaurant (La Licorne) at the base of the main lift station.

No further plans or prospects to link the two resorts has been announced since the video emerged, so we asked Morzine’s Mayor for an update.

“Our biggest challenge is to reconcile the two stations of Morzine and Avoriaz, allowing both to grow as international tourist destinations.

Instillation of our link project between the centre of Morzine and Les Prodains will hopefully begin at the end of 2015 and then plans will fall into place gradually. We hope to see this great project succeed before 2020”.

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skiers and snowboarders over a wider ski area

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Improvements have been made this year on the uplift from the plateau, where a pair of draglifts have been replaced by a 4-man chairlift. The previous draglifts were a problem for both snowboarders and beginners as they restricted access to the rest of the ski area.

There’s also a new magic carpet in the beginners area, and because many of La Terche’s pistes are North facing and well covered by snow cannons, the area is pretty snow sure all season long.

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When Source met the Mayor

Gerard Berger is the Mayor of Morzine-Avoriaz. Since 2010 it’s been his responsibility to look after the development of the two resorts and as chairman of the municipal council, he has significant powers when it comes to managing the communities in which so many of us live, work and play.

How did you become the Mayor of MorzineAvoriaz?

Reconciling and physically connecting the two resorts together is key to this, hence our link project between the centre of Morzine and Avoriaz.

Nothing necessarily pushed me at first, because my other work as a structural engineer takes lots of my time. Rather, it is chance and circumstance. At the time of the resignation of the former Mayor, I was Assistant Mayor. I was naturally nominated to be the new Mayor of Morzine-Avoriaz and my mandate is until 2020. During the next few years we are very busy with many priorities for the whole area.

What has been the biggest challenge of your mandate so far?

Planning the growth of Morzine and Avoriaz as towns, while at the same time ensuring that there is sufficient economic development to maintain our resorts in the rankings of major international tourist destinations has been our biggest challenge. The central government in France has also cut our budget, which means the Mairie must make difficult decisions when allocating funding to municipal projects.

Last year the Mairie de Morzine-Avoriaz made an improved commitment to work closely with the local business community, both French and English, to help raise the profiles of both resorts and to further integrate them.

which is above all accessible to everyone.

We’d like to see the resorts of Morzine and Avoriaz open earlier for the summer season, and close later. Do you think this can happen?

What’s the best thing about being Mayor?

Imagining, coordinating and managing large projects and carrying out actions that are in the public interest. I rely on a team of great advisors and several municipal officials to make sure we get things done. Of course there are always dramas, and accidents can happen to people in our territory. Safety is a priority for us elected officials and we are constantly improving things.

It’s very difficult for the local community to find both seasonal and permanent rental accommodation in Morzine at the moment. Do you have any plans for more affordable housing?

Indeed, the pressure on land is becoming increasingly important and housing is a priority for us at the Mairie. In the draft Spatial Plan, we plan to build seasonal and annual housing,

Mountain biking is an important element in the economic development of Morzine-Avoriaz.

Of course, we work with the Tourist Offices and the ski lift companies to make these developments through the creation of tracks and events, such as the Pass’Portes du Soleil, which takes place in June. These actions help to maintain non-skiing activities outside the peak season.

An increasingly large portion of Morzine’s permanent population is British. How do you feel about this at the Mairie?

It is true that there is a large English-speaking community in our valley and for us locals, they are very welcome. The British community greatly contributes to the development of our town and we are open to reconciliation of our communities.

The Marie de Morzine-Avoriaz has a fully comprehensive website that includes many plans and proposals for the two resorts, and lots of other useful information too. Visit morzine.fr

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Sir Ranulph Fiennes

by Amie Postings

The World’s Greatest Living Explorer Bear Grylls, Felicity Aston and Ben Fogle. We love interviewing truly inspirational adventurers here at Source Magazine. So you can imagine our excitement when presented with the opportunity to chat with the world’s greatest living explorer.

Born in 1944 and brought up in South Africa until the age of 12, Sir Ranulph Fiennes became the youngest captain in the British Army, aged 21. Various scrapes and escapades ensued, giving Sir Ranulph a real taste for exploration and adventure.

Did your time in the British Army fuel your thirst for adventure?

Or did it come naturally?

“Being disappointingly non-introspective or philosophical, and definitely not given to hypothesis, I don't honestly know. I suppose people are mostly born to take a static office job, or they get bored easily, and I wouldn't have thought that was particularly overridden by circumstances. So I would think I was probably born with a gene that meant I didn’t want to hang around.”

The explorer has an astounding number of accolades and achievements under his belt including 22 major expeditions, perhaps the most notable being the Transglobe Expedition.

Between 1979 and 1982, Sir Ranulph, accompanied by Charles Burton, travelled around the world vertically on its polar axis, traversing both poles along a 52,000-mile route and using only surface transport. No one else has completed this route, either before or since.

as soon as I left we were married. She had a free cottage in Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands where she took people on guided tours of the area. I moved in and tried to write a book, but we were in a very bad financial state. We started looking around for something to do.

Really the only job that I'd done in the Cold War in Germany during 5 years with the Scottish Regiment, was as an adventure training officer. I taught soldiers how to canoe and ski and entered them into big Army races so there was a competitive element. One of the ways of canoeing was to take them up rivers – the Danube, the Rhone and the Loire, and I had a wonderful time. I could go wherever I wanted, all over Europe and the taxpayer paid for it – it was free! Planning adventures with my wife, it obviously was not.

Where did the idea come from to cross the globe on its polar axis?

The new word instead of ‘taxpayer’ was ‘sponsorship’, which was very difficult to begin with as no one had ever heard of us.

Our plans gradually got more ambitious over the years. The first fairly big one in 1968 was the first complete journey up the River Nile from the sea to the source by hovercraft. That was Ginny’s idea.

“My late wife of 38 years Ginny, she was the source of the idea. We didn’t have much of an income and she worked for the Scottish National Trust. I was out of the Army after 8 years, and

Crossing the globe on its polar axis needed a lot of luck, with the climate and so on. I’m not sure that we could do it today, with the ice being too thin.”

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I could go wherever I wanted, Š Chris Winter

all over Europe and the taxpayer paid for it – it was free!

Pl anning adventures with my wife, it obviously was not. /MorzineSourceMagazine

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Over a career that’s spanned 5 decades, Sir Ranulph has managed to transform his expeditions into a vehicle for fundraising.

The MS Society, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, the British Heart Foundation, Marie Curie Cancer Care and Seeing is Believing have all shared a fundraising pot worth more than £18 million since 1992. “I want it to say on my gravestone that I raised £20 million for charity,” Fiennes recently told the Telegraph.

When it comes to new challenges, how does the thrill for exploration weigh against the opportunity to raise money for charity? Or do they now go hand in hand?

“Initially we didn’t raise any money, for any charity, and we don’t get paid a penny for organisation or preparation.

Phone calls, emails, etc, we get nothing at all. The only people who make or ‘raise’ money as you put it, are the charities that we go along with, and hopefully they are clever enough to use what we’re doing to raise money for themselves.

Around 1985 our Patron told us that to move forward we must raise money for charity, otherwise he would not go

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on being our Patron. I had no idea that raising money for charities was part of

Crossing the globe on its pol ar axis needed a lot of luck, with the climate and so on.

I’m not sure that we could do it today, with the ice being too thin expeditions, or that it could be done.

Back then Prince Charles had been our Patron for 10 years. I was briefing him at Highgrove on the next expedition and he suddenly asked ‘who are we raising money for this time?’ And I said ‘nobody sir, that’s not what expeditions are about.’ He said ‘oh dear, well if I am to carry on being Patron, you’re going to have to start.’ I asked him who we should raise money for, and 2 months later he

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suggested Multiple Sclerosis. Without even trying we raised £4.2 million and started building Britain’s first ever MS research centre. As a result we’re up to £18.2 million for various charities as of last year.”

In 2009, aged 65, Sir Ranulph summited Everest at 1am BST, becoming the oldest Briton and the first British pensioner to do so, raising over £3 million for Marie Curie Cancer Care in the process. During an earlier attempt in 2005 he had a heart attack at 8,500 metres and his 2008 expedition was abandoned after he suffered exhaustion and vertigo during the climb.

Just this year, aged 71, Sir Ranulph faced down fears about his health to become the oldest Briton to complete the Marathon des Sables. Billed as the ‘toughest footrace on earth’, Fiennes completed the 156 mile, 6 day course in the blistering 50 degree Sahara desert.

You’re frequently referred to as a ‘veteran adventurer’, or ‘the oldest person to do this’ and ‘the world’s greatest living explorer’. Do these descriptions make you feel old?

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"The only time someone said I was the world’s greatest living explorer, quote unquote, was the Guinness Book of Records in 1984! And I’ve done some stuff since then!"

How do you feel about the prospect of retirement?

"Retirement? It’s very very bad. I don’t want to even think about it. And I don’t like that it’s not as easy as it was to go for a run, or whatever. " In this issue of Source Magazine we’ve also spoken with families on the ground in Nepal to see how their lives have changed following the tragic earthquakes and avalanches in 2015. You’ve spent some time in the region, what were your impressions of Nepal and its people?

“I didn’t really spend much time with its people, other than one Sherpa. And on a bus getting to the base camp.

Lots more can be done in many ways to help areas that have suffered earthquakes or tsunamis and we are extremely lucky not to get as much bad luck as some people do – we get a few puddles and that’s it!”

The world has changed a lot over the last 70 years and the technology available to accompany extreme exploration can now negate many of the associated risks.

Despite this, Sir Ran has never sent an email and all of his 22 books were written long-hand.

How does modern adventure kit – clothing, sledges and communications for example, compare to the technology you had available during the Transglobe Expedition?

“We navigated in terms of knowing where we were over 2000 miles of Antarctica by using the altitude of the sun to guide us. The direction as

You go with the rest, you walk up for 6 days or something, and then you’re in base camp with a load of tourists.

I’d love to say that I went all over the villages and spoke to people, and met people and so on, but that’s not what you do when you’re out there to climb Everest. You go with the rest, you walk up for 6 days or something, and then you’re in base camp with a load of tourists.

I did have plans to return to the region, as I was involved with a project driving fire trucks from South India out slowly to Kathmandu, starting next month. There’s something like 27 million people there and 5 fire trucks in total, but for family reasons I had to withdraw recently.

/MorzineSourceMagazine

we travelled was determined by our watches, and the time of the local position.

So I always had one of my wristwatches on Greenwich time and one on local time so I knew when the sun was at due North and we navigated in the same way as our predecessors had for so many year. And then suddenly it all changed when the first polar orbiting satellite arrived and GPS was then feasible in the early 90s.”

With so much new technology now available to support exploration and adventure, is there a chance that exploration will become less of a challenge? continued»

@MorzineSource

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An Explorers Timeline 1944

Born in Windsor, Berkshire on March 7th

1956

The Fiennes family move to Cape Town, South Africa

1965

Joins the SAS, becoming the youngest Captain in the British Army

1967

Jostedalsbreen Glacier Expedition, Norway

1968-69

The Nile hovercraft Expedition

1970

The Headless Valley Expedition

1970

Marries Virginia ‘Ginny’ Pepper on September 9th

1976-78

Hayes Peninsular Expedition, Greenland

1979-82

The Transglobe Expedition

1984

The Guinness Book of World Records names Sir Ran ‘the world’s greatest living explorer’

1986

Awarded the Polar Medal by HM The Queen

1986-90 1991

1992-93

“I don’t know now, but I do know that it was considerably easier when Mike Stroud and I went back in ‘91 to do the first unsupported crossing of the Antarctic continent.

Because we had satnav by then, which saved an hour of getting extremely cold. It also saved carrying a nautical almanac and side reduction tables and all that palaver, doing away with about 20 lbs in weight of guilder light and getting very cold at the time of day when you wanted to get in the tent, warming up. Doing away with the high frequency radio sets - another 18 lbs - never mind the antenna, cords and batteries and everything. Then instead of going outside, sticking up skis and working out where to point the antennae wires, and then having to change frequency by winding them in every 5 minutes to try and find the right frequency, instead we got into the tent, had a cup of coffee with the other bloke and you simply pressed a button on the satnav and it told you where you were. So in terms of navigation and communication at that time, the change was huge.

The Unsupported North Pole (Canadian) Expedition Discovers the Lost City of Ubar on the Yemeni border following a 26 year search The Unsupported Antarctic Continent Expedition

it wasn’t until I got married again that I had a daughter, who’s now nine and she is wonderful and therefore of course there is a feeling of guilt

1993

Appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for ‘human endeavor and charitable services’

2000

The Arctic Solo Expedition

2003

Completes 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 continents, just 3 ½ months after a massive heart attack, a 3-day coma and a double bypass.

2004

Ginny dies from stomach cancer in February

2005

First Everest attempt fails just 300m from the summit but raises £2 million for the British Heart Foundation

2005

Marries Louise Millington

2006

Daughter Elizabeth is born in April

2007

North Face of the Eiger climb raises £1.8 million for Marie Curie Cancer Care

2007

Winner of ITV’s ‘Greatest Britons’ award

2008

Second attempt on Everest is halted 400m from the summit but raises £2.5 million for Marie Curie Cancer Care

Just over a year after Ginny’s death, Sir Ranulph married Louise Millington, his first and only daughter Elizabeth was born the following year.

2009

Summits Mount Everest, aged 65, becoming the oldest Briton ever to do so

Has your attitude towards adventure and risk changed since becoming a father?

2014

The Coldest Journey, crossing the Antarctic plateau during the polar winter

2015

Marathon des Sables – the ‘toughest footrace on earth’ - 156 miles in 6 days across the Sahara Desert

“Yes, I think there is a problem, which there didn’t used to be. Ginny and I were completely involved in the planning of all the expeditions; she was at the nerve centre of everything. I knew that I had a completely reliable person at base camp who would deal with the various members of the expedition – there might be someone who was 6ft

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And when it came to sledge shapes, there were none of these dry suits available for swimming across ice flows in the Arctic Ocean so we had to have sledges, which we were man-hauling obviously. We designed them so they were waterproof but then by the early 90s we were designing sledges which were really canoes, because there was so much more water up there. And then a bit later, the easy way to do it was using one of these dry suit things and you just paddled across from one side to the other.”

In 2004 Sir Ranulph lost his wife Ginny to stomach cancer.

They’d been childhood sweethearts and after marrying in 1970, Ginny accompanied Sir Ran on many of his expeditions, even becoming the first woman to receive the Polar Medal, awarded by the Queen for her contribution to the knowledge of Polar regions.

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6" but she just looked at them – so I was very lucky indeed in having her.

But we didn’t have children and it wasn’t until I got married again that I had a daughter, who’s now nine and she is wonderful and therefore of course there is a feeling of guilt.

Having to work away from home all week. And it isn’t a feeling of guilt because of the danger, it’s because of the absence.

I know that statistically people who do polar trips don’t die, whereas people who are on the road on motorways the whole time, or in mines, or doing dozens of other jobs, they do die.

Even Fishermen from Grimsby.

The only adjective Elizabeth applies to me is ‘mad’!”

Where do you like to go on holiday?

“Given a choice, I like Cape Provence in South Africa where I was brought up, or south Oman because I think it’s a fantastic country with great people. Or where I always used to go when we first got married, to the north west coast of Scotland, and the islands up there. They’re stunning.”

PDS academy.pdf

1

01/10/2015

12:50

www.pds-academy.co.uk

PDS is a British Ski School, delivering lessons in Morzine, Avoriaz and Les Gets in the Portes du Soleil ski area.

• Leading British Ski Instructors • Small Group Sizes • Ski Performance Weeks - Racing, Off Piste + Freestyle

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© Jan de Boel - avoriaz tourisme

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THE BIG

RIVALRY

and its Many Ugly Faces

By Chloe Hardy

Old prejudices may die hard, but have you noticed that skiers and snowboarders have started to become a bit friendlier towards each other over the past ten years? Go to any ind o or slope in the UK, any snow park in the world, or any ski resort in general, and you’ll see skiers and snowboarders get ting along just fine. In fact, they’re not just get ting along with each other, they’re actually friends.

That’s not to say it hasn’t been a long and bumpy road. The rebelliousness of snowboarding has never quite gotten along with the ‘nice turns’ straight-lacedness of skiing. That is, until the twin-tip ski came into being and legendary two-plankers like Shane McConkey (RIP) and Candide Thovex

F?£%ing snowboarders.

They’re so dangerous. proved that skiers can have just as much fun as snowboarders. And with production companies like Voleurz (also RIP) and TGR making snow movies featuring skiers AND snowboarders, as well as high-profile slopestyle events like Nine Kings / Queens

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opening up the playing field to include both disciplines riding together, things seem to be on a more equal footing.

But are they, really? I often find myself dying a little bit inside when I hear someone say "Oh, you’re a skier but your boyfriend snowboards?

How does that work?" Or loudly proclaim in a busy bar “F#§%ing snowboarders. They’re so dangerous”. One family of skiers even thought it was appropriate to call a friend of mine a lesbian (reason being: they couldn’t tell if she was a boy or a girl in all her gear) after a completely accidental and totally minor collision. Yes. A lesbian.

And that’s not to say I don’t also die equally as much inside when I hear people say things like “A skier cut me up today. I hate skiers”.

Or “SKIERS STOLE OUR SPORT!” Or even “Oh, you’re a skier? You must be totally uncool and an absolute loser.”

While we may have come a long way as skiers,

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snowboarders, and human beings, strange behaviour based on weird stereotypes is still seeping through the cracks. Here’s an example. There are still three resorts in the US today that don’t allow snowboarding. And who remembers the viral video of an angry

Oh, you’re a skier? You must be totally unco ol and an absolute loser. skier-dad trying to punch a snowboarder in the face because he got overtaken on the piste? I’m not even going to get started on the clothing thing! Even with snowboarders and skiers riding the same terrain and

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19

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The rebelliousness of snowboarding has never quite got ten along with the ‘nice turns’ straight-l acedness of skiing.

IT’S ALL THE SAME, ELLIS - SKIERS CAN HAVE NICE THINGS, TO O!

which is the main point of contention for snowboarders.

FIS is the controlling influence over the qualification process and course specifications for the Winter Olympics. Just last year, Snowboarder magazine called for a worldwide Olympic boycott because (apparently) the Olympics needed snowboarding more than snowboarding needed the Olympics. A bit closer to home and there’s even more segregation. The snow parks in Avoriaz are sponsored by snowboard-specific brand Burton, which means they are built and maintained solely by snowboarders, with no skier input allowed.

And then there’s FIS (Federation International de Ski, yes, SKI),

Halfpipe legend Terje Haakonsen famously boycotted the 1998 Nagano Olympics, in part

doing similar things, so many brands still insist on marketing themselves as ski or snowboard specific. Just visit the Ellis Brigham website and try to navigate the minefield that is the dropdown menu bearing the options ‘ski outerwear’ and ‘snowboard outerwear’.

continued»

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every day. After all, those rebellious young snowboarders of the ‘80s have got their own kids now, and while they’re sipping a chocolat chaud with

out without looking anyway. At the same time, telling a family of skiers that they have no respect for the history of snowboarding is going to get you some pretty

In this modern day and age, bl aming someone for crashing into you based on what they’ve got strapped to their feet is pret t y d ownright ridiculous. the family at lunch-time, the next generation are ripping round the mountain, oblivious to who’s riding on what and just having fun together. In this modern day and age, blaming someone for crashing into you based on what they’ve got strapped to their feet is pretty downright ridiculous.

There’s a high chance you pulled

weird looks in the lift queue.

We’re all just people trying to have a nice time, so if there’s anything we can take from the younger generation, it’s most definitely that it doesn’t matter if you ski or snowboard. Screw the marketing, screw the politics and just have fun; everyone can do that on the mountain together.

Skiers face forward and have go od peripheral vision. Snowboarders face to the side and d on’t have eyes in the back of their heads. because the Olympic committee “stole snowboarding from us” he believed. “They gave FIS, a ski federation, control of snowboarding, totally for commercial reasons. We all know that. And today they act as if they invented snowboarding, invented slopestyle. There’s just no respect for the history and culture of snowboarding at all. We don’t need FIS or the IOC [International Olympic Committee]. We can handle snowboarding ourselves”.

Far from the cries of sticking it to the man, danger seems to be what it all boils down to for skiers. Long-time instructor and

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snow-sports journalist Ray Grass states that while he doesn’t hate them, “snowboarders have a ‘blind spot’. Skiers face forward and have good peripheral vision. Snowboarders face to the side and don’t have eyes in the back of their heads. Most of the skiers I know have had collisions or near collisions with snowboarders. I myself, have been knocked down twice by snowboarders travelling across a slope, only to get the departing excuse, ‘Sorry, I didn’t see you’”.

In the end, it all boils down to stereotypes and the lines are becoming more and more blurred

Except you snowbl aders.

You suck.

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New Beginnings at La Kinkerne

Red Bull’s Crashed Ice in Avoriaz

Transition Snow comes to Avoriaz

From the top of the Coupe du Monde above Avoriaz into Les Prodains is arguably one of the best homeruns in the world.

It’s challenging, the views are incredible, the only thing missing is a great après bar at the bottom.

Or so it was…

If our interview with Crashed Ice athletes Tristan Dugerdil and Pacome Schmitt on page 90 has whet

Unless you’ve had your head stuck in the snow for several years, everyone has heard of Snowbombing. The annual musical on snow event held in Mayrhofen has welcomed The Prodigy, Rudimental, Fatboy Slim and Gorgon City, packing out the Austrian resort. This year Snowbombing has a spinoff sister festival going by the name of Transition Snow, taking over Avoriaz between 13th and 19th December 2015.

La Kinkerne, opposite the old gondola station in Les Prodains, is now under the care of Adventure Base and exciting changes are afoot. The hotel offers five bedrooms, a two-bed apartment and a couple of cosy mazots, sleeping 18 in total on a half board basis. The hotel’s bar and restaurant is adjacent to the new beginner ski area and will open between 8am and 2am, serving homemade cakes and a traditional Savoyarde lunch menu followed by après bands and DJ sets from 4pm each day, with food served until 10pm. We’ve been assured that previous owner Marthe can still be found propping up the bar!

your appetite for more extreme ice skating, then you won’t want to miss the Crashed Ice Riders Cup when it lands in Avoriaz, 15th - 16th January. Crashed Ice involves four hardened skaters competing against each other on a boardercross style course that’s frozen solid. In addition to the official Red Bull races each season, the Riders Cup gives athletes the chance to design, build and host other riders in their home resort, while competing for Ice Cross Downhill World Championship points. Tristan and Pacome have designed a challenging course in the centre of Avoriaz. Don’t miss it!

Dizzee Rascal was announced as the 3000 capacity festival’s headline act in the summer, during which time festival wristband and accommodation packages were available for just £99. Some of Snowbombing’s best-known features were on the line-up, including pro snowboard competitions, woodland raves and pop-up parties. You’ll find a full review of Transition Snow on the Source website and when the dates and line-up are announced for Transition Snow 2016 we’ll bring them to you first.

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redbullcrashedice.com

transitionsnow.com

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PRayers for

Nepal

by Rachael Stallwood

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Sitting at 1400 metres above sea level and surrounded by hills, Kathmandu, Nepal, is Mecca for mountaineering. The whole countr y is dominated by the Himalaya mountain range and is home to eight of the world’s highest mountains, including Manaslu, Dhaulagiri, Makalu, Annapurna and, of course Everest.

Altitude extremes in Nepal var y from 150 metres above sea level in the Indian boarder regions to 8848 metres at the summit of Everest. The huge difference in altitude makes the countr y an incredibly diverse environment with unique landscapes, plants, animals, birds and people. Its uniqueness is often the main draw for tourists in search of beautiful culture, thrilling adventures and life changing experiences.

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The area closest to the epicentre happened to be one of the most populated in the country, and one of the poorest. The effects of the Gorkha earthquake were instantly devastating. Ancient temples were shaken apart. Homes were flattened. Roads were split. Hospitals were destroyed. 9000 people lost their lives and 23,000 more were injured.

It was a disaster of epic proportions in one of the most inaccessible parts of the planet.

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The Gorkha earthquake triggered lethal avalanches across the area, including 220km away at Everest Base Camp, where between 700 and 1000 climbers and sherpas were on the mountain. Twenty-four people lost their lives when an avalanche from the peak of Pumori swept into South Base Camp. April 25th became Everest’s deadliest day in history.

On 12th May 2015 nature sent Nepal another series of cruel blows. At 12.50pm local time a second earthquake measuring 7.3 in magnitude rocked the already devastated area along the very same fault line. A 6.3 magnitude aftershock hit just minutes later with tremors felt thousands of kilometres away. 153 people lost their lives, a further 3,200 were injured. continued»

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©Sébastien Montaz-Rosset

www.morzinesourcemagazine.com

Mount Everest, known in Nepal as Sagarmatha, is the world’s highest peak and was first summited in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and his Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.

Since then the peak has been conquered year after year, with new records being set constantly. The first men skied the peak back in 2000 and the first ever helicopter landing on the summit took place in 2005. During that same year Pem Dorjee married his fiancé Moni Mulepati on the summit, becoming the first couple to wed on Everest. As long as Sagarmatha continues to lay down challenges, the adventurous will still seek to conquer them.

Everest’s peak has been summited by more than 4000 people since it was first climbed in 1953 and 658 of these ascents were in 2013 alone. We all remember those pictures, taken in 2012, of more than 300 climbers patiently waiting in an orderly queue, to summit Everest. There’d been a steady rise in footfall over the years, attributable in no small part to the falling cost. At around €8000 per person

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per ascent, the price has almost halved. But since 25th April 2015, the route has been all but empty.

Six months on from the Gorkha earthquake and the beautiful people of Nepal are still living in the aftermath of the disaster. Family members have been lost and homes have been destroyed. Millions of euros in international aid have poured into the country. But the one thing that’s continuing to cripple this incredibly strong county is the lack of tourists.

When 800,000 travellers visited Nepal in 2013, tourism was by far the largest source of foreign income for the country. After the earthquake, everything changed.

200km south west of Kathmandu lies the town of Sauraha in the province of Chitwan.

Physically unaffected by the earthquake, Chitwan is the third most popular tourist destination in Nepal, but since the disaster of April 2015, tourism has become a distant memory. Here lives Ishwori Prasad Dhakal, his wife and their two sons Amod and Adarsha.

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They were lucky enough to escape the physical destruction of the earthquake but they now face a daily struggle to make ends meet from the few tourists that now through their village.

At 45 years of age Ishwori owns a small shop selling home made honey products in Saurha.

With a bachelor’s degree in commerce, Ishwori’s knowledge in the conduct of trade far exceeds that needed in running a small store. Following the demise in the number of visitors to Nepal, his knowledge is all but irrelevant. Millions of dollars in donations have been raised across the globe while corporations have sent food, water and medical supplies to the country. These funds have been channelled into helping rehouse and feed local people directly affected by the disaster but Ishwori and his family fail to fall into any aid category.

In these challenging times Ishwori’s children remain happy go lucky boys. Two-year-old Amod smiles with inquisitive interest at the bees his father tends to, while four-year-old

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25

Adarsha dreams of becoming a doctor or nurse like Rashna Shakya.

21-year-old Rashna Shakya found herself at home on the 5th floor of her building just north of the centre of Kathmandu on the 25th April 2015 when the earthquake struck. She was between shifts as a nurse at Shree Birendra Hospital. Rashna luckily escaped unharmed while many of her neighbours weren’t so lucky. Trained in intensive care, Rashna was on the front line of a very difficult battle with a severe lack of medical equipment. It was due to the quick response of worldwide charities that much needed medical supplies and equipment soon arrived at Shree Birendra Hospital. Still to this day the dedicated doctors and nurses are using the supplies. Since the disaster Rashna has given up much of her free time volunteering.

Billions of euros have been donated from across the globe following Nepal’s devastating duo of earthquakes, but the people of Nepal now desperately need their tourists to return.

Amazingly, after all that they have been through, both Rashna and Ishwori ask for just one thing… Prayers.

Support Ishwori and his family by searching Unique Eco House on Facebook. Here you will find all the honey based products he has on offer!

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Source Awards for

L ast winter we l aunched the Source Awards for Excellence to find and honor the area’s favourite bar, accommodation, food and customer service.

The general public nominated 56 different resort

Excellence

based businesses across the four categories and

The Source Awards are back for

To make sure your favourite local business is in with

Winter 16 and nominations are now open in five categories.

4000 votes were cast.

a chance of winning a Source Award, you’ll need to nominate them.

1.

Head to morzinesourcemagazine.com/awards and complete a nomination form for your favourite

favourite accommodation

local business. You’ll need to tell us why you’re nominating a particul ar business. Nominations

sponsored by:

chalet manager

open on Friday 11th December 2015.

2.

On 14th March 2016 we’ll announce the full list of nominations and the public vote will open on the Source website for 14 days.

favourite bar

3.

Voting closes at midnight on Sunday 27 th March 2016 and we’ll announce the names of the three

sponsored by:

businesses in each category with the most votes.

counterfeit clothing

A panel of 5 top-secret, independent judges will determine a winner in each category based on nomination comments and visitor feedback.

4.

The winners in each category will be announced at the Source Suppliers Show at the Domaine du

favourite food

Baron on L ake Montriond on Tuesday 5th April 2016.

sponsored by:

le tibetan cafe

THE SOURCE ECO AWARD This one’s slightly different. Local businesses must nominate themselves for an eco award and judging will favourite service sponsored by:

chalet finder

take pl ace by a panel of experts following the submission of an eco statement. To nominate your business in this category email awards@morzinesourcemagazine.com and we’ll send you more details.

l ast years winners favourite accommodation: Skizeen, La Ferme du lac vert favourite bar: La Marmot te d'or the source eco award

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favourite food: AliKats Mountain Holidays favourite service: Mountain Mavericks

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28

HDSnowflakes

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True macro photography is something most of us assume is out of reach. The equipment required for a super closeup, high-definition photo of any thing is far too specialised and expensive for the likes of you and me I’ve had cameras with macro settings before, some smart phone apps even claim the ability. Yes, they took some nice close up photos, but it was still human scale.

No new detail was revealed by the images, they were just good quality and very close up. The thing with true macro photography is the depth of detail that’s revealed, stuff your basic human eye doesn’t have a hope of seeing. That’s where the expensive hardware comes in. Or not.

Alexey Kljatov is a student living in Moscow.

His equipment budget is zero. With an old Russian lens, a compact digital camera and (I’m not joking here) a black bin bag with some sticky tape, Kljatov has created a powerful macro camera contraption capable of capturing snowflakes in breath-taking detail. Here Alexey talks us through his equipment and the methods he uses to capture beautiful snowflake images.

“I photograph snowflakes from the open balcony of my apartment in Moscow. Here no one disturbs me and I can leave quickly when I start to freeze.

I use a simple and cheap macro camera setup, based on the well-known reversed lens technique: a compact Canon Powershot A650 in maximum optical zoom mode shooting through a Helios 44M-5 lens, reversely mounted in front of the camera's built-in optics. I took the Helios 44 from an old Zenit film camera, made in the USSR. This setup has much better magnification compared to the camera's standard macro mode. The lens is not the best fit with the camera so I mount both to a wooden board to get the position. I have to cover the join between the lenses with a plastic bag to shield against light leaks but the setup is sturdy enough for my needs.

I use a dark grey, almost black, woollen fabric to capture the snowflakes. I am not quite satisfied with this background: wool fibres look quite strange and distract viewer attention. When I process the image and clean up the background, often I try to remove most annoying fibres. However, the wool fabric has some really big advantages over other materials as the fibres are thin, rigid and quite long. Usually a snowflake hangs in the air, touching only a small number of fibres and this slows the melting process. The fibres effectively trap the snowflakes, stopping the wind blowing them away. I capture a series of identical shots for each flake. continued on page 30 »

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My current snowflake processing workflow takes significant time. The first processing stage is averaging identical shots: this helps greatly with lowering the noise level while preserving all details and sometimes even revealing subtle details almost unseen in a single shot, as these details are often masked by noise.

After that stage I sharpen the image, blending out the last traces of noise and cleaning unfocused crystals from the background. I raise the contrast, adjust the colour and finally crop the picture.

The hardest thing about photographing snowflakes is the weather. Moscow has a great climate for snowflake photography but sometimes I spend two or three weeks without anything worth shooting. Sometimes it can be snowing heavily but with no interesting crystals at all; sometimes it's too warm and beautiful snowflakes melt before I can focus on them.

Sometimes it's cold enough but it doesn’t snow. Or there will be many hours of constant snow, when no one single crystal is worth shooting. Then suddenly everything changes and in two minutes everything around me is covered with amazing snowflakes! You need patience and luck to catch those moments. This is part of the hunt and this is what makes snowflake photography even more special to me.�

Alexey Kljatov

More of Alexey’s work can be seen on his flickr or Instagram accounts. flickr.com/chaoticmind75 @chaoticmind75

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31

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MORZINE’S LOW COST

TRANSFER SERVICE

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Ability to provide private transfers in comfortable minibuses or 4x4 vehicles.

Ability to arrange transfers for events or occasions of any size.

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32

Still the Best Value Lift Pass – Anywhere!

Each autumn, shortly after the lift pass tariffs for the coming season are announced, we like to compare the prices of our Portes du Soleil lift pass with those of Europe’s other large ski areas. 650 glorious kilometres of skiing are available in one lift pass, and with a 6 day pass price of €247.50 per adult, it costs you just €0.38 per kilometre to ski in the Portes du Soleil.

Over in the Three Valleys, 600km of piste are available on one single pass for €289 per adult for 6 days – that’s €0.48 per skiable kilometre.

And in the Espace Killy, where a 300km pass includes the resorts of Tignes and Val d’Isere, a 6 day pass will set you back €270 per adult, or €0.90 per skiable kilometre.

Food you’ll want to eat. Anywhere.

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La Coupe Restaurant at Rude Lodge With a cosy atmosphere, funky furnishings and a lively bar, Rude Café opened last winter just off the bottom of the Rue du Bourg in Morzine. This year there’s a new dining concept on offer and we can’t wait to try it!

La Coupe is a French - American bar and grill specialising in wholesome dishes including grilled chicken, rib steaks and fish, all served with a choice of marinades and sides.

There’ll be vegetarian options available too.

The bar at La Coupe also features a carefully selected range of craft beers and new world wines and food is served everyday from noon until late.

Unmissable Dining at 2277 metres You’ve likely skied past Cookie.Café at the top of the Mossettes a stack of times without realising that it’s under new ownership and huge changes have been made. Once one of those generic self-service restaurants, Cookie.Café now offers a fantastic menu, bar and après terrace at the highest point in the Portes du Soleil. At an altitude of 2277 metres you’ll find burgers, soups, pizzas, pastas, hot pies, paninis, sandwiches and salads in addition to a potage du jour.

All dishes are handmade, freshly prepared and available until 4pm each day.

Above the restaurant there’s a chill-out lounge, perfect for resting weary ski legs if the weather turns, while outside there’s the perfect mountain-top terrace for sunny après parties, live bands and DJs.

For reservations call +33 (0) 4 50 79 06 10

cookie-cafe.com

Bar National under new ownership

A New Luxury Spa for Les Gets

Ex-pat favourite Bar National (or The Nash as we know it…) in St Jean d’Aulps is now under the ownership of former L’Aubergade barman Craig Durkin, who bought the bar last summer. The Nash is home to some of the area’s best and most delicious pizzas, not to mention a stonkingly good weekly pub quiz and fortunately Craig has no plans to change the bar’s winning formula.

If you enjoy a good pampering during your winter holiday, you’ll enjoy a trip to the new Les Gets Luxury Spa.

What you will find at Bar National however, is a friendly team with lots of local knowledge, big screen sports action, a pool table and a newly refurbished roof-top terrace that’s perfect for a springtime après tipple.

There’s also a jet pool, jacuzzi, Hamman and sauna to complete the pampering experience, leaving you rejuvenated and ready for another day on the slopes.

Who needs restaurants anyway?

That’s the concept behind chef Sharif Gergis’ new company Guerrilla Dining. Twelve course tasting menus in your own home, summer weddings, birthday celebrations, gastro BBQs and pop-up dining experiences in incredible locations are all on the menu.

Classically trained chef Sharif applies a ‘get in, cook, get out’ approach to custom dining, providing staff, crockery, cutlery and table dressings, and he’ll return your kitchen to you in perfect condition at the end of dinner, leaving you to enjoy the rest of your evening. Menus are available including up to 12 courses, there’s also a 3 course bistro option and a comfort food delivery service consisting of curries and stews, delivered to your door from just €10 per head.

Sharif is also an alpine wedding specialist, catering for huge numbers at the beautiful La Ferme du Lac Vert in Montriond. guerrill adining.fr

Open every day between 10am and 7pm from Sunday 13th December, the spa offers massage and aromatherapy treatments using Sodashi products, in addition to manicures, pedicures and sports massage.

lesgetsluxuryspa.com barnational.com

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SPECIALISTS IN ‘SKI TO THE DOOR’ LUXURY CHALETS AND PROPERTIES

Central Morzine Office lacoutete-morzine.com

4 Chemin de la Coutettaz, Morzine +33 (0) 4 50 75 97 10

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source must do's The Penguins HCMAG (Hockey Club Morzine Avoriaz Les Gets), better know as The Penguins are Morzine’s very own pro-league ice hockey team. A hockey match is a great night out and it’s relatively cheap too. Keep an eye on the Morzine Source Facebook page as we give away 10 pairs of tickets for every Ligue Magnus game.

Pointe de Nyon This iconic peak on Morzine’s skyline is often overlooked by locals and tourists alike, yet its easy access and its high altitude never fail to provide when conditions are right.

L’Aubergade Ski-in dining. L’Aubergard’s prime location isn’t even its best feature. With traditional home-cooked classics and modern gourmet options back-to-back on the menu, don’t miss this piste accessed stop-off after a hard day on the hill.

Le Tremplin You’ll hear Le Tremplin before you see it.

Every Wednesday this is THE place to be for Morzine après. With big basslines and an even bigger atmosphere, you’ll dance in your ski boots until the days skiing aches are long forgotten.

Marmot te D’or Relatively new on the scene, the La Marmotte has quickly developed a strong following of locals. There’s a great pub-style menu and it’s always full of friendly faces. Montriond’s number one drinking den was also the winner of the Favourite Bar category in our 2015 Source Awards.

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Geocaching Les Gets has joined the world’s largest treasure hunt. The concept is simple; download the Geocashing app to your smartphone, pick your target and head off into the hills to find the hidden box. It’s a fun, free, adventure for the whole family.

L a Paika If you’re looking for the premiere mountain lunch spot in the area, you cant go far wrong with La Paika. Its large sun-drenched terrace and high quality food are an unmissable treat during any tour of Les Gets. Find it halfway down the Vorosses piste, accessed from the Grains d’Or Express chairlift.

Hotel L a Marmot te The freshly refurbished Marmotte offers a chance to get away from the traditional rustic feel that the rest of Les Gets is smothered in.

With a modern, contemporary and stylish feel, the various dining options at La Marmotte provide a quality dining experience in the heart of Les Gets.

Le Apres Ski Bar Any bar named after mid-afternoon binge drinking is surely going to be pretty dedicated to the task. With drinks, crepes and regular DJs, this should be your first stop when heading down from the hill with thoughts only of beer.

Bar Bush A mecca for seasonnaires and locals looking to party, this social hub of Les Gets can get pretty wild at times. With elaborate use of tinfoil during fancy dress nights and weekly quizzes, Bar Bush puts the fun into the resort’s nightlife. #lovelesgets

Aquariaz This is probably your only chance to splash around in a tropical themed waterpark with views of snow-capped mountains from the window. What better way to relax after a hard day on the hill than a long hot soak in a hottub whist the kids amuse themselves on the aquatic climbing walls and halfpipe slide.

Igloo Vill age You’ll find a bar, restaurant, club and art gallery all rolled into one chilled package. The Igloo Village, located on the slopes above the resort is a wonder to behold. The intricate ice carvings won’t fail to impress, but if you need more persuading, an ice cold cocktail should do the trick.

Cookie.Café Probably one of the highest cafés in Europe, (it’s certainly the highest in the PDS), Cookie.

Cafe is a room with a view, no doubt. Perched perilously on the ridgeline separating France and Switzerland and offering a great range of food and drinks for the hungry skier, this is the ideal stop for a spot of lunch on the hill.

L a Kinkerne For many years La Kinkerne was great spot for a quiet beer en-route to Morzine after a day in Avoriaz. The elderly owner Marthe always had a smile to offer. Now it’s been acquired by the team at Adventure Base. With a bit of a revamp, DJ’s playing daily from 4pm and a short walk to the late running bus to Morzine, La Kinkerne is the new après hotspot in Avoriaz. #loveavoriaz

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The Ultimate Family Ski Holiday

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If you’re joining us during your first family ski holiday, congratulations. You’ve chosen one of the most family-friendly ski areas in the world. Not only are Morzine, Avoriaz and Les Gets handy for Geneva Airport, they’re also fully kit ted out to make sure your lit tle ones love their time on the snow.

Nannies & Childcare

Ski Lessons for Lit tle Ones

L’Outa in the centre of Morzine is a town-owned, purpose built crèche that welcomes children between the ages of three months and five years.

Just a short walk from the Pleney lift station, you’ll find a huge indoor play room, sleep areas and outside space where fully qualified nannies offer morning, afternoon or full day childcare throughout the winter season. Prices start from €289 for six full days or €170 for six half days of childcare.

Children aged between three and five years can join Club Piou Piou, a sort of kindergarten on ice, run by the ESF. They’ll play in the snow, be gently introduced to the concept of skiing and sliding, and make loads of new friends. All local ESF instructors speak English and they’re really great with kids of all ages. Both half day and full day Piou Piou options are available and similar facilities are also available with the ESF in Les Gets and in Montriond.

outa-morzine.com

esf-morzine.com esf-lesgets.com

A number of well-experienced private nannies are also available across the valley, such as Cheeky Monkeys Childcare and Morzine Kids.

Both provide qualified childcare experts, who’ll base themselves at your accommodation and plan weather-appropriate activities to make sure everyone has a great holiday.

esf-montriond.com

Avoriaz has its very own Village des Enfants, featuring a giant snow park in the very centre of the resort. Children from age three learn to ski amongst Daffy Duck and magic carpets, and if the weather isn’t great, there’s an indoor play area for them too.

cheekymonkeysmorzine.com village-des-enfants.com

morzinekids.com

Ski & Snowboard Lessons for Bigger Kids Riglet Park in Avoriaz is a Burton Snowboards inspired programme, teaching children aged four and up to snowboard. It’s part of the Village des Enfants set-up but based around a mini snow park with rails, rollers and boxes. Freestyle skills seem to come naturally for these little rippers!

Local company Mint Snowboarding are also at the forefront of kids snowboard lessons. Their Mini-Shred programme is for kids aged three to seven years and includes a hands-on approach to make sure they develop coordination and balance while having a ridiculous amount of fun on a snowboard. village-des-enfants.com © Avoriaz Tourisme

mintsnowboarding.com

There are also several British run ski schools across the three resorts offering kids ski lessons in age-appropriate, small groups coordinated from central meeting points in each resort.

Avoriaz Alpine Ski School for example, offer Junior

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Camps for children aged 11 - 15 years who’re keen to push their skiing and explore the area in less formal lessons. Over in Les Gets, LGS run Junior Freeriders courses for children aged between six and 15 years of age, with a maximum group size of six. avoriazalpineskischool.com skischool.co.uk

Aprés with Kids Long gone are the days when knocking back round after round of shots and dancing on tables as the sun sets were a good idea.

With kids in tow, it’s not worth the hangover. But that doesn’t mean aprés ski has to be boring. In Avoriaz, Aquariaz is a fantastic family water park, open until 8pm each evening and offering water playhouses, climbing walls, massage benches and even an aquatic half pipe. There’s also watery fun to be had in Morzine, where the Espace Aquatique, featuring both childrens and adults pools, is open until 7pm throughout the winter season. avoriaz.com/aquariaz parc-dereches.com

Night sledging is also making a comeback over in Les Gets, where you’ll find dedicated slopes, open in the early evening, specially prepared for families. lesgets.com

Supplies & Provisions It’s entirely possible to buy all the formula, nappies and other kit you might need for your little ones in resort, and if you’re staying with a family-specialist chalet company, they may well stock your accommodation with all the things you need before your arrival.

However, the regular UK to resort delivery service from Alpine Logistics is a convenient way to bring all your winter kit out with you, avoiding excess baggage and a whole lot of luggage hassles along the way.

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Intersport on the Rue du Bourg in Morzine has a large children’s department, with socks, snowsuits and hats a-plenty. We’re also fans of the equipment rental service provided by Crevasse Clothing. Children’s rental packages start from just £55 per week, and there’s something very satisfying about ordering your full kit online at home and having it delivered to your chalet in the Alps!

You don’t need to carry it home either…

AWESOME SKI WEAR

FOR SNOWY ADVENTURERS Technical ski clothing, protecting young skiers for over 20 years

to buy directly in Morzine contact sam.pauly@muddypuddles.com | +33 (0) 6 95 39 72 93

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Layer Like a Pro

By Chloe Hardy

Now you may have GoreTex-ed up to the max and invested in some high quality outerwear that keeps you protected and makes you look like a boss, but one of the main things that makes your outerwear so effective is what you wear underneath it. For some people that might just be a t-shirt, others prefer to bundle up for dear life.

Either way, it’s really important to make sure your layering system

Not so long ago, l ast winter in fact, you may have read our original Look Good, Feel Good gear guide. It detailed every thing you needed to know about finding the right outerwear, looking fly, and feeling pret t y damn good about yourself. Because, contrary to popul ar belief, it’s possible to stay protected from the elements without going full mountain man (or woman).

may sound cheap (and it is, in fact, much cheaper than merino), but it’s actually a very effective thermal material and it’s used to make all kinds of technical layers, from underwear to fleeces.

is going to effectively transfer discomfort and cold-inducing sweat away from your body, so it can escape into the outside world via your jacket. Thermals and base layers also retain the warm air produced by your body when it gets really cold, so you don’t freeze. That means no cotton hoodies or t-shirts; merino wool, down and polyester are the way forward. Yep, polyester

No-one likes spending loads of money on gear that you might only wear for one of two weeks of the year, so we’ve compiled a collection of base and mid-layers

that combine performance and style for everyday functionality and wear. Nice thermals can sometimes be hard to find, but we’ve done our research and come up with the goods for this winter. Not only will this lot keep you toasty warm on the hill, they’ll look great at aprés and will continue to look great once you get back to reality.

Mons Royale legging Soft, stretchy merino wool that doesn’t itch is also naturally odour-resistant and is nice enough to wear to a yoga class. Mons Royale are one of our favourite brands for bringing wool into the 21st century, and these leggings are no exception.

€65.00 €85.00

Basest of the Base #lovemorzine

Armada 3/4 length Contra pant Polyester with an odourcontrol finish, what more could you ask for? This way you only need one pair of thermal bottoms, and the compressibility and flatlock seams on these ones from Armada mean they’ll fit under both jeans and snow pants alike when the weather gets really cold.

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Saga Henley Tek T-shirt We love Saga. Over the past few years they’ve been ditching the cotton and moving onto soft, breathable and fast-drying polyester, complete with an antimicrobial finish to stave off smells. It’s a regular t-shirt, but it’s got some serious tech. A definite must-have for any active person.

€49.00

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z Morzine Ski Chalets Our speciality is your perfect getaway!

Burton Lightweight Tech Tank Top If you’re one of those people who feels more comfortable with a vest top underneath everything, or if you’re just looking for something extra to warm your core, look no further than this fast drying, antimicrobial vest, made from Burton’s own Dryride fabric. It’ll breathe, it won’t stink and it’ll look amazing on and off the mountain.

www.morzineskichalets.com

Our speciality is your perfect getaway!

€30.00

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Mons Royale Boyfriend Long Sleeve The nice long length, relaxed fit and handy thumbholes make this lightweight long-sleeve an essential part of your layering system. Perfect for all temperatures on the mountain, it’s also ideal for running, relaxing and walking the dog.

€105.00

€105.00 Mons Royale Raglan Long Sleeve This lightweight merino crew is a staple for just about any conditions on the mountain. It’ll keep you toasty when it’s cold and breathe when it’s warm so your body temperature stays regulated all day, and the thumb loops will keep the sleeves in place and block out snow.

getting colder

Dakine Meadow 1/4 Length Zip This polyester mid-layer will keep you super warm on really cold days, and will save you a few pennies over buying merino! Brushed fleece on the inside will breathe well and feel soft next to your skin, while the hoodless design means it won’t end up getting squashed under your jacket and making you look like a hunch-back.

€85.00 Armada Drifter Full Zip Hoody

even colder #lovemorzine

€169.00

Made from warm and breathable Polartec Power Grid fleece, the waffle pattern across this hoody makes it even more thermally efficient, by channeling warm air and water vapour so they escape into the outside air even quicker. It also helps to create warm air pockets to keep you warm when it’s really cold, perfect for those chilly days when you’re working hard but need an extra layer.

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Dakine Pinebrook Jacket For those days when you just can’t get warm, a jacket will keep you insulated to the max. While insulating jackets aren’t well known for their breathability, the top quality Primaloft Silver synthetic insulation in this super-cool Dakine puffer will stay warm, even if it gets wet, and it’s easily compressible for backpackstashing capabilities.

€310.00

€200.00 Armada Dante Down Insulator

still cold?

Light, packable and extremely warm. Armada’s Dante down jacket is ideal for cold days in town and cold days in the mountains alike and it packs into one of its own pockets for super-simple transportation.

This is really good for hiking or ski touring, so you can keep it in your backpack on the way up and wear it on the way down, when you’re likely to start getting cold again.

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With our friendly team of 20 locally based, bilingual staff, we will work with you to price, promote and sell your property.

Experts in their regions, they know the area, the buyers and the local contacts you will need to make a successful sale.

alpine-property.com + 33 (0)4 26 10 10 72 /MorzineSourceMagazine

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PISTENBULLY THE PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE OF THE PISTE

by Rob Purver

You might slide down a piste without even questioning how the beautifully sculpted and smoothed section of mountain was created. Or, like me and many others out there, you might have a fascination for anything mechanical that even remotely resembles a tractor. In which case you’ll be fully aware of the majestic machines that work long into the night to sculpt the mountains into useable and safe environments.

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PistenBully, an offshoot of the German manufacturing giant Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG (try saying that three-times-fast), is the marque you’re probably most familiar with. Imagine our excitement when PistenBully invited Source Magazine on a tour of their factory in the Tarentaise valley to find out more about the birth and the future of mountain pisteing. And yes, a tour of a piste basher factory is just as good as it sounds.

Come on down to St Jean d’Aulps and discover your new favourite pub Awesome food, excellent drinks & promos plus all the HD sport you could ever want

1829 Route des Grandes Alpes, Saint-Jean D’Aulps 74430 ©Kässbohrer

The first ever Winter Olympics in Chamonix in 1924 caused a huge skiing boom and the requirement for a pisted slope followed. Early pisteing was achieved using what was essentially a large rolling pin, dragged uphill by a horse, then gingerly lowered down the slope by two skiers, fore and aft, desperately snowploughing to slow the great cumbersome piste roller down. It was slow, tiring and fairly dangerous work. The invention of the first motorized pistebasher in the mid 1930’s - a large rolling pin with an engine and a handle - was a welcome development.

Over the next 30 years various piste-bashing contraptions followed, some were reasonable steps in pisteing progression, others were downright dangerous. It wasn’t until 1969 that the first recognisable PistenBully prototype went into testing. It featured a front mounted cab with all modern features, opening windows, heaters and comfortable seats, plus the extra wide tank tracks and the iconic red colour still used today. It was by no means the first tracked snow vehicle, but it marked a turning point in functionality, design and quality.

©Kässbohrer

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Serious advances in technology have featured in each and every new PistenBully model since the 1970s. The current range-topping model (the 600E+) features 400hp of Mercedes built hybrid engine, giving all the benefits of a big diesel power plant with the efficiency and pickup of an electric drive, whilst outputting 99% less sooty particles than an equivalent-power standard diesel engine. But that’s not all.

Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG have developed their own unique GPS system for PistenBully called SnowSat. Its basic functions are much the same as a the one you’ll use in your car, except that a consumer GPS is accurate to a distance of between 5 - 10 meters. SnowSat is accurate to between 1 and 3 centimetres! By plotting the entire mountain area in the summer months, the system can provide unbelievably accurate proximity warnings to unseen or snow-covered hazards like rocks, cliffs and lakes during its more dangerous winter manoeuvres.

SnowSat logs the vehicle’s location and movements in real time, and shares that information with the rest of the fleet on the mountain. This means pisteurs know where other vehicles are and, perhaps more importantly, where their winch lines are.

SnowSat is a useful feature, especially in poor visibility, but its capabilities don’t end there.

SnowSat’s greatest trick is the ability to measure snow depth to within an accuracy of 1cm under the vehicles tracks and in front of the plough. By cross-checking its GPS location with a known map of the terrain under-track, the system can direct the driver to the exact spot where the snow is beginning to thin, allowing him to push a little spare on over there.

The map of depths is logged and sent back to a central piste control office in each resort for analysis, from where snow makers can more accurately pinpoint the areas where artificial snow production is required. This mapping and tracking means the mountains can be managed with pinpoint efficiency, saving time, money, wear and tear on the vehicles and most importantly reducing the carbon footprint of the bashing process significantly.

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info@alptitude.com | 0033 (0)7867 11412

©Kässbohrer

Treat yourself to

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To find out more please visit:

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+44 (0) 7931 934312 ©Kässbohrer

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Sascha Hamm

by Rob Purver

The Freeride World Tour (FW T) is the pinnacle of competitive snowboarding.

The aim is simply to get down the mountain in the most st ylish manner possible. Being fast is key, fast with jumps, drops, tricks, and ideally no crashes. The course is completely natural with no built jumps, no pisted terrain and no aval anche bl asting. The FW T is snowboarding in its purest form.

Allow us to introduce Sascha Hamm. He’s Britain’s most successful freerider and in his first season on the FWT in 2014, he blew away all expectations and finished 3rd overall.

Last season he didn’t quite match that result but he still managed a respectable 6th. That’s 6th in the world at riding big mountain lines with style. It’s quite an achievement, especially for his second season in the FWT. Where did it come from?

What path has led Sascha to become Britain’s best?

It’s not one that you could possibly imagine, or even make up.

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As with nearly all of the UK’s talented snowboarders, it started on a dryslope - the old Hillingdon dendex slope to be precise. His talent and commitment got him noticed and the next step was a winter season in Avoriaz in 1995. Here he perfected his art with a few other notable UK snowboarders in his crew; Rhys Crabtree and Mark Kent among them.

In 2000 Sascha took part in the Brits, Britain’s national snowboard competition and won the Halfpipe and Overall competition. So far it’s a completely normal career path for any aspiring British snowboarder. It’s after the Brits that things take a turn for the… unusual.

For someone as driven as Sascha, it seems that the thrills of competitive snowboarding were not enough. He had a dream of being a Formula 1 driver.

He took the earnings from his snowboard adventures, signed into Silverstone Racing School, and started racing in the same series that the fresh faced Jenson Button had recently graduated from.

Unfortunately the dream wasn’t to be. With a seasons racing costing more that a one-bed apartment in Morzine, Sascha quickly ran out of cash. The dream of summer racing and winter snowboarding was simply too much. In the end, after three pretty successful

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The aim is simply to get down the mountain in the most st ylish manner possible.

seasons, Sascha was forced to step down as a racing driver, with some pretty hideous debts he'd racked up along the way and a career as an Estate Agent on the horizon.

So, Sascha. Estate agent to FWT podium. Tell us how that came about.

My business partner and I set up a property investment company in 2004 and it was all going well until 2009 when along came the credit crunch. This meant no one was really interested in investing in property and rather than work our butts off for little return, we decided to take a year out.

I decided to go back to snowboarding. I’d been out of the scene for years and didn’t really know where to start. Some old friends managed to persuade me to come to Chamonix, where you can forget riding powder if you don’t wake up early or aren’t eager to hike for your turns.

Having done a full season again I didn’t want to stop.

Although we only just started up our company again in 2012, we agreed that I could take every Friday off in the winter. This meant I would work Monday to Thursday, fly out to Geneva and go riding in Chamonix for three days and be back in the office Monday morning. It was a bit hectic but at least I got to have some proper weekends.

Seeing a friend, James Stentiford rip it in the FWT, I thought ‘I could do that’. But unlike James, I needed to qualify through the Freeride World Qualifier series. It took me 2 years to gain the points to qualify, but I did it, and I was off to the FWT. Tell us, what's it like dropping into a FWT face?

For a few days I’ll be checking the face from the bottom with binoculars and visualising the run I want to do. On comp day I hike to the top, trying to focus and switch everything off. And then it's time. You get into the start gate and a helicopter is hovering above you. You know you only have one chance, no crashes allowed. It’s definitely an intense adrenalin rush. All the preparation is coming together for that one run. You hear the guy on the walkie-talkie say “10 seconds” and you know it's your time to have it!

How are Freeride contests going to develop in the future?

It is so hard combining big mountain lines with freestyle, but I imagine this is where it’s heading. If you start adding freestyle you kind of lose your speed so it’s a compromise. But with time and all the young guys doing triple corks then coming into freeriding, this will progress.

Do you ride in the Portes du Soleil these days?

If so, where’s your favourite area?

I remember Avoriaz from the 1995 season. There were so many cliffs and jumps we hit. The one I remember is the cliff going off the Arare, which we called ‘Daves’.

It’s probably still the biggest cliff I ever hit. Good times with Kenty, Rhys, Graeme and Paul Three Moore.

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Despite being Britain’s best Freerider and winning The Brits in 2000, you’re only actually British in the loosest sense of the word it seems?

My mum is Italian and my dad is Croatian. Both studied in Vienna where my sister and I were born.

But when I was five years old, my parents moved to London and the whole family have lived there ever since.

Which result have you been most proud of?

On the FWT, the run I was most proud of was in Alaska. But all good things come to an end. In AK unfortunately I crashed and burned 30m before the finish.

What’s your fitness regime?

In the summer I go climbing three times a week. That keeps me fit and it’s loads of fun too. From October I start with a squat, wall-sit, jumping squat & lunges routine. It takes 30 minutes and is an absolute killer on the legs. But it gets you ready for the season and prevents injuries.

What are your plans for the future? Perhaps Prime Minister?

No to politics for me. Although I’m old, I still feel quite young so am happy to keep doing what I’m doing as long as the body and mind allows. Family life will still need to wait a bit.

If you could give one message to the young snowboarders who see you as a hero, what would it be?

You only live once, so give everything your best shot. You never know, it might actually work.

Do you want to say hi to anybody and who are your current sponsors?

I’m thankful for snowboards from Neversummer, clothing from Arc’teryx, gloves & backpacks from Orthovox, bindings from Union, goggles from Smith, bags from Douchbags and the amazing airport transfers from Cham-Van.

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live Like a local There’s nothing bet ter than tried and tested tips and recommendations from local folk.

Which weather forecasting website is the most accurate?

I prefer chamonix-meteo.com as it’s pretty accurate and you can get a gist of what is happening across the region. Lots of people also use snow-forecast.com, which can be good but sometimes it’s a little bit biased. We also use a Norwegian website called yr.no which is usually spot on.

Ricey - Ski Beyond

What’s the best thing about Les Gets during the summer?

There’s some stunning scenery on offer across the Alps during the summer season but in Les Gets you’ll find a relaxed vibe and loads of activities to keep you busy. Les Gets is a beautiful village and a great place to spend a summer holiday.

Dave - Summit Special

Thankfully Morzine, Les Gets and Avoriaz locals are always more than happy to share their insider knowledge with Source readers!

How do you beat the lift queues in the morning?

If you are grown up then make an early start to avoid the ski school start times, which are usually between 9:15-9:30 Catching first lifts really does pay dividends!

Ian, Avoriaz Alpine Ski School

What’s your favourite lunch stop in Avoriaz?

It’s got to be La Reserve.

The chef prepares fresh food in an open kitchen, you’ll find a charming welcome from Marion, good French wines and a cosy atmosphere, just 50m from the center of Avoriaz.

Thomas - Avoriaz Holidays

What’s your favourite restaurant for dinner in Morzine?

It has to be L’Etale in the centre of the resort!

The portions are huge, the atmosphere is always bustling and alive and the after dinner shots are generously mandatory!

Dom - MountainXtra

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Where’s best for a hot chocolate stop in Les Gets?

My favourite hot chocolate stop is La Paika. After a fun day skiing in Les Gets, this is a great stop to enjoy the views of Marcellu Pic and Mont Chery. Time your stop right and you’ll catch the last of the sunshine before skiing down into La Turche.

Fanny – Hotel La Marmotte

Do you have a hidden gem in the Portes du Soleil that you’d like to share?

St Jean D'Aulps ski area is my hidden gem. There’s a great mix of skiing, it’s fantastic on powder days and there’s even a new chairlift this season. It’s just fab!

Cat - Ski Cosy

What’s your favourite après live music venue?

chalet-chefs.pdf

We love La Marmotte d’Or in Montriond for après drinks and dancing. You’ll find regular live bands and local DJs and you can relax and enjoy their signature cider on the sunny terrace too!

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Sarah & Holly – Trust & Dust

Where is the best snowpark for beginners in the PDS?

Hire a private chef to make your holiday a holiday for everyone

The La Chapelle Snowpark includes a line of tiny green jumps, which are great for beginners. You can then progress onto the blues! The Stash in Avoriaz is also great as it includes heaps of fun features, which are less intimidating as you’re hiding in the woods!

Menu 1 - €230 per week

home cooked, filling dishes such as tartiflette, chilli and lasagne

MENU 2 - €270 per week

Duncan - Treeline Chalets

classic, chalet style food such as beef bourgignon and slow roast belly pork

MENU 3 - €350 per week

How do you keep kids warm on the coldest of days?

our fine dining option including beef wellington and rack of lamb

Keeping them warm means keeping them busy (and dry!). Make them active, have fun, clothe them properly, keep their gloves on and they won’t notice the cold.

Jon - Ride & Slide

www.chaletchefs.net | +33 (0) 6 47 82 98 89 /MorzineSourceMagazine

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Where can the quietest pistes be found?

Mont Chery is always where you will find the quietest pistes and for red run lovers this is the ideal place to go. For those who prefer a less challenging blue run, Nyon in the morning is a great place to enjoy a nice quiet and relaxing ski.

Sally – The Snow Institute

What’s the best ski companion app?

It has to be Ski Tracks. It’s great to know where and how far you have been during each day of your holiday, and for the competitive amongst you, it’s mainly used to see who is the fastest in Craig, Bar Nash your group!

The best place for kids to practice their new skiing skills is…

The beginners slope on the Pleney is great for practising those first skills, it’s generally less busy Tuesdays to Saturdays. The Proclou in Avoriaz is also perfect for more advanced kids.

Sam - Muddy Puddles

What’s your favourite day off activity?

Skiing in the Ranfolly bowl (Les Gets) for a few uninterrupted hours (hopefully in the sun!) followed by a couple of delicious beers and a bowl of seriously tasty grub in the Bec Jaune in Morzine!

Jess - Morgan Jupe

What’s your best tip for de-fogging goggles?

Buy a good brand and be careful not to touch the inside too much - the surface has been treated and you might scratch it! To clear any condensation inside, put them inside your ski jacket, they’ll dry out and clear, or head to the restaurant toilet at lunchtime and dry them with the hand dryer.

Herve – Reach Your Peak

Where’s the best for lunch in central Les Gets?

The tapas menu at Restaurant La Biskatcha inside the Hotel La Marmotte at the bottom of Les Chavannes is an absolute lunchtime treat! The Mexican pork ribs on the main menu are also unmissable!

Where's the best place to go for a snowy walk?

On a crisp winter’s morning with fresh snow having fallen and the sun shining, one of my favourite snowy walks is across the top of Pleney under the Belvedere lift. Stopping to admire Mont Blanc when it comes into view, glistening majestically in the distance, and finishing with a cheeky Vin Chaud at Le Vaffieu.

Glyn - Chalet Margaritka

where's The best place for a crepe in morzine?

It’s the one and only Chez Martine, located across the road from the Pleney. Not only does she make the best ham and cheese crêpe in the valley, but possibly in all of France.

Ask for extra pepper and be amazed at the lovely lady's pancake skills.

Amie - Source Magazine

Rob - Source Magazine

Where’s the best for piste-side drinks in Les Gets?

It’s always fun to stop for apero after a day skiing in Les Gets. My favourite stop is the newly refurbished bar at Hotel Le Crychar on the slopes of Les Chavannes. There’s amazing tapas and great views!

Severine - Location LB

#lovemorzine

#lovelesgets

When Le Tour arrives in Morzine this summer, the best viewing point will be where?

The 2016 Tour de France could be won or lost in Morzine. Expect fireworks on the Col de Joux Plane if the yellow jersey winner is undecided as the peloton hits the final climb of the race.

See you there.

Graeme - 1330 Road Cycling

#loveavoriaz

L'AUBERGADE | YOUR SOURCE OF GREAT COCKTAILS IN MORZINE

/MOUNTAINMAVERICKS

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MOUNTAINMAVERICKS

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The Lit tle Beginners of Les Lindarets

By Victoria Lopes

Some shout, others cry, many smile even though they are a lit tle bit anxious, they hug mum and dad one last time…

No, it’s not their first day of school, but their first day in Piou Piou cl ass at Montriond Ski School.

Every winter thousands of children discover the joys of winter sports and, as a member of Piou Piou’s team of instructors, I get to be there to watch their first slides. This may not seem a great adventure to you, but trust me. Looking after little beginners on skis is anything but boring. Let me tell you the story of the little beginners of Les Lindarets.

Tiny little skis spread out on the snow in front of the ski school, some parents are wondering how their child will ever be able to stand on them. Most of the children are between four and six years old. The ski school accepts

#lovemorzine

children from three and a half years old, and for many, it’s the first time they have ever seen snow.

The blankie is in their pocket so it doesn’t get cold, and it gives them some courage to face this new challenge. The instructors are here all season long to teach them the basics of skiing and to build up their confidence. The most important thing for us is that they enjoy their time without getting too scared.

While their older sisters, brothers and parents are hurtling down the slopes or discovering amazing

off-piste runs, the little ones have their first try at sliding in the kindergarten. This area has been set up especially for them on Lindarets’ plateau so that families can go skiing immediately after dropping their children with us.

The kids are completely protected from the other skiers so they can learn safely before they face green, blue or, after a bit of practice, red and black pistes.

week, we take the children to the chairlift next to the ski school.

There, it is another story: we are on a real slope with expert skiers all around and children are taking the lift for the very first time. We have to pick them up if they fall and once on the slopes, we’ll have to climb back to the top it if they are too scared to go down. We need to be patient and athletic!

“Open your skis, hands on your knees, look up…” instructions we'll repeat all morning long with one goal; the famous snowplough!

Before they face real pistes, they have to be able to stop by themselves. The kids also learn to use the magic carpet, which helps them get to the top of the little slope in the kindergarten.

Some of our pupils really enjoy learning and offer us their biggest smiles and laughs each day. I see the same kids every morning for at least one week, so it creates some affinities. ‘Victoria, why didn’t you plait your hair today?’ they’ll ask me. ‘Because I didn’t have the time’ I’ll reply. ‘Oh shame, it makes you look like Elsa!’ Yes, sometimes your little Piou Piou’s make you weak at the knees.

Piou Piou instructors are also here to wipe the noses, dry the tears, calm the fears, help with the toilet breaks, put the gloves back on and check that blankie is still in the pocket. ‘When will mummy come back?’ ‘Are we having a break soon? I’m hungry!’ ‘I don’t know how to do it. I am tired!’

First days on skis are not that easy, for the kids or the teachers.

As their level improves during the

#lovelesgets

Montriond-Lindarets ski school has a new chalet-nursery, which opened in winter 2012. The nursery welcomes children after their Piou Piou ski lesson so parents can enjoy a few more laps before picking them up. The Lindarets ski school is the only one in Avoriaz to offer this. It’s in

#loveavoriaz

55

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60 minute massage 80€ pp 45 minute massage 63€ pp 30 minute massage 45€ pp 2 or more consecutive 45 / 60 minute massages 5€ reduction pp Pre book an evening of indulgence for just 215€ (3.5 hours) Let us massage away those aches and pains in the comfort of your accommodation.

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this new chalet that the kids enjoy snack time, which is another great moment of the morning. They have a little rest and get to know their classmates.

The number of people per group lesson for adults and children is limited to eight this winter.

Children get to know each other easily, even if French to English communications can sometimes be a little bit tricky between children.

Most children in Piou Piou classes are English-speakers, which makes them feel comfortable.

Before my Piou Piou’s can

/MorzineSourceMagazine

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Grande

Terche Aulps

St Jean d’

mand

Essert Ro

29/09/2015 15:42

race on the slopes with their families, they end their week at kindergarten and it is time for them to receive their medals. To reward the efforts they made, they all get a little trophy and a book where the instructors record what they have accomplished during the lessons. Having shouted or laughed all week, we instructors also get our own prize: the kiss of thanks and the smiles before the children leave.

We may not have ridden any off-piste, or been in any parks, but this experience makes you proud of perhaps initiating the ski champions of tomorrow!

@MorzineSource

/MorzineSourceMagazine

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There’ll be an App for that…

We live in a world where separation from mobile internet-capable devices is rare. The age of the smartphone is upon us and not even 80’s sci-fi could have prepared us for how attached to our devices we’ve become.

Since you’re on holiday, you might be thinking it’ll be nice to put the phone down for a bit. It’s a nice idea, but unfortunately it’s pretty unlikely for many in this day and age. Instead we’ve put together a list of the best on snow apps to improve your mobile’s usefulness whilst you’re on holiday.

Find My Friends - FREE iOS Working on the same principles as Apple’s Find My Phone App, Find My Friends allows you to locate anyone in your group at a glance. Simply send invites to your fellow iPhone users and once accepted, easily track your friends and loved ones across the pistes, powder fields and bars of your resort. This one’s particularly useful for herding teenagers.

Ski Tracks - €1 iOS, Android It’s not a competition, but that doesn’t mean things don’t get a bit competitive on a winter sports holiday. Put two friends on skis, send them down a mountain and more often than not there’ll be a competitive edge to their skiing. With Ski Tracks you can put definitive numbers to your claims.

Using a whole range of your phones sensors, plus its GPS abilities, Ski Tracks logs a whole collection of data including maximum and average speed, total distance travelled and slope angle. This can then be plotted onto a route map of your day and dinnertime boasts can begin.

Remember to stay within your limits. See page 72 for information on staying safe on the mountain.

Alto’s Adventure - €2.99 iOS, Android (coming soon), Kindle Fire (coming soon) Alto is a llama farmer who’s lost his herd. It’s your job to gather up his lost animals, and of course you’ll have to use his snowboard to do it. A snowboarding game with a twist, this visually stunning game has won multiple awards for its stylish graphics and thoroughly enjoyable gameplay.

Not just for the kids, this is the perfect game to get you in the mood for your holiday whilst hanging around in the departure lounge.

#lovemorzine

#lovelesgets

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Ride Slide half page advert.pdf

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Ski to the Moon - FREE iOS, Android Following the same theme as their annual charity endurance race in Morzine The Alpine Challenge, snow sports charity Snow-Camp have developed a ski-tracking app with a difference. Based on the Ski Tracks platform, Ski to the Moon offers up most of the features you’d expect from a tracking app but with the added bonus of a charity fundraising feature. Before your holiday you can set yourself a distance goal, then gain sponsorship from friends and family to achieve that goal. The totals of everybody using the app are submitted and added together with the overall goal of skiing the distance to the moon and raising money for the Snow-Camp cause.

AWARD WINNING LUXURY CHALETS

First Aid - British Red Cross - FREE iOS, Android As a concept, it’s simple yet ingenious. A first aid handbook on your phone and with you at all times. The app has three main functions.

Learn - running through all first aid procedures, with multiple-choice questions to test your knowledge (it’s basic but great for those with no first aid knowledge at all). Prepare - detailed instructions on how to deal with dozens of emergency situations, from flu pandemics to terrorist attacks. Emergency - step-by-step guides for nearly every type of injury. This is the most useful part of the app and definitely has the potential to save lives.

Although this app should never be treated as a substitute for a proper hands-on first aid course, as a calming influence and a good source of advice in an emergency it’s priceless. Just remember the international emergency number is 112; the app is British and it tries to dial 999.

For more info on staying safe on the mountain and what to do if it all goes wrong take a look at pages 58 and 72.

NO 1 RANKED CHALET IN MORZINE (speciality lodging) from customer reviews as at 15/09/15

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Why does it always snow on the weekend?

By Rob Purver

Fast-forward to last summer when I was approached by a friend who had some information he thought might support my theory. He’d been keeping a log of the weather on each and every day of the 2015 winter season in addition to a record of what a popular snow forecasting website had predicted five, three and one day in advance of each day. He’d done it to crossreference the predicted snowfall with the actual snowfall throughout the season and to find out if we really are being fed ‘tourist board propaganda’ from the snow forecasting website in question.

As soon as he mentioned his incredible collection of snow data, a single idea popped into my head. Can it finally answer my question? Does it really snow more over the weekend? As I sat looking through this huge amount of raw data, a few things became clear.

1. This guy was very keen. I wouldn't have the tenacity to check and log the weather every single day, especially to this level of detail!

2. The weather forecasters predictions are reasonably inaccurate. The five day forecast is pure fiction, the three day forecast is exaggerated, and it’s only when we get to a mere 24 hours before the event that the forecasting gets anywhere near accurate.

But that’s weather forecasting for you.

Despite all of our wonderful technology, we still can’t accurately predict local weather more than a few days in advance.

3. Far more snow was predicted to fall over the winter season than actually did, but when snow was accurately forecasted, appreciably more fell that the forecasted amount, around 30% more in most cases.

4. Yes. It is significantly more likely that it will snow over the weekend.

#lovemorzine

During my first few winters in Morzine I worked as a chalet host and transfer driver. Both are jobs where a significant percentage of your workload is focused over the weekend. It’s the same for many resort staff; the busiest days of the week are always Saturday and Sunday. At first I assumed it was coincidental; it’s always a nice day outside when you’re stuck in work.

But it kept happening again and again, and over the next few winters the idea solidified within my mind:

the powder gods hate me - it always snows at the weekend.

The easiest way to demonstrate this is to simply count the days that it snowed. Here’s a chart to make the data a little clearer (the raw data isn’t much to look at) and for good measure, I’ve included the total snowfall for each day over the season, and the corresponding figures as predicted by the snow forecasting website.

From the data we can see there’s a clear lull in snow fall around the middle of each week. Wednesday is by far the poorest day for fresh snow, inversely it was the best day for sunshine, so it’s not all bad news for seasonaires, who typically have Wednesday days of snow

cm of snow x 10

off work. Thursday is better, and after that the powder party starts.

Admittedly, having only one seasons worth of data means these result could be just a fluke, but my memories over the last ten years in Morzine suggest it’s always been this way.

I’m confident if you were to spread this over five, ten or fifteen years you’d see a similar pattern. The question is… why?

Having seven days in a week isn’t a natural pattern. It’s a man-made schedule enforced on the planet, and thus it’s safe to assume predicted days of snow

predicted cm of snow x 10

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0 monday

tuesday

wednesday

thursday

friday

saturday

sunday

The graph demonstrates the actual and predicted snowfall patterns throughout the season. The first column indicates how many times in snowed on a particular day over the winter. The second column shows total snowfall throughout the season on each day. For example on Monday’s, 89cms of snow fell (8.9 x10). The third column shows the amount predicted days of snow over the season, and the fourth column shows the total predicted snowfall on any given day over the season.

#lovelesgets

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Inspirational british ski & board lessons in Les Gets & Morzine

any weekly weather patterns we can identify are man made also. An in depth look at snow formation can be found on page 74, but all you really need to know is that precipitation all begins with a particle, usually dust, soot or pollen. It can come from anywhere: dust storms, farming, transport, industry, even volcanoes. It’s the seed around which clouds, and ultimately snow, forms. The structure of the working week means that between Monday and Friday us humans do the best we can to pump as many little particles into the air as possible. From industrial processes through to the millions who commute every day, we’re pumping dust into the atmosphere enthusiastically, five days a week. The levels build until there’s plenty of dust in the air, clouds are seeded and, hey presto… it snows.

www.skischool.co.uk info@skischool.co.uk +33 (0)4 50 79 51 37 /LGSnowsports Crevasse Advert.pdf

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The snow then washes the dust out of the air, you get a few days of clearer weather and the cycle starts all over again.

So there you have it.

Do you or your family require quality, affordable clothing?

Then why not try our in resort snowsports' clothing rental service

£400 of kit for £69

It is more likely to snow nearer to the weekend and it’s our own doing.

I don’t work over the weekends anymore.

Sorry chalets hosts, I’ll try to save you a few turns*.

Here at Crevasse Clothing, we work with quality brands such as Westbeach, Bolle and Barts to provide clothing rental for everybody. Skiers and snowboarders, adults and children, large or skinny, if you rent clothes you not only save on purchasing kit but you can also save on airline luggage costs. It’s a no brainer!

*Not happening, no friends on a powder day, enjoy those Wednesday’s off!

Are you a resort business owner?

Then why not get in touch with us and find out how you can become a partner

michael@crevasseclothing.com | www.facebook.com/crevasseclothing

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Rock The Pistes returns to the Portes du Soleil for its 6th year.

Les Crosets

Sunday 13th March

Avoriaz

Monday 14th March

Morzine/Les Gets Thursday 17th March

Châtel

Friday 18th March

Morgins

Saturday 19th March Concerts start at 13:30hr If you’ve not been to Rock the Pistes before then you’re in for a treat. Spread across 5 resorts and 2 countries, this free, week long outdoor music festival showcases a fair slice of the music industry.

With almost as many genres as there are artists, Rock the Pistes offers something for everyone. The range of artists from previous years has included the current pop-rock sounds of bands like Klaxons and Babyshambles, to super-cool French/ Finnish indie band The Dø, all the way through to reggae influenced artists like DUB INC and the hallowed grandfather of modern reggae Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, who’s musical career has spanned six decades.

turned into an all out snowball war.

With the band getting involved and hundreds of happy revellers launching snow at each other, it’s a scene unlikely to be repeated at any other festival with such positivity. In a post-gig interview, lead singer Jamie Renyolds claimed the gig was in his top five favourite gigs of all time.

To experience the festival in its fullness you’ll need to ski or snowboard between stages. The various gigs move between resorts each day, making Rock the Pistes the perfect opportunity to explore the wider ski area during your holiday whilst enjoying a wide selection of bands.

Probably the most important thing about Rock the Pistes is the entrance price. It’s free! It’s not often you have the opportunity to watch world-class bands in a beautiful environment and enjoy the entire experience for free, safe in the knowledge that you can party as hard as you like as you’re on holiday.

Just remember to not party so hard that you can’t get down the mountain afterwards.

The atmosphere is always great.

2013 festival openers Klaxons were one of our previous highlights.

During their encore a snowball fight broke out in the crown and

If you’d like more information visit rockthepistes.com or check out morzinesourcemagazine.com/rock-the-pistes-2016 for our festival guide.

#lovemorzine

#lovelesgets

#loveavoriaz

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cuisine gourmande et régionale

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FOR SALE Weiden Apts, Morzine New apartments Quiet area just a short distance from the ski slopes

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Vive Le Tour On 20th October 2015 the ASO announced that the 2016 Tour de France would visit Morzine for a stage finish on Saturday 23rd July.

Road cycling is a big deal around these parts, especially during the summer months, and to say that a wave of excitement gripped the town following the announcement would be an understatement. We’d all been speculating on the route of Le Tour for months; after all, it’s six years since it last visited Morzine – surely we were due another stage?

The penultimate stage of Le Tour, and the last mountain stage, will depart Megeve on Saturday 23rd July 2016, arriving in Morzine some 146km later. The route takes in some of the toughest climbs in Tour history, including the Col de la Colombiere at 1618m, the Col de la Ramaz at 1619m and promises a spectacular finale with a 12km downhill to the Morzine finish line from the Col de Joux Plane at 1691m. The very next day, the winner of Le Tour will be crowned on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

The Tour de France is the world’s largest annual sporting event with a worldwide television audience of 3.9 billion people in 188 different countries watching over 4700 hours of coverage.

Le Tour and its entourage require 1,200 hotel rooms each night for teams, staff, press and tour personnel, while spectators spend an average of six hours at the roadside waiting for Le Tour to pass.

Morzine’s Mairie drove the campaign to bring Le Tour to the town next summer.

“ It’s a great opportunity to put our village at the centre of the world for one day ” #lovemorzine

www.morzinesourcemagazine.com

Meaning the big loop Le Tour is nicknamed

a reference to the route taken around France

La Grande Boucle

Each rider burns a whopping 123,900 calories during the 21-day race Le Tour has been plagued by doping scandals in recent years, but the earliest recorded cheat

252 mcdonalds cheeseburgers

was French rider Jean Robic. He filled his water bottle with lead to give him extra speed on descents

12,000,000

roadside spectators are expected to line the route of Le Tour as it crosses France in 2016

The winner of Le Tour receives a cheque for

$610,000

$4.3m is the total prize pot

In the 1920s riders would often share a cigarette whilst riding, believing they’d help to open the lungs before a big climb

Until the 1960s it was common to see riders enjoying an alcoholic tipple during the race to numb the pain. Alcohol consumption was then banned as it was considered a stimulant

The fastest average speed during Le Tour was

25.7

MPH, set in 2005 In 1919, the average speed was just 14.9 MPH

The peloton will use

#lovelesgets

tires in total over the three-week race

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63

“ It’s good for the fame of the resort and its brand image and the economic returns it generates in terms of overnight hotel stays, etc will be very welcome. ” “ It's been six years since we had Le Tour, we fought hard to bring it back and I’m delighted that we were successful ”

The oldest building in Morzine built in 1771 is today one of its most special destinations

© - apresimaging.com

Morzine's Mayor told us.

Die-hard road cycling fans will already be planning their summer trip to Morzine to take in Le Tour.And who can blame them? Morzine puts on a real show during Le Tour – buildings are decked in yellow ribbon and there’ll be an incredible atmosphere across the whole area.

• 18th Century Farmhouse • Delicious cuisine every evening • Perfect destination for winter & summer breaks

© - apresimaging.com

11 STUNNING BEDROOMS • CHARMING RESTAURANT WINTER & SUMMER WEDDINGS

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/TheFarmhouseMorzine

@TheFarmhouseMZ

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SUPPORTYOUR TEAM, IN THE FRENCH HOCKEY PREMIER LEAGUE! DECEMBER 05 TH HCMAG VS BORDEAUX

JANUARY 09 TH HCMAG VS GAP

JANUARY 29 TH HCMAG VS AMIENS

DECEMBER 23 RD HCMAG VS LYON

JANUARY 12 TH HCMAG VS GRENOBLE

FEBRUARY 02 ND HCMAG VS BREST

DECEMBER 30 TH HCMAG VS EPINAL

JANUARY 19 TH HCMAG VS ANGERS

FEBRUARY 06 TH HCMAG VS ROUEN

SKODA ARENA | 502 ROUTE DU PALAIS DES SPORTS 74110 MORZINE | TEL : +33.(0)4.50.75.78.21 | INFO@HCMAG.FR |

#lovemorzine

#lovelesgets

@HCMAG74 #HCMAG

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The Tast y Ski Company

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The Tasty Ski Company run 4 fully catered chalets in Morzine and Le Grand Massif. Delicious food in amazing locations is the name of our game. All of our chalets are either walking distance from the slopes or come with a private driver service to ensure direct access to the white stuff!

5 star luxury catered chalet holidays. Gourmet food, fine wines, beautiful chalets, log fires and much, much more. NEW for Winter 2015/16 we have an outdoor spa with a 40ft sun terrace, sunken hot tub, barrel sauna and plunge pool.

Book now for an unforgettable ski and snowboard retreat. We look forward to welcoming you – Sarah & Steve.

Ski in, ski out luxury catered chalet in fabulous central Morzine location. Privately run by French ski instructor and his English wife since 2002.

Family friendly, separate cinema/games room, huge sledging field in front. Stunning views, quiet location, only 2 minutes walk from central Morzine and just 5 minutes from all lifts. Hot tub, WIFI, flat screen UK TV, PS3

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ALPTITUDE

Morzine Retreats

Luxurious, stylish barn conversion next to the Super Morzine lift. 6 beautiful en-suite bedrooms, sleeping up to 12. Gorgeous exposed beams, log burner and huge vista windows really give this chalet the edge. Separate cinema room, ski and boot room and utility room add to its practicality.

A simply stunning chalet in an amazing town centre location!

Quality self-catered properties of various sizes in the heart of Morzine with service that is second to none. Whether in the enquiry stages, pre-booking, or even in resort at your chosen accommodation, we are always available to ensure a fantastic stay.

We pride ourselves on providing good value, high quality accommodation for all our past and future guests.

Chalet Le Cabri – Stunning catered superior chalet, sleeps 12 in en-suite rooms. Jacuzzi, amazing food, great location. Chalet Le Timeris – Affordable 14 person self-catered chalet (catering can be arranged). Chalets are adjacent and can be booked together for large groups.

chaletleserf.co.uk

alptitude.com

morzine-retreats.com

+33 (0) 4 50 74 44 78

+33 (0) 7 86 71 14 12

+33 (0) 6 30 79 55 15

info@chaletmorzine.com

info@alptitude.com

info@morzine-retreats.com

Chilled Chalets

Snow Motion Chalets

The Edge Morzine

We are a new and fresh chalet company for this winter offering our version of tailored ski holidays.

The chalet has 5 en-suite bedrooms to sleep a total of 14. We have all the chalet essentials including luxury toiletries, heated boot rack and of course the outdoor hot tub. Keep it simple and do it properly with Chilled Chalets.

Comfortably sleeping 10 with a huge open plan living, dining and kitchen area, Chalet Le Coeur de Lion is conveniently situated in the centre of Montriond village, just 50 metres from local shops, bars and the free ski bus stop. WIFI, UK FreeSat TV, Wii, airport transfers, ski hire, lift passes and ski lessons also available.

Nestled in the heart of Montriond, Chalet Beatrice offers 7 bedrooms, exceptional standards of food and service, an outdoor hot tub, sauna and games room and cosy bedrooms plus slope transfers each day.

Perfect for groups of friends of families, at The Edge we make sure everyone has a fantastic holiday in the Portes du Soleil.

chilledchalets.com

snowmotionchalets.com

theedgemorzine.com

+44 (0) 7487 693905

+33 (0) 6 43 80 65 82

+33 (0) 4 50 04 91 22

bethan@chilledchalets.com

info@snowmotionchalets.com

hello@theedgemorzine.com

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Hotel Les Sapins, Montriond

Simply Morzine

LB Immobilier

A traditional Savoyarde chalet with 18 bedrooms, a cosy restaurant with open fire and homemade food, bar and charming family atmosphere. Set on the shore of the magical Lake Montriond, which is frozen during the winter. Located opposite the free ski bus stop, Ardent and Montriond are less than 10 minutes away. Authentic, good value accommodation for everyone.

The original and best Morzine specialists, established 1996. All properties have hot-tub, pool or sauna. 4 luxury ski-in, ski-out and/or central catered chalets.

Unique French chalet-style hotel on Pleney pistes.

Self-catered on-piste apartment. Superb cuisine & renowned personal service. Geneva airport transfers & resort shuttles. Discounted lift passes and equipment hire. Highly-regarded family summer activity holidays.

With hamman and inside swimming pool, Chalet Les Sauvageons is ideally situated near Les Gets Lake and has amazing views of the valley and village. Les Chavannes slopes are just steps away!

You will love this beautiful chalet with rare features and charm. It welcomes 18 people in a very cosy atmosphere, making it ideal for friends or family.

hotel-les-sapins74.com

simply-morzine.co.uk

groupelb-immobilier.com

+33 (0) 4 50 75 90 56

+44 (0) 1664 568902

+33 (0) 4 50 83 31 13

hotel-les-sapins@orange.fr

info@simply-morzine.co.uk

lesgets@locationlb.com

Rude Lodge

Hotel L a Kinkerne

Ski Cosy

A unique, innovative and forward thinking concept in alpine accommodation. Every choice has been made with uncompromised focus on the needs of winter sports enthusiasts. Including 37 beds, providing the option of dorm or twin rooms; a fantastic cafe offering breakfasts, snacks and dinner; the most unique après ski-bar and nightclub the Alps has ever seen – we kid you not!

Looking to immerse yourself in an authentic alpine hotel for the week at a really reasonable price? La Kinkerne is the place. Half board with breakfast and dinner is served in the restaurant.

La Kinkerne’s ‘Petit Chalets’ are perfect for couples looking for a romantic break. Be prepared to join La Kinkerne’s Dawn Patrol, our early-bird hike up the mountain.

Chalet Gerard is a cosy ski chalet sleeping up to 10 people, situated in the traditional alpine village of St Jean D'Aulps. Having a fantastic location and offering great food and personal service, we aim to provide you with a cosy and memorable ski holiday.

rudechalets.com

adventurebase.com

skicosy.co.uk

+44 (0) 870 068 70 30

+44 (0) 845 527 58 12

+33 (0) 6 75 76 03 83

Info@rudechalets.com

sales@adventurebase.com

hello@skicosy.co.uk

Mountain Xtra

Chalet des Fleurs

Chalet Margaritka

Mountain Xtra has a wide range of high quality self catered and catered chalets and apartments in Morzine & Les Gets. Whether you are looking for a large group, a family holiday or a romantic getaway we have winter and summer holiday properties to suit your budget. Just email us with your preferred dates and let us do the rest.

We have been providing high quality self catered accommodation in Morzine, Les Gets and St Jean d'Aulps for 10 years.

Beautiful, homely, all mod cons chalet. We specialise in highly personalised ski weekends and recreational activity short breaks. Fully catered during the winter, the chalet has substantial space, 5 double bedrooms (3 en-suite plus one sizeable family bathroom), open log fire, sauna, UK Sky TV, WIFI, Wii (many games), table football and exceptional views across the valley.

mountainxtra.com

chaletdesfleurs.com

chaletmargaritka.com

+33 (0) 6 47 39 35 90

+33 (0) 6 85 62 85 05

+33 (0) 4 50 74 10 64

info@mountainxtra.com

enquiries@chaletdesfleurs.com

enquiries@chaletmargaritka.com

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Morgan Jupe Chalet Chardon

Morgan Jupe Chalet de mes Rêves

Morgan Jupe Chalet des Amis

Charming catered chalet with outdoor hot tub and unrivalled views, just outside the centre of Morzine. Comfortably sleeping 8 adults in 4 double en-suite bedrooms, this chalet is perfect for groups or couples seeking a truly special holiday at the heart of the Portes du Soleil. Prices from £595 per person including our exceptional catered package and chauffeur service.

Traditional ski-in, ski-out catered chalet with outdoor hot tub in a stunning location just a few minutes from the centre of Morzine. Comfortably sleeping 8/9 adults in 4 doubles and 1 single bedroom, this chalet is perfect for a group of friends or a large family. Prices from £595 per person including our exceptional catered package and chauffeur service.

Spacious catered chalet with outdoor hot tub, sauna and stunning views of the Morzine valley.

Comfortably sleeping 12 guests in 3 doubles, 1 twin and 1 quad bunk bedroom this chalet is perfect for 2/3 families or a large group of friends. Shared occupancy on request. Prices from £595 per person including our exceptional catered package and chauffeur service.

morganjupe.co.uk

morganjupe.co.uk

morganjupe.co.uk

+44 (0) 7739 692908

+44 (0) 7739 692908

+44 (0) 7739 692908

jess@morganjupe.co.uk

jess@morganjupe.co.uk

jess@morganjupe.co.uk

Jolly Good Alpine Adventures

Ferme de Montagne

Treeline Chalets

Relaxed and friendly bed & breakfast chalet in Morzine with its own après ski bar serving snacks and dinner every night. Chalet Sherpa sleeps up to 25 guests, just a short walk to town centre/ski lifts. Weekend/short stays or longer holidays. Selfcatering apartments also. Holidays tailored to your needs and budget. Winter and summer.

Ferme de Montagne is a luxuriously, lovingly restored old Savoyard farmhouse nestled in the original village of Les Gets. One hour from Geneva, in a tranquil, ski-in-ski out location, offering a package experience for long and short breaks.

This boutique hotel is an ideal perfect getaway.

With restaurant style, gourmet food and concierge services included, what more could you want!

A small independent chalet company offering catered & self-catered chalets in Morzine. Excellent service, gourmet cuisine and exclusive perks come as standard in our beautiful centrally located chalets, without the price tag. We are owner operated so care about every detail of our guests’ holiday. Added extras include FREE Bataleon Snowboards to try, FREE GoPro use & TSA discounts.

jollygood.com

fermedemontagne.com

treelinechalets.com

+44 (0) 3338 008044

+33 (0) 4 50 75 36 79

+44 (0)1483 220505

info@jollygood.com

enquiries@fermedemontagne.com

info@treelinechalets.com

Apex Morzine

More Mountain Apt Pleney

MORE MOUNTAIN CHALET ROBIN

Le Morzenettaz offers comfortable and friendly accommodation in a renovated 170-year-old farmhouse, close to the Super Morzine lift and town centre. Our 2 bedroom self catered apartment sleeps up to 6, available on a weekly basis. Our B&B sleeps up to 14 in 5 en-suite bedrooms.

Flexible arrival days, minimum stay 3 nights. Free WIFI available.

Ski-in, ski-out, self catered Apartment Pleney sleeps 6, 3 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, large lounge, modern kitchen & dining area, large balconies, stunning views of the slopes. Free WIFI, Bose, Nintendo Wii & XBox 360. In resort concierge service & Meals on Wheels available. Lift passes and in-chalet ski hire also offered.

Sleeps 12 and is located in central Morzine. Features 6 bedrooms, outdoor hot tub, two separate lounges, log burning feature fireplace, leather sofas, separate dining area & balconies with stunning views of the slopes. Free WIFI, Bose and in chalet iPad come as standard. Lift passes and in-chalet ski hire also available. Prices start from £599pp inc. free airport transfers.

apexmorzine.com

moremountain.com

moremountain.com

+33 (0) 4 50 74 65 49

+33 (0) 6 86 02 18 05

+33 (0) 6 86 02 18 05

apexgroup@free.fr

info@moremountain.com

info@moremountain.com

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Avoriaz Holidays offer all you need to pl an a perfect holiday in the Portes du Soleil’s highest ski resort. All properties are ski-in, ski-out, bed linens are included, flexible meal pl ans including breakfast delivery are avail able and we arrange discounts on ski passes and equipment rental on your behalf. Here’s a selection of our properties…

Saskia Apartment

Aster Apartment

Chalet Cridelf

Charming apartment sleeping 6 – 8. Renovated in 2014 and located on the 6th floor, offering incredible views. 2 separate bedrooms and one mezzanine for children, one bathroom and one shower room. Fully equipped kitchen, dining area and lounge. TV in each room, WIFI, sofa bed, balcony with views of slopes.

Sleeping 6 in 3 / 4 rooms, the Aster residence is at the top of Avoriaz, an enviable ski-in, ski-out location with stunning views. Double bedroom with balcony, twin bedroom and separate cabin with 2 bunk beds. Fully equipped kitchen including dishwasher and hotplates, dining area, lounge, South facing balcony.

Sleeping 14 in flexible bedrooms with private bathrooms, Cridelf is an individual chalet on the piste with sunny South facing balconies. Daily cleaning is included, wood provided, breakfast service available. WIFI, fully fitted and equipped kitchen, laundry room, home cinema room, living room with fireplace, cosy dining area.

Crozats Apartment

Chalet Doriaz

Fontaines Blanches Apartment

Two room apartments sleep 4 comfortably in one double bedroom and on a convertible sofa. South facing balconies make the most of the views. All beds are made before arrival, TV and DVD player included, fully equipped kitchen and dining area, bathroom with a separate WC.

An incredible stand-alone chalet in the very heart of Avoriaz. Sleeping 12 over 3 floors, bedrooms feature luxury bathrooms and interior designed furnishings. Ski locker with boot dryer, sauna, WIFI, daily cleaning service, fully equipped kitchen, dining room, lounge with open fireplace and balcony.

Sleeping 4 in 2 rooms, this ski-in, ski-out apartment also includes a ski locker, TV, WIFI and beds made upon arrival. Bathroom with separate WC, a fully equipped kitchen including a dishwasher and a South facing balcony to make the most of the stunning views. Dining and living area.

Kouria Apartment

Malinka Apartment

Douchka Apartment

This beautiful 6 room apartment, refurbished in 2014, sleeps up to 10 in exquisite luxury. Vast, open spaces accommodate living and dining areas alongside a beautiful kitchen with Nespresso machine. Exclusive access to the residences’ swimming pool, Jacuzzi and hammam are included, as is a daily cleaning service.

Offering incredible views from the 8th floor of the Residence Malinka, this apartment has 1 double bedroom and a lounge with convertible sofa. The kitchen is fully equipped and includes a dishwasher, plus dining room and living room with a South-West facing balcony. WIFI, TV and beds made before arrival.

Sleeping 6/7 in 3 rooms, Douchka is a ski-in, ski-out residence. Apartments include 1 double bedroom, 1 bunk room and a convertible sofa. The kitchen is fully equipped with a dishwasher, washing machine and dryer. There’s also a large living room and dining area in addition to a South facing balcony.

a selection of avoriaz accommodation from avoriaz-holidays.com | +33 (4) 50 74 16 08

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Ski Colour returns to Les Gets The first Ski Colour event hit Mont Chery last winter, promising a unique, fun, family day out immersed in a rainbow of coloured powder. And it didn’t disappoint. 800 skiers enjoyed the 50cm of fresh snow that fell the night before, making their way to the top of the Pointe chairlift for the official start. Waves of 30 skiers then made their way through four different zones as ‘colour bombers’ threw coloured powder all over them.

March 2016, immersing skiers and snowboarders in explosions of colour. If you already have a lift pass, entry is €15 for adults and €10 for children aged up to 15 years and you’ll need to register for the event online in advance.

When four people register and pay online, you’ll get a 5th place free! Pedestrian passes are also available for €10, giving you access to the Ski Colour village and the live concert at the end of the event.

The second edition takes place once again on Mont Chery on 12th

skicolor.com

Our family run business provides peace of mind for property owners, and hassle-free holidays for your guests.

Total Chalet Services Morzine, Les Gets and outlying villages.

Our services range from total chalet management to ad hoc cleaning, catering or babysitting. www.totalchaletservices.com

Total Mountain Specialising in bespoke alpine holidays.

Summer or winter, we have a range of options to suit you. www.totalmountain.co.uk UK: +44 (0) 7870 191 144!

Fr: +33 (0) 6 47 94 65 69! e: info@totalchaletservices.com

No such thing as bad weather…

Down day movies in Morzine & Les Gets !

... just the wrong kit. That’s the philosophy behind Muddy Puddles, the British outdoor adventure clothing brand aimed specifically at kids and now available to buy in Morzine. For over 20 years Muddy Puddles have been kitting out little ones with top quality clothing, suitable for everything from showers to snowstorms. This winter’s collection combines bright colours, excellent technical performance and great value.

Located on Rue du Bourg, Morzine’s Cinema REX is a hidden gem for those cold dark evenings and whiteout days. Showing all the latest films, and by a quirk of European distribution, very occasionally, a day or two before their UK release, the cinema doesn’t fall short in terms of video or audio quality. Keep an eye out for titles labeled V.O.S.T, meaning it’s the original version (in English). You’ll find the cinema listings on the Source Magazine Facebook page each week so keep your eyes peeled.

Muddy Puddles’ Sam Pauly is based in Morzine and has organised a number of sales events this winter. “I want my toddler son to grow up loving the outdoors as much as I do. It’s essential to have clothing that’s up to the job, so all he needs to worry about is having fun.” Sam writes a very useful blog on the Muddy Puddles website and if you’d like further information on the Muddy Puddles range, email sam.pauly@muddypuddles.com

! ! ! !

Over in Les Gets, the centrally located cinema also shows current movies with a matinee screening at 5.30pm each day and an evening screening at 8.30pm. If the weather’s particularly cold or snowy they also add a 2.30pm screening to their schedule. You’ll find the full movie programme at the Les Gets Office de Tourisme.

Entry to both cinemas is priced at €9 for adults

muddypuddles.com

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Because sometimes using the lifts just isn’t enough

Back country Tech By rob purver

Win m e

on ou r Fa page th cebook is winte r

MSR Lightning Ascent Snowshoes - €299 Aside from their solid range of hiking and camping equipment, MSR make some of the lightest and toughest snowshoes on the market. This is their ultra light yet super-aggressive model, the Lightning Ascent. It’s designed for rugged terrain, deep powder and gnarly traverses. With a tough yet flexible steel frame, these shoes offer grip where a tubular style frame would give up. As a budget alternative to splitboarding, or a chance to view the mountains from a new perspective, these shoes are unbeatable.

Available in three lengths (22, 25, 30 inch) to suit all weights and snow depths, a narrow version for the female gait, plus there’s add-on flotation tails (available separately), for when it gets extra deep. This shoe can handle anything.

Suunto Ambit2 GPS Altimeter Watch - €200-€600 If you're serious about getting away from civilisation, certain pieces of equipment are useful, if not critical, to your wellbeing. An altimeter, thermometer, GPS, barometer and a means to tell the time are all essential pieces of kit. The Suunto Ambit2 does all of this and, if you go for the bells and whistles top end version, much, much more. The entry level Ambit2 comes packed with features, but the spec list for the range topping €600 version is insane. The Suunto website lists 70+ features plus the ability to extend that with downloadable apps. Our favourite feature has to be the Storm Warning Alarm which, when activated, takes atmospheric readings and if it senses a storm brewing, will trigger an alarm. Very cool and potentially lifesaving.

Ortovox S1+ Aval anche Beacon - €395 The S1+ has been hailed as the most advanced avalanche beacon of all time and its tracking mode is completely different to any other on the market. Instead of following flux lines, sensors inside the unit direct the searcher directly to the victim. The new system requires a bit of re-training for experienced users, but should be completely intuitive for novice users. The large digital display gives a clear distance and direction to the victim in real time using a sensor system that most other beacon manufacturers are sure to take up in the next few years. For the fastest, simplest and clearest avalanche victim location, you wont find better than the S1+.

#lovemorzine

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your source of information for Morzine, Les Gets and Avoriaz

Cavern Full Page.pdf

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Bl ack Diamond Carbon Compactor Z-Poles - €129 When touring, hiking, snowshoeing or splitboarding, it’s often necessary to temporarily dispose of your poles, either for the descent or climb, overnight stays or travel. Most poles on the market telescope down to around a half of their original length, allowing them to be comfortably strapped to, or placed inside a backpack. The Compactor Z-Pole takes things to another level. With Black Diamond’s unique folding system, these poles fold down to a compact 38cm long for the 110cm version. But the real benefit is the weight - just 520g. Available in five lengths to suit all heights, or as an adjustable (625g) version for more versatility on uneven terrain.

MORZINE’S

LIVELIEST BAR GoPro HERO 4 Session - €430 If you’re going to get out there and ride the line of your life you might as well film it. The action cam formula was pretty settled, with several manufacturers making models of similar size and power. GoPro, being the pioneering kind of brand they are, had to take things further. The new HERO 4 Session is 50% smaller and 40% lighter than all previous models, making it the smallest waterproof and shockproof HD camera on the market. The Session does lack some of the bigger aspect ratios of its brother however. There’s no 4k,12MP pictures or 120fps of the HERO 4 Black, but unless you’re a professional film maker we doubt you’ll notice their absence. All the other features are there, plus a few new ones. For full specs visit GoPro.com or your nearest supplier.

LIVE SPORTS ON MORZINE'S BIGGEST SCREEN

Opinel No.8 Outdoor - €25 The traditional, wood handled Opinel is famous worldwide. Sharp blades, simple and secure locking mechanisms and a solid feel all point towards a quality tool that’s steeped in history and, even better, manufactured locally. The outdoor edition of the No.8 is an improvement on the original. A waterproof, non-slip fiberglassreinforced polyamide and elastomer polyamide handle replaces the original wood for better performance and longevity in cold or wet conditions. A serrated section on the 8.5cm high-carbon stainless steel blade takes care of rope or material cutting requirements with ease and a pealess 110db whistle in the handle takes care of signalling requirements. Available in four colours from any good French knife supplier.

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CHEAPPINTS PINTS WHEN WHEN YOU YOU POUR POUR YOUR CHEAP YOUR OWN OWN WITH OUR TABLE TOP BEER TAPS WITH OUR TABLE TOP BEER TAPS

OPEN 9PM 4PM –– 2AM 2AM EVERY EVERY NIGHT NIGHT OPEN

FIND US US IN IN THE THE CENTRE CENTRE OF OF MORZINE MORZINE FIND

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snow safety

By Rob Purver

Skiing and snowboarding involve high speeds, sharp edges and lots of people traveling in slightly different directions at the same time.

It could sound like a recipe for disaster. I read somewhere once that your chance of being injured while skiing is 1/1000. In that same article I read that downhill mountain bikers

How to stay safe and what to do if it all goes wrong have a 1/100 chance of injury. So consider yourselves lucky in that respect.

Of course, those statistics are skewed by the freestyle elements of both sports. If you’re leaving the ground then you must, at some point, arrive back on the ground. It’s when

you don’t land feet first that problems occur.

If you’re a gentle skier in good physical condition, sticking to blues, in normal conditions, you’re far less likely to have a whoopsie. But there is still some risk. They don’t call it an extreme sport because it’s extremely comfortable.

What can you do to reduce your risk of injury?

Wear a helmet

Slow down

Give way

Currently a big debate with strong arguments on both sides. Regardless of where you stand, helmet use will likely become mandatory in the Alps during the next decade, so you might as well get used to it.

If you ski slowly there’s zero chance of a high-speed accident.

Slow down for junctions and those big orange signs that say ‘SLOW’ in four languages.

The rule is to give way to the downhill skier. Giving way to everybody is key to staying out of the danger zone.

Stay within your limits

Look where you’re going

Get fit

You want to improve, and with an ‘in at the deep end’ approach, you’ll learn quickly.

But be aware of your abilities and stay on terrain that you’re comfortable with.

It’s a simple one, but with so much going on it’s easy to forget the direction you’re travelling in. Look ahead for dangers and look uphill before you pull out.

Weak and withered muscles tear easily. Getting fit before your holiday will improve your skiing ability, your resistance to injury and you might just live longer.

It’s also a good idea to prepare for your next jaunt from the comfort of your own home.

Purchase medical insurance and ensure it covers you for skiing PLUS snowpark and off piste as these areas are easy to stray into.

Check your insurer is aware of the length and location of your holiday.

Check you have an up to date E111.

Carry your E111, your insurers phone number (office and emergency) and copies of your passport and insurance documents (a phone photo is acceptable).

Despite following all of our advice, someone in your group has still managed to do him or herself a mischief. What do you do?

If you’re on the scene first, you’re in charge.

Stay calm, take a deep breath. Assess the scene and minimise further risk to yourself and the injured. Place crossed skis in the ground five meters uphill from the incident as a warning. A bystander can help by standing uphill and alerting people to the danger.

The fastest way to get help is to send someone to the nearest lift station. Note the name of the piste and the nearest piste marker number before they go. Or, if off-piste, the nearest chairlift pylon name and number is useful information. Know where you are on a piste map.

Know the number of people injured and type of injuries. If you’re away from the ski area use the international emergency number 112 or phone the sapeurs/pompieres (responsible for fire, rescue and medical emergencies) on 18.

Once help is on its way, stabilise the injured.

For serious injuries use A.B.C. If you don’t know A.B.C, take a basic first aid course.

It may save someone’s life. Don’t move the injured, make them comfortable and keep them warm.

Elevate legs, using the slope or a snow pile to reduce the effects of shock. Don’t offer them food, drink or a cigarette. Wait for help.

When help arrives the medics will select the most appropriate way to get you off the mountain (helicopter or rescue sledge) after considering a number of factors including the extent of any injuries, weather conditions and the time of day.

The local medical centre in Morzine is a great facility. Going straight to Thonon Hospital (Hopitaux du Léman, 45 minutes from Morzine) is another option. It’s a larger facility with more equipment and in-house specialists. Each ski area has its own medical facilities that are equipped to handle typical ski resort injuries.

Thanks to Neil Sharp of Avoriaz Snowzone and Matt Cox of Patterdale Mountain Rescue for support with this article. #lovemorzine

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La Biskatcha Brasserie de montagne et grill

Winter holidays at its finest. Come discover our 4 charming restaurants in the heart of Les Gets. Enjoy various cuisines with each a distinct atmosphere!

La Pivotte Spécialités savoyardes

La Piste Noire Cuisine traditionnelle raffinée

La Pivotte spécialités savoyardes

L’Anka Bar à tapas

La Païka Restaurant d’altitude “La Turche”

Chalets-Hôtels La Tapiaz et La Marmotte & Spa Séréni-cîmes 61 rue du Chêne - 74260 LES GETS - Tel: + 33 (0)4 50 75 80 33 www.hotel-marmotte.com / info@hotel-marmotte.com /MorzineSourceMagazine

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Why are two snowfl akes never alike?

By Rob Purver

The Earth is ancient, unimaginably old, and it’s been snowing here non-stop since the first hints of a wispy atmosphere formed around our young pl anet nearly five billion years ago. For all those countless snowfl akes falling over untold years, surely at least t wo, spread across time and falling at distant corners of the pl anet, must have been identical?

To grasp the likelihood of truly identical fl akes existing, we must first learn a lit tle science behind snowfl ake formation.

The iconic flake shape you’ll no doubt be familiar with - a hexagonal plate sprouting symmetrical tree-like branches - is of the dendrite classification, one of thirty types, and hundreds of sub-types of snowflake shape that all begin their journey to Earth in the same way.

It all starts with a tiny spec of dust or a pollen grain, drifting high up in the atmosphere, minding its own business. If the temperature is low enough and there is sufficient humidity, snowflake formation will begin. As it moves around, our little spec will come into contact with and capture water vapour from the air. These water molecules will start to freeze and form ice crystals, which will make up the simplest of snowflake shapes; a tiny hexagonal plate known as diamond dust. Diamond dust can sometimes fall as it is, but in most cases it will continue to evolve into the larger and more complex shapes we’re familiar with.

The flakes grow from the points of the hexagon plate and the reason for this is simple. These are the furthest point out from the snowflake, so they collect more water molecules than the flat faces, giving more material to create the flake’s various shapes.

The reasons why a snowflake forms into a hexagonal shape at all are somewhat more complicated. A water molecule is made up an oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms.

These sit, at a molecular level, in a V-shape. The angle between any two hydrogen atoms will be 104.5 degrees, so when as few as six hydrogen atoms become bonded, they will naturally form into a hexagonal shape. Why will they become bonded together? In liquid form, molecules normally move vigorously and randomly and as that liquid cools, movement is supressed until eventually it stops altogether. It’s a process commonly know as freezing.

So we’ve got small, hexagonal babyv snowflakes, growing in size as they are contacting more water molecules.

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Hotel offering both bed and breakfast and half board accommodation

The only place in town offering English, Italian and Asian style cuisine, catering for even the fussiest of eaters.

Burgers Pizzas Ribs Salads Noodles Fish & Chips Tapas

Different ground temperatures and humidity levels during its journey to Earth determine the distinctive shape taken on by each flake. As a general rule, the more humidity it encounters, the more complex it will become. But temperature has a huge effect on this also, with the most beautifully complex flakes being formed between -10 and -20°C. Warmer temperatures will not give the flake enough chance to freeze, and any colder, the flake will freeze too quickly for the crystal structure to grow, both resulting in smaller and less complicated flakes.

We now know that there are a lot of factors contributing to the shape and size of a flake. But when considering the billions of flakes that have fallen throughout history, there still seems to be quite a reasonable chance that two flakes could be the same. The coincidence has had a very long time to come about after all. So why hasn’t it?

Because of deuterium.

All water molecules are made of two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom, but not all hydrogen atoms are identical. Out of every million or so hydrogen atoms, a hundred or so are different.

Hydrogen atoms are normally made up of a proton and a single electron, but these hundred or so ‘different’ hydrogen atoms are holding onto an additional neutron. This isotope of hydrogen is known as deuterium and inside your body right now around one in three thousand molecules will be holding onto deuterium instead of hydrogen. Therefore, out of the billions of water molecules that make up a snowflake, a small but significant percentage will be holding onto a deuterium instead of hydrogen, scattered randomly throughout the flake. This means that even if two snowflakes measure exactly the same in every single proportion (which is unlikely, but possible), at a molecular level they’ll be completely different. So it turns out that in actual fact, no two snowflakes are ever alike.

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The Rules of the Game We love our local ice hockey team ‘The Penguins’ here at Source Magazine. So much so, that we give away ten pairs of tickets to every single Ligue Magnus home match that they play. the hockey is an inexpensive and fun night out for the whole family.

Understanding a new sport can be tough however, especially one as fast paced and as hard to follow as ice hockey. Here’s a very simplified version of the rules to help you understand what’s going on out on the ice and maximise your enjoyment!

1: An ice hockey game consists of three, twentyminute periods, with the clock running only when the puck is in play.

2: Teams have a maximum of six players on the ice at any one time, including one goalkeeper. With a maximum of 22 players to choose from, teams make many and regular changes to the players on the ice.

The main reason for a change is to put defensive players out when there is a need to defend, and then change to a strong attacking team when it’s time to try to score. It also means the players are fresh at all times and if you need to swing the game your way you can up the ante by bringing out the big guys!

3: Although ice hockey is a contact sport (you’ll see some pretty hard contacts going on!) there are rules to govern what’s allowed. Players will be punished with a two-minute penalty in the sin bin for any of the following: Checking from behind, cross checking (barging a player with both hands on the stick), elbowing, fighting, hooking (with the blade of the stick), interference, kneeing, roughing (going in too hard), boarding (slamming your opponent into the boards), slashing, spearing, tripping and butt ending (hitting with the handle end of the stick).

4: Once a player is in the sin bin, the opposing team has a clear numerical advantage, known as a powder play. These are usually the best chance to score in a game.

5: To stop the puck being immediately knocked to the opposing end of the ice, a rule called ‘icing’ applies. If a player sends the puck towards the opposite end across two of the red lines and the puck is not intercepted by another player, the play is stopped and the game is restarted from a face-off spot.

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If you’d like to see the Penguins pl ay for free, keep an eye on our Facebook page. If you don’t manage to win tickets, fear not! At only €13 for adults and €9 for under 16’s,

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How to Avalanches are pretty common up here in the mountains.

Anywhere with a bit of snow and a slope angled around 30 degrees or so and POP! Avalanches galore.

As soon as fresh snow gets a few hours of sunlight, whole mountainsides will start to ‘shed’. This natural process is cool to watch and some of the slides that come off the cliffs around Avoriaz are actually pretty big. If the sight of one doesn’t catch your attention, the thunderous rumbling noise will.

They’re best viewed from the safety of a distant piste.

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not get buried in an avalanche These are the best kinds of avalanche. Cool to watch and well away from any pistes, chalets or lifts. But that is unfortunately about as fun as avalanches get.

We’re lucky in the Portes du Soleil, as most of our population centres are well away from avalanche risk areas and a great majority of the available off-piste across the ski area is relatively tame. That doesn’t mean there is zero risk - there is always a risk.

During February half-term last year, more than 75 people lost their lives to avalanches in Europe.

by Rob Purver

This is on the Pleney. On the bottom third of the Pleney to be precise, and within easy snowball range of a blue piste.

I was alone and nobody even knew I was out on the mountain. It doesn’t get much more ‘Darwin Award candidate’ than that. Luckily for me it was a baby avalanche, and after few seconds of panicked thrashing, I’d broken the surface.

Another minute of digging, flapping and rolling around and I was free. Sweaty, a bit shaky, but most significantly, not dead.

44 of those were in France and Switzerland.

In that same period, another 30 or so were recovered alive by rescue services and in countless others incidents, skiers and snowboarders were either only partially buried or rescued by others in their group while the incidents were never reported. All that danger in just seven days.

I had a close one myself during that week.

Sneaking in a couple of midday laps on Pleney during the lunchtime lull, I was riding through the woods just to the side of the piste, clipped something under the snow and took a little tumble.

I ended up lying on my back, head pointing downhill in some pretty deep snow. I was just starting to think about standing up and sorting myself out when a wave of snow slowly flowed over me.

Suddenly it was dark, my mouth was full of snow and all movement was severely restricted.

I’d unknowingly set off an avalanche higher up, then fallen over in its path.

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Now it’s not the most gnarly avalanche story out there. But I think it clearly demonstrates how quickly and unexpectedly it can all go wrong.

On relatively mellow terrain, in an area I know well and within sight of a piste. And I’m no powder newbie either. With over two decades of snowboarding experience under my belt and fast approaching my tenth winter in Morzine, I should have known better.

The magic number in snow burial is 15 minutes.

If you are found and recovered within that first 15 minutes, it’s estimated you have at least an 85% chance of survival. As soon as 15 minutes has elapsed, your chance of survival drops to 50-50.

Thirty minutes pass and there’s only a 30% chance you’ll be enjoying the rest of your holiday, and life. At an hour after burial you’ve got an absolute maximum of 20% survival chance. Most experts agree that to get that

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percentage you will have had to have a ‘lucky’ burial, very close to the surface to allow C02 permeation perhaps. At two hours, it’s over.

If the suffocation hasn’t got you, the cold will certainly be starting to cause problems.

With over two decades of snowboarding experience under my belt and fast approaching my tenth winter in Morzine, I should have known better.

It was a particularity treacherous February last season. Almost two meters of snowfall in less than a week was bad enough, but it fell onto a base that was hard, icy and slippery. That, combined with the large number of beginners, intermediates and families that half term attracts, made for a deadly combination.

That’s the extreme end of the scale. Lifts up high were closed and the avalanche risk level was 5/5 at one point. But even away from the extreme weather, people still managed to get into trouble. Why was this?

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Primarily, people misread the avalanche risk level. Our brains see a scale of 1 to 5, see the level is at 3/5 and think ‘half way, average’. This is not the case.

Here’s the avalanche risk scale explained in its simplest form:

DANGER / RISK LEVEL

SNOW STABILITY

1 LOW

2 MODERATE

3 CONSIDERABLE

Average, normal, no problems, avalanches very unlikely. All is well Things are a bit sketchy in places but if you’re careful and use avalanche avoidance techniques you’ll be OK on a vast majority of the slopes in the area

There’s a high chance of avalanches, almost guaranteed on steeper slopes

4 HIGH

5 EXTREME

Unfortunately some skiers and snowboarders see that it’s risk 3 and assume they’ve a green flag to go off piste.

In Switzerland over the last 20 years, 57% of avalanche deaths occurred when the warning was 3/5. Only 8% were whilst the risk was 4/5. You are statistically therefore most likely to die in an avalanche on a 3/5 day.

Of course the reality is that it isn’t usually worth riding off-piste unless the level is 3/5. If it’s risk level 1 or 2 then it’s likely there is no fresh snow at all.

This poses the problem. No snow = why bother. Snow = danger of avalanche.

The key is education. With the right knowledge, equipment and support, the dangers of off piste skiing and snowboarding can be greatly reduced.

Not eliminated. But the danger can be managed. How? I hear you ask.

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Most slope angles and aspects are very likely to avalanche.

Indicates there is a 95%+ chance of an avalanche happening on any slope. 5 means certainty. The majority of the mountain will be closed.

Step 1. Get educated

Start with an avalanche awareness course.

Classroom based lessons are a good start, but there’s really no alternative to getting out on the snow with a qualified, expert instructor.

Lessons will include transceiver/probe work, terrain reading, weather effects, snowpack stability recognition and snowpack testing.

Step 2. Read

Read as much information and background as you can. There are literally hundreds of online caches of knowledge on the subject of avalanches and mountain safety. Find out recommended further reading from your expert in Step 1.

medical kits are all arguably essential. What you’ll need depends how far off the beaten track you are intending to go. Owning and knowing how to correctly operate the right gear is literally the difference between life and death.

Step 5. Practice

Practicing your ski or snowboard skills are only half the battle. Run through drills; practice using transceivers, practice probing, practice digging. If you might have to do something in a stressful post-avalanche environment then make sure you have it thoroughly practiced whilst you are warm, safe and unstressed.

Step 3. Find a crew

There is zero sense in attempting to undertake any off piste adventure on your own. If you have any kind of incident at all, you are well and truly screwed. Avalanche training and off piste riding should be done as a team. Learn together, ride together and learn to trust each other; a physical trust to come dig you out, and also a trust of their knowledge and attitude. No one likes a liability in the backcountry.

Step 4. Purchase avalanche recovery and snow testing equipment

The basics are essential. Shovel, probe and transceiver. But it doesn’t stop there. Avalungs and airbags, snow testing kits, snow saw, and

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If you’ve not been down the above route, you shouldn’t be going off piste. It’s

as simple as that. If you are venturing off piste alone, without friends or equipment, and with no form of awareness training, you are playing the snow version of Russian roulette.

There are of course, different levels of off piste. Riding just next to the piste after 10cm of fresh snow in Fornet is different to dropping the couloirs near the Swiss Wall after a windblown 40cm has fallen. But people have died in very similar situations to both of those examples. Why expose yourself, your friends and your family to unnecessary risk when the basic equipment and knowledge is so readily available?

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Burton Ion Red Wing Leather Snowboard Boot €400 For riders who want both high performance and full grain leather style, this special edition of the Burton Ion fuses genuine made-in-the-USA Red Wing waterproof leather with the trademark features that have made this boot legendary. Proven Ion technologies such as Total Comfort and AutoCANT cushioning deliver precise control and outof-box bliss, while the Infinite Ride 4 liner equals seamless comfort, quicker response, plus flex and fit that stays consistent year after year.

Hardwear Guide If you’re in the market for new kit this winter season, then The Woods snowboard shop on the Rue du Bourg in Morzine should be your first port of call. It’s one of only a handful of Burton fl agship stores in France and you’ll find more than enough hardwear, outerwear and accessories to satisfy any mid-holiday shopping craving.

Burton Genesis Binding €350

Anon M3 Goggle €240

Designed to be the most comfortable binding ever, but strong enough to stand the punishment that even the most powerful riders can throw at it. The Genesis features a slightly softer flex and combines anatomical elements that smooth and cushion the overall riding experience. The latest breakthroughs in hi-back and strap design wrap and cradle your boots in complete suspension whilst advanced composites keep the bindings incredibly light.

The M3 is the 4th goggle from Anon to feature Magna-Tech, the ultimate in effortless lens change technology. With 18 rare-earth magnets built into the frame, lens removal and attachment are simple, even when wearing gloves. The M3 also features MFI (Magnetic Facemask Integration) technology. MFI allows the included facemask to be magnetically stuck to the base of the goggle, keeping your face warm and protected without a risk of fogging.

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Ski

Alternatives

If you’re here in the Portes du Soleil in winter, there’s a good chance that you’re here to ski or snowboard. We estimate that around 95% of visitors to Morzine, Les Gets and Avoriaz are here to do one or the other.

But what is there to do around town if you don’t fancy throwing yourself down a mountain attached to one or two planks of wood? Or what if you just fancy something different for a day?

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Parapente What better way to see the area than from the air? Parapenting gives you an eagle’s eye view of the area and a serious adrenalin hit at the same time. Usually flights take off from the Super Morzine Plateau and will land in the field behind Hotel L’Aubergade on the Pleney. Prices start from €75 per person.

Snowshoeing Snowshoes are a great way to get off the beaten track and explore the some of the quieter parts of the mountain. You can hire a guide to show you some beautiful and hidden spots, or you can inexpensively rent a set from almost any of the ski hire shops around town and make your own way.

Our favourite areas to explore don’t require lift access and are around the Cascade du Nyon (20 mins walk from Morzine town) or further along the Vallee de la Manche at Lac des Mines d’Or. You can take the E bus route and you’ll find a lovely scenic walk around the lake that takes just over an hour from the bus stop.

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Yoonering Billed as the easiest form of getting down a ski slope (that’s not completely out of control), Yoonering is a jump-on-and-go alternative to skiing that’s fun, fast and great for the whole family.

It’s not the kind of sport you’d want to take up full time, but as an afternoon blast around the mountains with the kids, you probably won’t have laughed harder.

Night Sledging Sledging is fun, right? But it’s tiring having to keep hiking up the hill. You can save a bit of energy and up the fun levels with local activities company Indiana’Ventures, who host night luge sessions on Morzine’s Pleney several times a week. The premise is simple: grab a sledge and a head torch, get the Pleney lift up from Morzine after dark and sledge down en masse. It’s super fast and potentially a health and safety nightmare. But all the best things in life are.

To book a night sledging session or for more information on all of the above and many more ski alternative activities besides, visit the Indiana’Ventures

© S. Lerendu

office in the Place du Baraty centre in Morzine.

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How to It’s very important to start your ski holiday feeling fresh. I truly believe that I’m a better snowboarder when I feel confident in my outward appearance. Vain that might sound, but I definitely ride better when I’ve got new outerwear. I just like that fresh feeling; it’s the same with new shoes.

www.morzinesourcemagazine.com

Clean Technical Outerwear To buy new kit, or to make do with last year’s outerwear threads? It’s an annual conundrum that we all face.

The improved technical performance that new kit brings is our favourite excuse for buying new each winter. When conditions are colder or wetter than the ideal, any advantage from improved technical clothing is a bonus. No one wants to be the skier complaining that their jacket has ‘lost its waterproofness’ in a heavy snowstorm, do they?

GORE-TEX® and those other waterproofing fibres that we all look out for when selecting new ski wear don’t simply loose their waterproofness. The material hasn’t changed; it’s simply been clogged up with dirt, grime and oil that prevent it from functioning as it should. Technical fabrics are made of two layers; a waterproof breathable membrane and a face fabric coated with a durable water-repellent treatment (DWR). The membrane allows water vapour (sweat) to pass through whilst blocking water droplets (snow or rain) from the outside. The DWR treatment repels water, causing it to bead from the surface and giving the membrane an easier time of it. The problems occur when the DWR is covered in grime, water doesn’t bead away as it should and instead it becomes trapped within the fabric.

It’s not particularly good for the planet (or your bank account) to dispose of your ski kit each winter. And it’s possible that, with a bit of pre-holiday care, your outerwear can work effectively for years to come.

Washing Your Winter Kit Step 1:

Read the label. This may sound simple but it’s worth checking for warnings that scream ‘DO NOT WASH’.

Step 2:

Check your pockets for treasure. Close all zippers, pockets, flaps and vents.

Step 3:

Machine-wash each item separately at 40º (or as the label recommends) using a small amount of mild non-bio liquid detergent. Don’t use powder. Avoid products with strong scents, fabric softeners or bleach. You can buy specialised tech washes, but they do cost more. Run the rinse cycle twice to ensure all detergent is removed.

Step 4:

Dry your jacket or pants on the line. Once dry, stick them in the tumble drier for around 20 minutes. This ‘reactivates’ the DWR. If you don’t have access to tumble a drier then you can iron on a mild heat through a towel. The fabric should be warm rather than hot!

Step 5:

Job done. Test it by dribbling a bit of water on the item. If it’s a particularly worn or old item, or if it’s been through the wash cycle a few times, it may be necessary to replenish the DWR. A good sports shop should have waterproof wash in or spray on products available. For a relatively new item you shouldn’t need this yet.

Down Jackets Down is harder to clean yourself, but it’s not impossible. Spray cleaners are available for a simple surface wipe down job, but if the feathers themselves are dirty, a hand wash in the bath is pretty effective. Slow, gentle movements in warm water with a mild detergent should be enough. The label may say it’s ok to tumble dry, and if you do, the addition of a new tennis ball can stop the down clumping.

The key thing to remember when washing any technical outerwear is to be gentle. Low temperatures, slow spins, no scrunching and natural drying will lead to fresh and long lasting, great looking outerwear.

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How to You’re probably aware that skis and snowboards need waxing. It’s also not news that an un-waxed ski or snowboard will be slow on the piste.

For a few of our readers, that could be the sum total of your equipment waxing knowledge.

Read on and you’ll be able to impress your mates with your technical knowledge.

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wax your skis and snowboard What does wax do?

Ski wax is first and foremost a lubricant between your ski and the snow. In the simplest terms possible, the wax has two functions. It’s water repellent, forcing a small amount of snow to melt under your base and allowing your skis / snowboard to float over the snow. Wax also wears away as it contacts the microscopic sharp points of snowflakes, preventing them from coming into contact with the base of a ski and causing friction, in addition to protecting your base and making turns feel more stable.

When should you wax?

That all depends on how much you ski and the type of snow you ski on. It’s pretty easy to spot a dry base, dusty looking white ‘hairs’ are also a typical sign. You’ll be able to feel if there’s wax on the base of your skis or snowboard with your fingers. A well-waxed base will leave a waxy residue. In an ideal world, you should wax your skis or snowboard every two or three days. But if you’re doing big miles or the snow is particularly abrasive (ice or slush for example) then you could need to wax daily.

How do you wax?

A ski or snowboard base is covered in tiny microscopic pores, much like your skin. When warmed these pores open up, again just like your skin. The concept of waxing is to open these pores, stuff them full of wax and remove the excess wax once they are closed so that the base is left full of wax but not covered in wax.

What you’ll need

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•

A well ventilated area with a workbench and ski or snowboard stands.

The floor in your garage will suffice.

•

A wax iron with adjustable temperature is best. Travel or household irons also work.

•

Wax is usually rated by temperature. As a very general guide, if you’re skiing in the colder winter months (Dec, Jan, Feb) go for cold wax. If you’re skiing in springtime (March, April or onwards) opt for warm wax. Or buy both and decide when you get out here.

•

Ski wax brushes. We like brass for pre-cleaning and horsehair for finishing.

•

Green Scotchbrite is available from hard wear shops or the back of everyday kitchen sponges make a good alternative to brushes

Step 1

Step 2

• Ensure the base is dry and at room temp • Strap ski brakes out the way with a rubber band • Place snowboard or skis base up, securely supported on the bench or floor • Rub down the base to remove old wax and grime with a brass brush or Scotchbrite

• Melt the wax • Hold the iron vertically and melt the wax so it runs onto the flat base. A thick line is enough for a thin ski.

A snowboard or powder ski will require a thin line around the edge with a zigzag down the middle • You might find yourself using too much wax during your early attempts, but as you practice you’ll realise that the less wax you use, the easier it is to remove

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Step 3 • Set your iron to the recommended temperature or go with the rough guide: Lots of smoke = too hot. Wax not melting = too cold • Iron the wax into the ski or snowboard. Place the iron flat against the base and move it around. There are various techniques to this but the desired result is the same. Spreading the wax evenly across the whole base with no dry gaps • Keep the iron moving at all times so you don’t melt your base. Slow and steady wins the race here • Allow the base time to cool.

The longer you leave the wax on the base, the better the finished results will be • This stage can also be done on the last night of your holiday and left until the following year. This is known as storage waxing and it's highly recommended!

Reach Your Peak offers you private ski tuition in Avoriaz, Morzine & Les Gets.

We will tailor your lessons to maximise your performance, be it advancing from the nursery slopes to conquering the bumps. We can also organise small group lessons with a maximum of five people per group. +33 (0) 6 68 92 88 86 herve@reachyourpeak.com

Step 4

www.reachyourpeak.co.uk

• Using a scraper (a rectangle of hard plastic with a square edge), scrape off as much wax as you can. Long ‘tip to tip’ scrapes in the direction of travel are best, with the scraper held horizontal and 45 degrees off the base • Imagine de-icing a car window. Scrape until there’s no more visible wax on the surface Step 5 • Brush it up • Using either a short bristle horsehair brush or Scotchbrite, you’re aiming to brush the grain of the base and remove any excess material • Be as thorough as you like with this. A perfectly brushed base will feel amazing on the first turn. An un-brushed base will feel the same after a few runs Step 6 • Have a cup of tea, a beer or a glass of wine. You deserve it • Fun fact! Early ski waxes contained sperm.. whale blubber as a main ingredient

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Pa cô m e

N am e: ir th : D at e o f B R es id es

in :

lt : B es t R u su

Since humble beginnings in Sweden in 2010, Crashed Ice is now a truly global event, attracting massive audiences. Stages take place with stunning city centre backdrops from Belfast to Edmonton, Helsinki to Minnesota, while two of the sport’s brightest stars hail from right here in Morzine and Les Gets.

The mercury is touching 40 degrees when Source meets Pacôme Schmitt and Tristan Dugerdil outside Bar Robinson. The pair have something similar to celebrity status around these parts. Everyone knows who they are.

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Sc h m it t

91 03 /1 0/ 19 Fr an ce Le s G et s, ki e, H el si n 3r d Pl ac

Na me : Da te of Bi rth : Re sid es in : Be st Ru su lt:

Tr ist an Du ge rd il 12 /0 1/ 19 93 Mo rzi ne , Fr an ce 5t h Pla ce , Sh er br oo ke

How did you get into Crashed Ice? Tristan:

We used to play hockey together. We were playing for HCMAG (our local Penguins team) when we were young before moving to Geneva Juniors for a couple of years.

That’s when we discovered Crashed Ice.

Pacôme:

First we watched videos on the internet and thought it looked like quite a cool sport. We both needed to try it! We went to the 2013 round of Crashed Ice in Lausanne to give it a go. Qualifying for each race is tough but we got through and did ok, it went well.

So is Crashed Ice racing a full time job?

Tristan:

Yes! It is now!

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Pacôme:

I was a ski instructor for the ESF in Les Gets but now yes, Crashed Ice is my full time job.

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These energy drinks manufacturers have a lot to answer for.

Not content with bike racing, car racing and extreme cliff diving (plus many more besides), Red Bull have invented Crashed Ice. there’s a common theme to the sports Red Bull nurture from crazy concept to global mainstream. They are fast, they are dangerous and they tend to cost an incomprehensible amount of money to establish. Crashed Ice is no exception.

The concept is simple. Four or more skaters race head to head on a track that’s barely wide enough for two whilst negotiating large jumps, bumps, banks, and sharp corners.

The objective is to cross the finish line first and it makes for pretty addictive viewing.

Who makes bet ter Crashed Ice racers? Ice hockey pl ayers or downhill ski racers?

Tristan:

Both! Most athletes come from a hockey background, but there are a few ski racers too. Most guys who play hockey are good skiers too, especially around here. But it’s mainly ice hockey players who race in Crashed Ice. What do you do to keep fit in the off-season?

Tristan:

We ride bikes. We were both in the VTT kids club in Morzine and Les Gets when we were young. Skiing, ice hockey, slack lining, downhill mountain biking… it’s all the best training.

Rollerblading is particularly good for building both balance and stamina.

Pacôme:

We’ve just hired a personal trainer, so we will be working hard with them for the next six months until the next season starts.

It’ll also be amazing to train on Morzine’s new skatepark!

On TV the Crashed Ice tracks look great.

Do they suffer from wear and do they have slower and faster sections? Or are they just super smooth? /MorzineSourceMagazine

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Pacôme:

Everything depends on the temperature. In Edmonton and Belfast it was quite warm, so the ice melts on top but freezes at the bottom, meaning you get a really nice flat surface to compete on.

Saint Paul and Finland were the opposite! It was really cold and the ice surface never melted, so it stayed very rough. This just adds to the excitement!

Pacôme:

What’s the format for a season?

Yeah we saw the interview. I think it has been done already, I can’t remember which race, but there was a show before the finals. They rode a bike down with spiked tyres and they rode a trials motorbike up the track. I don’t know if they could make a race from it but it would be good to watch.

Tristan:

Who’s fastest?

Last year there were eight races in our season. Four official Red Bull Crashed Ice big events, and then four smaller Riders Cup events, which Red Bull also funds.

Pacôme:

Haha – it depends! It depends where we are racing.

At the start Tristan is usually faster.

And Red Bull actually created the sport?

Pacôme:

Yes, first they had a little track in Sweden I think, and they had one race each year since 2010. And because it worked so well and was so good to watch, they made into a series.

We interviewed Claudio Calouri this summer; he seemed to think that a bike with spiked tyres could work on a Crashed Ice track and we’re keen to give it a go. Will it work?

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What’s your favourite track so far?

Pacôme:

Edmonton. The features were really well made and shaped, which is important for a good race and a safe track.

Tristan:

Yeah, Edmonton was cool.

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crashed ice dates: NOV. 27/28 Quebec cit y, Canada JAN. 08/09 Germany

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And the worst?

Tristan:

In Belfast, there was a little jump you had to hit really fast. The jump was too small for the speed and it was really difficult to ride. It was super scary.

What is the future of the sport?

Tristan:

Possibly the Olympics. They’ve been talking about it for a couple of years now. There have been two articles on the official Olympic website about the sport already.

There’ll need to be more talks but it would be great for the sport.

Pacôme:

Maybe not the next Olympics, but the one after I think it’s possible. That would be the best future for the sport and our supporters.

Who are your sponsors?

Les Gets, Morzine, TPC, Yeh!, Urge Bike Products, Uvex, Borderlake, Mathias Sport, Schkeb Design

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Be An Eco Warrior

By Rachael Stallwood

With the world slowly melting in front of our eyes after one of the hot test summers in the Alps, we’re all on a green mission to keep our winters white. Winter 2014/15 will be remembered as one of the poorest snow seasons for many years and as we prepare this issue of Source Magazine, we’re keeping our fingers crossed for a colder, snowier winter this year.

With resorts across the Alps offering an increasing array of eco friendly ski holidays, we’re taking a look at some of the hot test eco friendly ski gear on the market. Now you too can be an eco warrior.

Grown Skis come to you thanks to the vision of Swiss born Dr Tobias Luthe and his business partner Jan Reger. With the aim of designing the world’s most eco friendly ski, as well as producing a ski with excellent performance, Grown Ski’s designers had their work cut out.

There’s not only passion in these skis, but science too.

The concept of three friends with one dream, Picture Organic Clothing was born in 2008 with a mission to keep winter clothing as eco-friendly and as good looking as possible.

They now produce a full range of sustainably inspired clothing, from mid layers to leggings, jackets to jogging bottoms and outerwear to summer wear.

Grown Skis are the first to be made using 100% volcanic basalt rock fibre belts. They’re also the first to consist of more than 70% sustainably harvested wood, and to use glue produced from pine tree resin. They truly are in a league of their own when it comes to ticking all the eco boxes.

The eco-friendly mission at Picture impacts every single part of their business. Design, raw materials, production and transportation are addressed in a way that limits their carbon impact on the planet. The team also run recycling programmes for clothes, skateboards and even old promotional banners.

When it comes to the handling and durability of these skis, nothing has been compromised.

Both on and off the piste, Grown Skis offer precise steering at high speeds that doesn’t disappoint.

picture-organic-clothing.com

grownskis.com

Rather than using standard snowboard construction materials, Arbor have always been out there, pushing the use of sustainable materials like wood and bamboo. Some argue that wood is no longer a sustainable material, but the team at Arbor look at both the design and the production periods in addition to turning their thoughts to the aftermath.

A collective of Arbor Snowboard designers run the ‘Returning Roots’ programme, which primarily aids the preservation of the Koa Forests in Hawaii. It’s not only about planting trees; they work with The Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative who are quite literally rebuilding the forest from the ground up.

We all know how important a good, regular wax is (find out more on page 88), but did you know that ski wax could be harmful? Packed with perfluorochemicals, proven to cause health issues in animals and plants, the wax you choose to lubricate your skis or snowboard could have more ecological influence that you ever could imagine.

Dedicated to finding new ways to preserve the environment in which we play, Butta are minimising the environmental impact by producing a PFC and petroleum-free wax for snow, skate and surf. With each block handmade and packaged in their 90% solarpowered office in the UK, these boys are dedicated to saving the environment they love.

The latest edition to their line is the superslippy Butta Graphite, used by the riders at ‘Air and Style’ competition in 2015. butta.co.uk

arborcollective.com/snowboards

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So your kit passes the eco warrior test, but what can you do whilst in resort to maintain your eco credentials?

Every resort in the Portes du Soleil is working hard to reduce its carbon footprint, but did you know that Les Gets is at the forefront of eco-tourism in the Alps?

The resort is part of the Alpine Pearls scheme, a string of 27 alpine destinations with the collective aim of creating a new class of environmentally friendly holiday locations. Their primary goal is encouraging skiers to leave their vehicles at home by providing eco-friendly transport links to, from and around the resort.

Other criteria include heavy investment in renewable energies, sustainable amenities management and a focus on the many other small, yet important things a resort can do to reduce its carbon footprint. To find out more about the scheme visit: alpine-pearls.com

Eco warriors, we salute you!

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Winter Warm Ups Jackie Maclean-Martin BeFitApps is a team of clinical experts that produce sport specific online training programmes and mobile apps. SkiFit is part of the ‘BeFitApps’ series, which also includes RunFit, TriFit and BikeFit.

You’ve arrived, read the snow reports and settled into your accommodation, perhaps you’ve already been to the hire shop and now you’re ready to hit the slopes! But are your muscles ready?

Winter sports use your muscles very differently when compared to the sports you might be used to enjoying during the rest of the year. Send a message to your body and activate the muscles you’re going to be using, straining and feeling throughout your holiday.

Try to reduce those sore legs and prevent some of the most common injuries caused on the mountain.

We asked the team at BeFitApps, developers of sport specific training programmes and mobile apps, for their top five tips for an effective warm up at the start of a day's skiing. #lovemorzine

Warm up Standing around, waiting in queues and then sitting on lifts is the typical start to a day’s skiing, but this isn’t the ideal start. It doesn’t raise the heart rate or warm up your muscles, so as soon as you jump off the lift, take a minute or two to work through 15-20 simple squats.

Facing forward, stand with your feet shoulder width apart; bend your knees up and down into a squat. This is a great exercise to warm up your quads, hamstrings, glutes and lower back. To understand the squat position, the deepest point should be the same as if you were going to jump as high as possible.

Mobilise It’s not stretching; this exercise opens the body up. Leg swings take your hip, knee and ankles through the range of movements needed to move well.

Using your ski poles for balance and ski boots for extra resistance, find your balance then first swing one leg forwards and backwards, then staying on the same leg, swing side to side across the body. Try to work through 10-12 before moving to the other leg.

Activate for skiing It’s time to switch on the key muscles you’ll be using for skiing. The ‘skier’s lunge’ uses a side-to-side motion to reinforce good movement patterns and reminds your muscles how you want them to work.

Place your feet wider apart, then lunge from side to side keeping your shoulder, hip, knee and foot in line on the outside of the lunge. Work through 10-30 repetitions.

Really activate Jumping helps to reinforce activation and can keep your muscles switched on for longer.

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart; jump up and down 6-7 times, keeping your balance and control. If you want, have a go with your skis on.

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Did you know?

Most knee injuries happen either at the end of the day when you’re tired, or at the beginning of the day before you’ve found your flow. Taking a few minutes to warm up effectively will put you into the right mental space to move well and enjoy your day out on the mountain. Now clip in and go!

When you’ve finished your day out on the hill, take a few moments to stretch out those well-used muscles.

Take a warm bath or perhaps make use of the chalet hot tub or sauna.

Remember to hydrate (with anything non-alcoholic!) and rest so that the next day you’re ready to go again.

You can do the leg swings at any time to help loosen out your hips and back.

For more top tips on how to prepare for a ski holiday and exercises to do during your holiday or season, visit our website BeFitApps.com.

SNOW & TREK offer self-catered apartments and chalets in great locations around central Morzine, with a B&B option at Chalet Poppy just 400m from the Tourist Office.

We have complete flexibilty on arrival and departure days & dates, from 3 nights to season length stays.

We can help organise all aspects of your ski holidays, including: SKI PASSES

EQUIPMENT HIRE

TRANSFERS

CHILDCARE

SKI LESSONS

Variety of PROPERTY MANAGEMENT options available.

W: SNOWANDTREK-MORZINE.COM T: +44 12 34 337 9970/+33 685 36 2513 SPECIALISTS IN MORZINE SINCE 2002

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leave yur "love ski" tips below for the next reader of this magazine

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love ski

noun: To ski or snowboard exclusively with ones partner for romantic purposes.

An act of courtship.

Few things can bring two people closer together than sharing an intimate moment on snow. Those stunning views, golden sunsets and vin chaud induced fuzzy feelings as you look into each others eyes across a candle lit meal followed by a snuggle in the chalet hot tub all lead to very special times.

However, the joy you feel as you race down a mountain in concert can quickly turn sour, especially if you ignore the rules of love skiing. If there’s a difference in your levels of ability, if this is your first holiday together, or if you’re in a new relationship, these rules should not be ignored.

Here at Source Magazine we’ve been on both sides of the love ski equation. A petty piste-side lovers tiff can ruin an entire holiday so we’ve put together a selection of tips to ensure alpine bliss doesn’t snowball into mountainous despair and to help young love survive its first time on snow.

Respect each other’s ski or snowboard ability levels.

This is the number one reason couples fall out on winter holidays. If your partner isn’t as good as you, stick to runs they’ll be happy on. The quickest way to scare a beginner is to leave them three-quarters of the way down a mogul field whist you stand at the bottom, shouting wellmeaning encouragement. They’ll likely never ski or snowboard again.

Avoid teaching your partner.

95% of people wont listen to a single thing their other half says when being taught to ski or snowboard. A few lessons with an instructor will mean that a complete stranger takes the flak and they’ll be up to your speed significantly faster.

Wait for them.

Honestly, just wait for them.

Avoid flirting with the chalet girl or your ski instructor.

Those beautiful, suntanned, young and athletic resort staff are an obvious temptation. Your partner will not appreciate attempts to find out where the hostess drinks after work, or your requests for a ‘private lesson’ with Pierre and his sixpack.

Dress for the conditions.

Nothing turns joy to misery like being cold and wet. Alternatively, in spring conditions, don’t overdress. That red-faced and sweaty look isn’t attractive.

Leave your inner Lad at home.

A snowball in the face is never romantic.

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No hanky-panky up the mountain.

Ski clothes are not designed for it and a gondola ride isn’t long enough. Save it for the chalet.

Don’t get too drunk.

But if you must, get equally drunk. Sharing is caring, even if it’s sharing a hangover.

Show off if you must.

This is courtship after all. But stay within your limits. Your partner is not going to appreciate digging you out of an avalanche and getting intimate is pretty tricky with a freshly broken leg.

Mix it up.

Sunset snowshoe walks, sleigh rides and ice-skating all make nice alternatives to skiing.

Hygiene matters.

If your feet tend to smell, remove your ski/snowboard boots in private, then dispose of used ski socks as you would other hazardous material. Nothing drives a wedge between new couples like socks that smell of Camembert that’s been left out the fridge.

And if you must argue…

Don’t do it under a chairlift. The addition of a few hundred smirking chairlift passengers never helps during a row.

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The Snow Artist “It takes me between 10 and 12 hours to create snow art on an area the size of three football fields. I usually work alone, but I had help for some of my more complicated projects.

In 2004 I started creating patterns in the snow as a bit of fun, having spent years as a cartographer. I was inspired one afternoon to draw a star in the snow on a frozen lake.

The next day from the ski lift, I was impressed with the result. After the next snowfall I created a more complex drawing and it caught the attention and appreciation of skiers and snowboarders. Word started to spread and I became the world’s first snow artist. In 2009

I decided to take things more seriously and bought some equipment to help me.

I carefully measure a snowfield using a compass and pace counting; accurate measurements are the most important part of my work. The lines are simply a trodden down path that I leave with my shoes as I walk.

So far I’ve made around 200 drawings in the snow, a few have been damaged by people skiing or walking across them, and of course there’s always the chance that a whole piece will be covered by a fresh snowfall. I have to accept that my work might only exist for a few days…

The last four hours of any piece are usually completed at night, with piesteurs watching over my progress. The mountain is deadly quiet and the lights of a piste basher pass over my finished work. It’s an incredible experience and always worth the hard work.”

While the snow art of Simon Beck may only be temporary, the beauty of his designs are always captured on camera.

Simon’s book Snow Art includes more than 200 incredible pictures of his work and is available at snowart.gallery.com

Simon Beck

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u rv er

By Rob P

Taking your dog ski touring or splitboarding is great. It certainly beats walking laps around the same poop encrusted park every day and there’s something natural and almost spiritual about the experience. Getting away from everybody, out into the backcountry, just you and man’s best friend. It’s a wonderful experience.

But is it a particularly sensible thing to do? I’m not talking about extended dog walks in the snow here. I’m taking about proper ski touring, snowshoeing and splitboarding at a decent altitude and in terrain that could be described as ‘potentially dangerous’.

I’m going to do it anyway, and you can too! But there’s a lot to think about when venturing onto the snow with a pooch for the first time. Here’s a few things to consider…

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danger

Poop

Without proper control or training there’s a real risk that your four-legged best friend will get himself buried, fall off a cliff or disappear down a crevasse.

When you’re at altitude and away from civilisation there’s always risk, but us humans have well-developed rescue and medical services that specialise in alpine accidents and recovery at our disposal. These services are unfortunately rarely available for dogs. Luckily, a dog’s fast reactions, small mass and natural ability to recognise dangerous terrain mean that it’s naturally good at looking after itself.

The mountains are vast and that gives Fido endless opportunities to relieve himself in the depths of nature. He’ll probably want to leave his gift in the snow, just outside the top of the cable car.

You still need to clean it up when you’re in the proximity of a ski area as piste-bashed poop isn’t nice for anyone.

cold

Lead

If you’ve got a properly acclimatised, alpine-spec dog then the temperature isn’t an issue. Most breeds originating from the mountains will happily sleep outside in a heavy snowfall. When huskies get a bit chilly they cover their nose with their tail, it’s very cute. If your dog is of the shorthaired variety, or if it’s used to warmer climates, you should really consider some form of insulation. Yes, specialist doggy layers do exist.

If you’re in the vicinity of other mountain users then a lead should be used, especially if your furry friend isn’t used to action sports or has a tendency to chase things. Pistes are not reasonable places to take dogs and in an incident with a skier, a dog will always come off worse.

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Ô CHALET bar burgers & crêpes

Off-piste accidents can and do happen. A large avalanche may bury even the lightest and most buoyant of dogs, so what can be done to minimise the risks? One tried and tested method for humans in avalanche-victim recovery is a transceiver or beacon.

Although it’s easy for a dog owner to value their dog’s life over, quite frankly, almost anything else on earth, it does not mean a dog warrants equal chances of rescue to a human in a multiple burial situation.

Because of this you should never use a human frequency transceiver for things that aren’t human. Strapping one to your dog could result in a dog being prioritised over a human in an avalanche rescue, which isn’t ideal.

Luckily, over the last couple of years, technology for dogs on snow has become a big thing. We’ve sniffed out a solution to this problem and found some great products and gadgets for keeping your dog safe and happy on any alpine adventure.

Pieps TX 600 - €100 The Pieps TX 600 is a transmitter designed specifically for non-human avalanche item recovery. Dogs, camera packs, snowmobiles or anything else you want to find in the snow can be easily recovered using a standard Pieps DSP beacon without utilising the 475kHz range of the human specific transceivers. It’s a safe, inexpensive and ethical tool for your dog’s safety in the mountains.

Bar, crepes, galettes Central Morzine Gourmet burgers Bacon rolls every morning Authentic Hot Dogs Music & TV sports Happy hours

Open 8am - Midnight

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Julius K9 Powerharness - €35 The K9 Powerharness is a great harness. Wide padded straps provide great support when doggy’s got a load to pull, the handle on the back is incredibly useful, there’s reflective markings for night safety, removable and customisable Velcro glow-inthe-dark identity patches and several loops and clips for mounting equipment. The harnesses also come in a version rated for rope use, so if there is a need for a little abseil or heli-extraction, pooch may not enjoy it but he will at least be secure.

GoPro Fetch - €65 Yep, it’s a GoPro mount for your dog. Whilst seeming to border on the ridiculous, dogs do actually make rather good tripods… or would that be quadpods? The four-legged gait of a dog provides a great stable platform for a camera and besides; who doesn’t want to see the world from a dog’s-eye view?

Nite Dawg Stealth Coll ar - €20 During the winter months, darkness can sneak up on you whilst out and about.

With the Nite Dawg collar, that doesn’t mean having to lose sight of your dog.

This super bright and waterproof collar looks like any regular old collar until the press of a discreet button and voila - disco dog! It’s great for late-night walks and road safety too.

Ruffwear Pol arTrex Boots - €135 If your dog is not a natural to the alpine environment, it may struggle with snow. It’s cold and slippery after all. These doggie booties even feature Vibram anti-vibration soles, a technology we’re more used to seeing on hiking and snowboard boots. Practical, grippy, warming and almost kind of cute, these boots offer guaranteed comfort. Bullying from other dogs is possible however.

Rex Specs K9 - €100 Goggles for your dog! For anyone concerned about UV or foreign object damage to your dogs eyes these could well be the product you’ve been looking for. Available with either stylish blue or stealth black frames, and a choice of clear, smoke or mirror lens with spare lenses easily available, the Rex Specs are the ultimate in dog eye protection. This is a product more suited to breeds unused to conditions at altitude, but their use is not just limited to snow based activities. They’d also be great for other sports that goggle use is recommended for, such as paintball or motocross.

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T: +33 (0)4 50 79 13 09 | F: +33 (0)4 50 79 15 67 | E: info@morzine-immo.com | W: www.morzine-immo.com

High specification apartments in a prime location, prices from â‚Ź630,000 Les Chalet Joux Plane is situated in one of the most prime locations in Morzine facing the Pleney Slope. Enjoy spacious open plan living built to the highest specification. Each apartment has a terrace, secure garage and selected apartments also have gardens.

There are two individual residences, chalet A and B. Each residence has 10 apartments. Restaurants, bars and shops are all on your doorstep.

Two new chairlifts have been proposed in Morzine, one of which is directly opposite the residence.

The market is surprisingly fluid at present as more investors come to the area looking for potential chalets as both holiday homes and investments. As you can imagine the recent

strength of the pound, dovetailed with the Swiss “depegging� the Franc against the Euro has increased appetite all round.

We have a number of new build projects to accommodate most requirements. Please do pop in and see us if you are thinking of purchasing in Morzine and we will happy to discuss these with you.

Morzine is amongst Europe's top performers in terms of capital appreciation, a resort which arguably comes the closest to being recognized as a truly year-round destination and one that is investing heavily in its infrastructure. Luxury property prices here rose by 6.7% in the year to June 2014.

Ranked 7th in the World in annual % change

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Sunday Dinner With A twist by the chalet host co. thechalethostco.com

Guinness and Apple Slow Braised Pork Belly, Hassleback Potatoes, Smoked Bacon Red Cabbage, Mixed Greens.

Serves 8 Prep time: 40 Mins Cook time: 5 - 8 Hours Guinness and Apple Slow Braised Pork Belly 2 kg boned pork belly 1 ½ 330ml cans of Guinness, available in all good Morzine supermarkets.

400ml cloudy apple juice 1 tbsp coriander seeds 1 tsp fennel seeds 2 cloves 150g roughly chopped dried apricots 1 handful chantine carrots 1 quartered onion Rock salt, cracked black pepper

Not much tops a roast dinner on a chilly Sunday afternoon.

If you’re staying at in a self-catered chalet, living here for the season or even if you’re a chalet host looking for some inspiration and a new take on a tradition roast, then this twist on the English classic is easy to make, delicious and ticks all of those Sunday roast boxes.

Pork Belly This style of preparing your pork leaves you with delicious meat that melts in the mouth and gravy that is bursting with flavour.

Pre-heat your over to 180c.

1. Score the skin of the pork belly in a crisscross fashion with a sharp knife so you have 1 inch squared rectangles all over. Rub generously with rock salt – this will give the crackling that amazing salty taste that everyone loves!

2. In a deep, oven-proof pot big enough for your pork belly, dry-fry (without oil) the coriander and fennel seeds and cloves together for one minute on a medium heat to ‘bring them back to life’ and release their fragrant flavour.

3. Add the onion and carrot to the spices for one minute, stirring constantly to prevent the onions from sticking. Add the Guinness and apple juice, bring to a gentle simmer.

4. Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan (large enough for your pork) with a little sunflower oil until very hot. Seal the skin-side of the belly making sure it’s nice and crispy. Take extreme caution when doing this, as pork skin tends to pop and spit hot oil. Wear longs sleeves and oven mitts if possible!

5. Once you have an even crisp on the skin and the broth is bubbling away, add the pork belly to the pot. The meat should be nearly submerged in the liquid. Cover with a lid and pop it in the oven for 30mins.

Smoked Bacon & Red Cabbage 1 whole red cabbage 1 peeled and finely sliced apple 3 rashes smoked bacon 1tbsp balsamic vinegar 1tbsp brown sugar 200ml red wine Rock salt, cracked black pepper Hassleback Potatoes 16 medium baking potatoes Sunflower oil Rock salt, cracked black pepper Mixed Greens Tenderstem broccoli Green beans Peas

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6. Add the apricots and reduce the oven temperature to 160C for another 30mins, then to 90C and slow cook the pork for anytime between 3 ½ - 8 hours. This is more than enough time to prepare the accompaniments for the dish.

7. About 40mins before you want to serve, take the pot out of the oven and place on the hob on a low heat. Remove the pork, carrots and onions from the Guinness broth and place on a baking tray. Turn the oven up to 200C and place back in the oven for 30mins to crisp up the crackling.

night sledging yooner sledging snowshoe walks snowscoot paragliding dinner in a igloo incentive meals in a teepee

8. Meanwhile, skim the fat from the top of the broth, sift out the residue and reduce the mixture on a high heat until you have rich, thick gravy bursting with flavour (about 30 mins).

9. Once the skin is nice and crispy, remove the pork from the oven, cover and leave to rest for 10mins. You are now ready to serve, enjoy!

Hassleback Potatoes

*

Hasselbacks are a real crowd pleaser and need some careful attention when being prepared.

1. Take two chopping boards of equal depth and place the flattest part of the potato in between them. This will stop the knife from cutting all the way through the potato.

2. Make 1-2mm thick slices in the each potato to achieve a beautiful fan-effect. Lay the potatoes on a baking tray, drizzle with sunflower oil and season generously with salt and paper. Place in the oven at 180C for 45mins-1 hour, basting two or three times throughout. They should fan out and have a beautifully golden crisp on the outer skin.

Bureau des ActivitĂŠs de Montagne

Smoked Bacon & Red Cabbage A simple and great way to jazz up an underrated vegetable.

1. Dice the bacon and fry in a deep pan until crispy. Add the apples and cabbage, mix well and leave for an extra 2 minutes.

2. Add the wine, vinegar and brown sugar, turn down the heat, cover and leave for up to 1 hour.

Mixed Greens We recommend serving with some simple green vegetables such as tenderstem broccoli, peas or beans.

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On the Tourist Office square In the Baraty center - Morzine

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The New Chalet Chic

by Amie Postings

There’ll always be a pl ace in the Savoyarde heart for traditional interior design. The reds and whites of chequered curtains, the tinkle of old cow bells mounted high on ancient beams and the ornate wood cut tings of hearts and trees on balconies; traditional Savoyarde interior design is the stuff Alpine holiday dreams are made of.

But while Morzine, Les Gets and Avoriaz continue to grow, and as construction bans are lifted across the valley, new properties are carefully pl anned and brought to life.

A whole new set of interior design rules will be applied; ski chalet chic is being redefined.

At the forefront of modern chalet interior design is Amanda Garrett and her husband Andrew Shepherd.

Once a lighting designer in the West-End and on Broadway, Amanda (known locally as Kyles) has a style that's contemporary, luxurious and undeniably opulent. Andrew’s background in engineering and project management has made this pair of locals into a serious design force.

Some of their most recent projects have earned them a shortlist at the International Design & Architecture Awards 2015 and a nomination for France’s Best Ski Chalet 2015.

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info@ecsusdesign.com

+33 (0)6 85 20 48 09 +44 (0)7967 728 009 Offices in: UK, French Alps & SW France

Architectural Services Specialising in Kingspan TEK ECSUS DESIGN CAN ASSIST WITH ALL YOUR ARCHITECTURAL NEEDS: DESIGN & PLANNING PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY -

Initial concept, adaptation of existing plans and full planning permission drawings.

Product delivery and installation through to a fully managed project.

Architectural consultancy regarding the design and construction of SIPs panels.

Kingspan TEK are next generation Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs) that create energy efficient, eco-friendly, affordable homes that work within challenging environments specialising in ski chalets.

6 X STRONGER THAN TIMBER FRAME DECENNALE INSURANCE LOWER RUNNING COSTS LIFETIME WARRANTY

LOWER CONSTRUCTION COSTS FASTER CONSTRUCTION FLEXIBLE DESIGN & FINISH ATE & BBA CERTIFIED

www.ecsusdesign.com Wendys Houses.pdf

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Specialising in prime location resorts Morzine, Les Gets, Chatel, Megeve, Chamonix & Savoie ski resorts

Properties to suit all budgets

• Luxury chalets • Prime new-build developments • Re-sale properties: apartments & chalets • Farms/Land • Hotels/restaurants & businesses

Property search consultants

Free one to one personal service Local expertise

Specialists in Alpine Prestige, bespoke chalets and apartment new builds in prime location resorts /MorzineSourceMagazine

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Kyles, the definition of chalet-chic is changing.

Where are the new trends coming from?

Stylish design is constantly evolving; the trends of the last few years are a combination of several themes. First is the "boutique-hotel" movement. The style, intimacy, and luxury feel of small hotels has significantly influenced chalet design. Our clients' aspirations reflect the look and facilities that these small luxury hotels provide, and the design and materials they favour. Home-automation and multilayered lighting schemes are now seen as essentials, and bedrooms designed as luxury suites with separate dressing rooms evoke this boutique feel.

Another theme is a return to using local materials that reflect the environment and region. We love this approach; chalets in old wood or untreated larch with slate roofs, built by local craftsmen using traditional building techniques. We favour natural finishes and beautiful design details that reflect the heritage and traditions of the valley; softened by the use of wool, leather, hide and faux-fur to give an alpine ski-lodge feel. Blending these rustic materials with a chic contemporary look is very a-la-mode.

Is there still a place for the more traditional Savoyard style in new chalet developments?

Absolutely, although a clean contemporary feel is derigeur, a homely chalet still needs to be connected to its locality. Thankfully the days of 'tongue & groove' and brown hessian covered walls are behind us, but some of the more traditional elements work very well with modern design. We recently did a new take on a traditional Morzinois feature - a 'sun-burst' wooden ceiling. This was originally a way for the thrifty local carpenters to use the otherwise worthless wedgeshaped planks, which are first off the tree at the sawmill. Few examples have survived the ruthless modernisation of older properties, but they are a beautiful example of Savoyard craftsmanship, and the kind of detail we like to incorporate in our projects.

What are the requirements in current properties, and how have they changed?

From an architectural perspective, clients are favouring properties that blend well with the local environment; old wood or burnt and brushed exteriors rather than the orange varnished pine of previous decades, but incorporating large expanses of glass to maximise natural light and our stunning mountain views. We are seeing an increasing emphasis on larger spaces for fewer people.

As Morzine and Les Gets have moved up-market, the demand for more comfortable properties is outstripping supply. En-suites and extra reception rooms are taking priority over cramming in as many bedrooms as possible. Cinema rooms, spas and massage rooms feature in most of our current projects, as do swimming pools. Chalets are being seen less as a place to sleep and more as a destination in themselves; in-house leisure facilities are a much greater requirement than in previous years.

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• interior architecture • project management • interior design •

www.shepandkyles.com

© www.sharpography.co.uk

• renovations • conversions • general contractor • construction management • • fluent english spoken • 15 years experience in the portes du soleil •

contact: Julien +33 (0)6 07 67 86 20

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At what stage do your clients begin to consider their interior design requirements?

Not soon enough is often our experience! Although a lot can be done to a finished property with a makeover and new furnishings, the end result is never as integrated as when the structure, its interior architecture and detailing, and the final fit-out are coordinated and mutually enhanced from the outset. Successful local businesses schedule work months in advance to satisfy demand, so it’s a shame to leave it to the last minute and end up compromising a project.

It always surprises people how early in the process, for example, electrical layouts (and hence the critical lightingdesign and furniture layout) have to be finalised. With basement and often ground-floor construction being in poured-concrete, these decisions are literally cast-in-stone before the building is out of the ground! Similarly, great bathroom and kitchen designs rely on thoughtful plumbing and electrical positioning, the first-fix of which is done very early in the build schedule. We are often involved at the very early stage of a project - before a planning application has even been submitted - working with the owners and the architect to ensure the design of a property fulfills or exceeds our clients’ aspirations and desires.

Which room do you like to design the most?

At the moment I am enjoying cave à vin (wine cellar) designs. Although often one of the smaller rooms in a chalet, they are great fun and provide an opportunity for some real creativity. And it’s lovely to be invited back to sample the fully stocked end result! Spa areas are also interesting as I can suggest materials (such as mosaics or tadelakt) that are seldom specified in ski lodges. I am also working on an indoor-outdoor swimming pool at the moment, which is a wonderful challenge both technically and from a design perspective. Shep's pet projects are fully kitted-out garage/ ski-workshops, or cute garden mazot conversions.

When planning a new chalet or renovation from scratch, what are the most important things to consider?

In the famous words, location, location! There’s always a trade-off between convenience (proximity to the lifts or shops) vs. affordability; and between facilities (valley-floor) and views (the higher the better!). Whether the property is to be primarily a business or a home has a large influence on its layout. Once these big issues are resolved it’s all about finding reliable contractors, a superb and imaginative design, and structuring your team to make the build as stress-free as possible.

Obviously the other main consideration is budget comparing construction costs to the UK market is likely to be a frustrating exercise! Our beautiful French Alps are experiencing a building-boom in a region with both a limited (but highly-skilled) labour pool, and high business overheads. Having an independent local specialist on your side to ensure the quotes are correct is a sensible precaution. Given the desirability of the alpine lifestyle and in particular Morzine-Les Gets’ enviable facilities and accessibility, money wisely invested here will not only see a great return, but offers a priceless opportunity for healthy and happy family together-time!

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Find out more about Shep & Kyles and their interior architecture, project management and interior design services at shepandkyles.com

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advertorial

Skiing + insurance = great trip Whether you are planning to visit the French ski resorts this winter once, several times or staying for the whole season, don’t overlook the need for ski insurance.

Ski insurance is travel Insurance designed for UK travellers going abroad to ski – chiefly to France, which is the largest single destination, but to other places too.

Michael Pettifer, Managing Director of Ski and Travel Insurance specialists MPI Brokers, recommends a four-part approach to ski insurance: • Buy it when you book your trip, so you are covered for cancellation • Get cover for all the activities you are planning • Get Personal Liability cover in case you accidentally injure someone • Read the policy conditions before you buy He suggests that someone booking a trip for themselves and others should also hold insurance for Personal Liability in case they are held responsible for damage to property caused by members of their party.

As an extremely competent skier (BASI ski instructor and Ski Club Rep) with lots of insurance experience, Michael Pettifer has the expert, firsthand knowledge that enables MPI to deliver effective insurance for individuals as well as travel and ski companies.

Recently, MPI announced a facility to place its business at Lloyds, giving customers the added value of this association. MPI has also launched a redesigned website www.mpibrokers.com with an easy-touse online insurance purchasing system for a much-improved customer experience. MPI has also introduced in-house claims management, ensuring a fully professional service.

“We already have some of the most customer-friendly policies – for example, we cover skiers when they ski on or off-piste, with or without a guide. We also include snowboarding in snowparks, ski racing and several other winter sport activities” says Michael Pettifer.

MPI also covers people with certain medical conditions that other insurers regard as reason to decline insurance.

Every MPI Ski Insurance policy starts with a sound Travel Insurance package covering cancellation before departure and losses during a trip.

MPI offers: • Single trip policies – from two days to two months • Annual multi-trip policies – up to 30 days on any one trip (10 days’ skiing on any one trip) – both can be increased • Seasonaires’ policies – providing travel, emergency medical and personal liability cover for casual staff in resorts • Long-stay policies – typically for older people on extended overseas trips In addition, MPI offers policies for ski companies’ resort staff.

MPI Brokers is a two-time winner of the World Snow Award for Best Snowsports Insurance Provider.

Travel and Wintersports Insurance

SKI AND WINTER SPORTS

Specialist Insurance • Off piste – with or without guide • Personal liability - injuring other skiers and cover for ski leading • 24hr emergency medical cover - including rescue by helicopter • Family policies – kids go free • Local ski racing covered • Snowparks • Ski event cancellation cover • Up to age 80

t: 01428 778000 e: retail.mpibrokers.com/morzinesource w: mpibrokers.com

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Essential French By the team at Learning a new language isn’t easy, but having absolutely no ability to communicate while you’re in a foreign country can make life even harder. Most people it seems, have a grasp of some very basic French, either picked up at school or whilst on previous holidays, but what’s the next step in mastering the language? The easiest way is to take some lessons and immerse yourself in a French speaking environment.

Here’s a few phrases that you might find useful during your adventures around France.

Qu'est-ce-qu'il se passe?

Quel temps fait-il demain?

(keskisspass)

(kelten fatil duhmin)

What's going on?

What's the weather like tomorrow?

Je voudrais annuler

C'est inadmissible!

(juhvoodray anulay)

(say tinadmissibl)

I'd like to cancel

It's unacceptable

C'est génial!

Je vous suis reconnaisant

(say genial)

(juh voo swee ruhkonaysan)

It's great

I'm grateful

J'étais là le premier!

Aucune idée!

(jaytay lah le premeeay)

(okune eeday)

I was here first

No idea!

Ce n'est pas grave! (sunnay pa grahv) No worries / It doesn't matter

Alpine French School are the local language experts, offering courses for all levels of French speaker, from beginner to advanced, all year round. If you’re employed on a French contract, you may even be entitled to free lessons.

Contact info@alpinefrenchschool.com for more information.

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Snow-Camp is an innovative youth charity that uses a unique combination of skiing, snowboarding and life skills programmes to support inner-city young people. Source Magazine started working with SnowCamp four years ago during their annual Alpine Challenge fundraising trip to Morzine. Since then we’ve watched the charity expand across the UK, and grow its profile across the world of winter sports.

Using a combination of snowsports and life skills, Snow-Camp enables young people to grow their confidence and self esteem, encouraging them to make positive choices in their lives. Their First Tracks Programme introduces young people to skiing and snowboarding for the very first time during a 2-day course at The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead. A 6-day graduate programme is then available to further develop skiing, snowboarding and life skills. An 8-day Excel Programme, run in partnership with Snowsport England follows, during which young people are given an opportunity to

launch their careers as ski or snowboard instructors. It really is life-changing stuff.

Of course, all these opportunities to develop new skills with young people don’t come for free. Snow-Camp relies heavily on the generosity, donations and sponsorship of many people to fund its youth programmes.

The annual Alpine Challenge, based in Morzine, is just one Snow-Camp fundraising event. Teams of 4 battle against each other as they cover a 150km circuit of the Portes du Soleil on skis or snowboards over the

course of 2 days, passing checkpoints and raising money as they go. The winner’s title is hotly contested each year and there’s a great atmosphere throughout the whole event.

The 2016 Alpine Challenge takes place between 14th and 17th January, entry is £250 per person, which includes return flights and transport to Morzine, 3 nights half board accommodation, your lift pass, and entry into the challenge itself. ‘Challenge only’ packages are also available for £100 per person. If you’d like to sign up visit snow-camp.org.uk/ events/alpinechallenge.

Morzine Self-Catered Accommodation Specialist Property Management Services

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The FX Factor

How much at tention do you pay to foreign currency exchange rates when booking your winter ski holiday?

Ski holidays aren’t cheap after all and even though you might book your accommodation in sterling, you’ll likely spend euros on your lift passes, ski hire and so many other resort based things. When the pound is weak against the euro, these elements cost you more. While the euro is weak against the pound, as it is at the moment, these elements cost you less - up to 12% less, as reported by the team at FC Exchange.

A recap of 2015

And into 2016…

The European Central Bank (ECB) will keep its monetary policy unchanged without adding any more stimulus, whilst a lot of the pound and dollar strength throughout the summer has been on future interest rate rises in the UK and US respectively.

It’s been a positive year for the pound, increasing in value by 12% over the euro. In mid-July we saw a new 8 year high of €1.44, which then settled around the €1.35 mark. This represents significant savings for European travellers exchanging sterling for euro.

Much of 2016 will again focus on interest rate expectations and whether or not the current slowdown emanating out of Asia has become contagious. Also, the last chapter of note in the Greek crisis is now three months gone. Whist the main protagonists would doubtless prefer to keep things on an even keel for the remainder of the year, the subject of debt relief cannot be swept under the carpet forever. When the discussion begins again it is likely to be heated.

Key factors behind the rise of the pound during 2015 were the majority win for the Conservative party during the General Election, forecasted interest rate hikes in the UK for the latter half of 2015 and the ongoing saga in Greece. Will they or won’t they stay in the Eurozone? It’s a question causing instability across the Eurozone.

At the time of writing, it’s safe to say that we can expect the unexpected. Whether you are buying or selling euros, until you have secured a rate you will never know the true value.

Current forecasts for GBP/EUR in 2016 vary wildly from 1.301.50.

The UK election outcome reinforced the market’s commitment to backing sterling on the back of strong investment inflows into the UK and an economic performance that kept the Bank of England interest rate hikes on track for the end of 2015.

However, rising interest rates remained front and center to the pound's fortunes.

Using a commercial currency provider when making international transfers has many advantages. With FC Exchange you’ll avoid fees and commissions and access great exchange rates, which can help protect your funds against adverse currency market movements.

Rolling into the autumn and the currency landscape had changed again. Uncertainty over the lack of Chinese economic growth has sent shockwaves across the globe, denting any ambition of a UK interest rate hike before the New Year, in turn denting the pound’s value.

1.55

GBP - EUR forecast ACTUAL

With the future of Greece secure for the time being, we’ve seen a reversal of fortune between the currency pair, with the euro ending the year as the currency of choice in these uncertain times. Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t it would seem.

FORECAST

1.50

HSBC

1.45

Barclays JP Morgan Citigroup

1.40

Credit Suisse Morgan Stanley Socgen (Societe Generale)

1.35

BNP Paribas

1.30

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source Restaurant Guide Best for…

a mountain lunch

Here’s our selection of the best local eateries, all of which have been tried and tested by the Source team. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it…

LA POINTE DE NYON – NYON PLATEAU Owner Luce and her friendly team run this very busy restaurant with skill and flair.

The menu includes Savoyarde favourites such as tartiflette, raclette and fondue, while all dishes are homemade and carefully prepared. You’ll also find imaginative dishes on the Plat du Jour board and some incredibly tasty desserts too.

OUR TIP - Take an early or late lunch to guarantee yourself a table. Or make a reservation in advance on +33 (0) 6 49 08 10 50.

Best for…

a romantic meal

RESTAURANT LA GRANGE – MORZINE Centrally located but tucked away on one of Morzine’s back roads, La Grange is a beautifully decorated, cosy Savoyarde restaurant run by Alex and Fred. On the menu you’ll find dishes such as wild boar stew bourgignon or pan-fried fillet of beef, while the wine list is extensive. If romance is in the air, try sharing their pierrade – beef, chicken and pork which you cook yourself on a hot stone at your table.

OUR TIP - The Café Gourmand - a selection of miniature desserts served with a coffee - is the perfect way to end a meal at La Grange.

Book your table on +33 (0) 4 50 75 96 40

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Open from 9am until 1am every day

pizza

Savoyarde Specialties and Take-Away Pizza

LE ROCHER – MONTIOND A long-time Source Magazine favourite, we’ve tried every pizza on the menu in this charming restaurant numerous times. You’ll find Le Rocher opposite the church in Montriond centre and owners Tony and Saida always offer a warm welcome. Pizzas are of the thin-crust variety with imaginative toppings, all prepared to order. Take away is available too!

OUR TIP - If Tony’s Salad Bresaola is on the specials board, order it! Also, Le Rocher isn’t huge but it is very popular, so always book in advance on +33 (0) 4 50 75 78 47

Best for…

burgers

Tel: 04 50 75 78 47

5 4.5/

36 Route de Morzine - 74110 - Montriond www.lerocher-montriond.fr

LA PETITE AUBERGE – ESSERT ROMAND There’s a good burger, and then there’s a J Burger, as served at La Petite Auberge by the patron himself, Jerome. Homemade buns, beautifully seasoned homemade burgers and homemade chips are a delicious combination, and well worth the jaunt out of resort. The rest of the menu is very tasty too!

OUR TIP - Homemade J Burgers are best followed with a homemade chocolate mousse. Call +33 (0) 4 50 37 31 96 to book your table.

Best for…

a lunchtime meeting point

LES TRAPPEURS – AVORIAZ Lunch locations don’t get much better than this. You’ll find Les Trappeurs just opposite the Prodains Express lift station and you’ll spot its huge terrace a mile off. On the menu there’s burgers and omlettes as well as meat and fish dishes and Savoyarde specialities such as Fondue and Raclette.

OUR TIP - Les Trappeurs is the perfect after-ski school meeting point, especially if you’re skiing in large groups. Book a table by calling +33 (0) 4 50 74 17 33.

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Best for…

groups

La Piste Noire Cuisine traditionnelle raffinée

LA CHAMADE – MORZINE Michaelin-tipped chef Thierry Thorens and his wife Valerie have invested extensively in La Chamade over the years – it’s now one of the largest restaurants in Morzine.

There’s a Chefs Table overlooking the open kitchen and an extensive menu featuring everything from pizzas and pasta to panfried sweetbreads served with morel sauce.

OUR TIP - In the basement of the restaurant you’ll find the ultimate cheese experience with a huge variety of global cheeses to enjoy. La Chamade is one of Morzine’s most popular restaurants so book in advance on +33 (0) 4 50 79 13 91

Best for…

La Païka fine dining Restaurant d’altitude “La Turche”

LA PISTE NOIRE AT HOTEL LA MARMOTTE – LES GETS Without a doubt Les Gets’ fanciest restaurant, La Piste Noire has been recently refurbished to offer a very swanky dining experience overlooking Les Chavannes. On the menu you’ll find starters that feature warm lobster, clams and foie gras, while the main courses include iberico pork, black Angus steak and semi-cooked tuna.

cîmes 80 33 e.com

OUr TIP - Make time for a cocktail in the hotel lounge before dinner. Book your table by calling +33 (0) 4 50 75 80 33

Best for…

food on the go

Ô CHALET bar burgers & crêpes

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O CHALET - MORZINE If your après session goes on for longer than you’d imagined and you need a quick bite to eat, O Chalet in the centre of Morzine (just around the corner from the Cavern and Tibetan) is the stuff fast food dreams are made of. Eat in or take away, you’ll find burgers, crepes and ridiculously good curly fries on the menu, all served with a smile by owner Mat.

Open from 9am until 1am every day

Savoyarde Specialties and Take-Away Pizza

OUR TIP - The Maxiburger is guaranteed to line your stomach if you’re heading out for a boozy evening.

Best for…

lunch in the sunshine

LE BACCHUS AT HOTEL CRYCHAR – LES GETS Piste-side restaurants don’t come much more convenient that Le Bacchus and on a sunny day you’ll find their dining terrace is packed with hungry skiers. Everything here is homemade with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients and there’s an abundant supply of our favourite Miraval rose to accompany the friendly service.

OUR TIP - There’s a great children’s menu available, including fresh pasta or steak with potatoes or vegetables and an ice cream dessert for just €10. Book your table in advance on +33 (0) 4 50 75 80 50.

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@MorzineSource

Tel: 04 50 75 78 47

5 4.5/

36 Route de Morzine - 74110 - Montriond www.lerocher-montriond.fr

/MorzineSourceMagazine

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source book review S ki i ng w i th De m o n s The Morzine Chalet Project

No matter how adventure-filled your holiday might be, you’ll always have a bit of downtime to kill; be it waiting at the airport, resting your legs after a hard day on the hill or, worst case scenario, the mountain might be closed. The normal way to waste a bit of time these days is to get online and to like and share the hours away. But the traditionalist in us cant help appreciating a good book. here’s our pick of glorious travel reads.

Skiing with Demons - €18.99/£11.99 Chris Tomlinson Most of the English you’ll meet around Morzine & Les Gets will fall into the category of seasonaire; in their early 20’s and as the name suggests, here for the season.

There are other groupings of English here too. The expat category and also a transitory category somewhere between the two, often referred to as ‘residents’.

Not temporary like seasonaire, nor deeply rooted like an expat, but evolved from the seasonnaire who never went home.

However, some people don’t fit into any of the above and instead break the mould by heading down the seasonaire route, not as a 20-something, but as a fully-grown genuine adult.

It’s a tough road to walk, seasonaire life. Designed by young people, for young people. Whilst the regular seasonaires are trying to stick a hard way switchback 270 pretzel in the Chapelle Park or play team-bed-swap in the staff accommodation, these older examples can only drift at the edge of true seasonaire life, looking in but never really truly understanding what these hormone-charged adolescents are doing.

com

Chris Tomlinson

One such brave soul stepped into the abyss and lived to tell, record and even publish his tale. Chris Tomlinson survived not one, but two Morzine seasons, and wrote about his experiences as a member of this rare and magical category of older seasonaire. In his book Skiing with Demons, Chris regales us with tales of life as a Morzine mature student. If you’re a current member of the youthful batch of seasonaires, you might find it hard to connect with Chris’s tale. But if you’re living in the real world, a current or potential expat or even an older seasonaire yourself, you’ll no doubt relate to and enjoy Chris’ tale of adventure.

You can read a few sample chapters and purchase the book direct from the author at skiingwithdemons.com

The Wine Bible - €23.15 / £16.99 Karen MacNeil Amazon.com En France, wine is a pretty big deal, practically a religion. The intricate ins and outs of wine are a complicated minefield of science and magic. It would be incredibly useful if we had a concise guide, a kind of world-spanning wine encyclopaedia with everything you ever needed to know about wine all in one easy to read place.

The Wine Bible contains pretty much all you’ll ever need or want to know about wine. How it’s made, where it comes from, how soil and weather affect the flavour and the various techniques for nurturing a wine from grape to bottle. But more than that, it answers the main question raised when any kind of wine is up for discussion; what makes a wine great? If you want a one-stop-shop for everything there is to know about the church of wine, this is your bible.

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Cold - £5.99/€8.50 Sir Ranulph Fiennes Amazon.com It would be negligent of us to have an opportunity to speak with one of the most prolific adventure writers of all time (see page 12) and then fail to take a look at least one of his works. In truth the hardest part was choosing which of his books to review. Fiennes’ books are not only numerous, well written and incredibly interesting, but they are captivating too. It’s all to do with his nonchalance when faced with mortal perils that would severely traumatise most of us.

In his most recent adventure book Cold, the introductory chapters tell of a Norwegian surveying trip, blighted with disaster after para-dropped equipment becomes scattered across a crevice-laced glacier at night and in a zero-visibility blizzard. Sir Ran tells us of having to make lifedependant decisions: do we camp, soaked to the skin and with no tents to wait out the storm, or do we cross the maze of cracked glacier and risk falling into an invisible crack in the ice, never to be seen again?

It’s the way he tells it that draws you in. He could be discussing which line is moving fastest in the supermarket, or if he’ll go to the post office before or after lunch. That level of danger is normal to him, an everyday decision. It gives you a window into the soul of a man who has walked across entire continents, on his own, whilst the outside temperature was cold enough to freeze the tears in your eyes.

Cold is another great book in a long series of epic adventure tales from Fiennes, we highly recommend you read it, but you’ll want to be somewhere nice and warm when you do.

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the SOURCE shop

€19 Available in men and women’s fit

source tshirts - €19 Our Source t-shirts are the perfect holiday souvenir. We’ll deliver them to your resort-based accommodation or post them home for you.

Buy them online morzinesourcemagazine.com/shop

source posters - €19.95 Last winter's Source Poster, which included our beautiful Portes du Soleil infographic, went down a storm and sold out in a matter of weeks. Source Posters are A2 in size and screen printed by hand on lovely recycled paper. Keep an eye on the Source Shop for this winter's poster design

€19.95

Buy them online morzinesourcemagazine.com/shop

#lovemorzine

#lovelesgets

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your source of information for Morzine, Les Gets and Avoriaz

#7daysin morzine | les gets | avoriaz This winter here at Source Magazine we’re launching our #7DaysIn events guide, bringing you the ultimate weekly list of essential events across Morzine, Les Gets and Avoriaz.

Sign-up for weekly updates at morzinesourcemagazine.com/7daysin and each Friday we’ll deliver a specially selected list of resort events to your inbox.

Morzine Source Magazine To: shreddie@thestash.com Reply To: Morzine Source Magazine #7DaysIn Events Guide

1 December 2015 14:05

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www.buzzperformance.com info@buzzperformance.com

# This week’s pick of the most unmissable events

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Openi ng Par t y at Le T i b etan, Mor z i ne

Tony and his team invite locals and season workers to Le Tibetan to celebrate the start of another winter season. Complimentary punch, food and a live band are sure to get the party started!

sun

HCMAG ‘ T he Pengui ns’ pl ay Chamoni x

Always a great match to watch, local rivals the Chamonix Chamois come to Morzine to take on the mighty Penguins on their home ice. Guaranteed action, fights and good times.

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Diz z ee R ascal, Avor iaz

Transition Snow is in full swing this weekend. Headliner Dizzee Rascal plays on at huge stage in Les Prodains, incredible atmosphere guaranteed. Buy festival wristbands at transitionsnow.com

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Visi t t he Cheese Factory

La Fruitiere des Perrieres in Les Gets opens its doors for guided tours this afternoon, offering an insight into how our local specialities are made. An interesting afternoon for all the family.

Basscamp Apr es Sessions

The huge terrace at Le Tremplin at the bottom of Morzine’s Pleney is the home of raucous après parties all winter long. Wednesday afternoons belong to Basscamp Sessions, with incredible DJs all season long.

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Torch- li t Descent

hundreds of local ESF instructors descend the Pleney in the dark, with only red torches to guide their way. This is a great family friendly spectacle, best watched from the bottom of the piste with a vin chaud in hand

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Avor iaz Fi r ewor ks Di spl ay

To celebrate the start of another winter season, there’ll be a huge fireworks display in the centre of Avoriaz tonight, accompanied by free ice skating and complimentary hot drinks.

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1st prize Burton Flight At tendant

worth €500

2nd prize Anon M3 goggles

worth €240

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Redbull’s Crankworx now in Les Gets Crankworx is the ultimate celebration of all things mountain bike. The Red Bull-sponsored event takes over the Canadian resort of Whistler each summer and their European session, usually based in Les 2 Alpes, sees up to 20,000 die-hard MTB lovers visit the resort. But for the next 3 years at least, Crankworx will make Les Gets its home, which will hopefully mean a huge round of investment in the resorts MTB facilities for everyone to enjoy.

Crankworx includes a number of high profile slopestyle and freestyle events in addition to the Official European Whip-Off Championships, bringing the sport’s highest profile teams and riders to Les Gets. We’ll announce the dates for Crankworx 2016 on the Source website as soon as they’re available. crankworx.com

The Source Suppliers Show 2016

www.morzinesourcemagazine.com

Thinking of building a chalet?

If you’re working on your own Grand Designs dream of building a property in the Alps, allow us to introduce Pinnata Developments, a Morzine based, English speaking construction, consultancy and project management company working across the French Alps. Owner Helen Lavender has founded, built and sold a chalet business. She’s bought land, split land and built 4 chalets. It’s her mission to use her experiences to help people start their own alpine adventure.

Pinnata Developments use their experience working with local construction partners to build unique, high quality chalets to a fixed budget. Project management services range from overseeing a new build project in its entirety to smaller tasks such as communicating with Notaires, insurance companies and utility providers. Having founded, grown and sold her own very successful chalet company, Helen also offers consultancy services to help with property rental, marketing and business operations. pinnatadevelopments.com

At the end of each winter season we bring together a collection of local businesses to network at the Domaine du Baron on the shores of Lac Montriond, Morzine. Here at Source Magazine we're constantly being asked for recommendations and referrals from our many partner businesses. Our first Source Suppliers Show was in April 2014 and its aim was to bring local suppliers together with local business owners, all under one roof.

As endurance events go, this wasn’t one for the faint-hearted. The inaugural Evergreen Endurance triathlon launched on the shores of Lake Montriond in September 2015, with two different distances.

Evergreen 118 included a 2km lake swim, a 95km bike ride to Chamonix and a 21km trail run, while Evergreen 228 involved a 4km swim, 181km on a bike and 43km of trail running. Several professional triathletes signed up and the event was a huge success.

“We had a fantastic 1st edition with 80 athletes lined up at dawn at Lac du Montriond. It was a truly awesome, inspiring and challenging 24 hours for the competitors and the feedback has been great. We were blown away by the energy, spirit and willingness to help of all our volunteers based in Chamonix and Morzine, and those who came from afar to be part of the inaugural excitement!” organisers Carlton Rowlands and Bruno Lebeda told Source.

Next year’s event (10th – 11th Sept) sees the introduction of a new Evergreen distance. The Evergreen 58 is described as a ‘less hardcore’ and a more accessible alternative to the full Evergreen beast. evergreen-endurance.com

Source Magazine Summer ’16 It’s shaping up to be an action packed summer across Morzine, Les Gets and Avoriaz in 2016 so we’ll start preparing the next issue of Source Magazine earlier than ever.

Expect high profile interviews from Tour de France stars, as well as all the information, news and events you need to make your summer visit go with a bang.

Forty-five suppliers and almost 500 visitors attend the Source Suppliers Show each year. Visiting the event to meet with exhibitors is free of charge with complimentary refreshments available throughout the day.

Exhibiting at the event costs €150 per business and you’ll be in very good company as several local companies have already joined our exhibitor list. Contact us for more information or visit the Source Suppliers Show website.

If you’d like your business to feature in Summer Source ’16, now’s the time to get in touch. Email amie@ morzinesourcemagazine.com for our new media pack.

sourcesuppliersshow.com

#lovemorzine

Evergreen Endurance returns in 2016

#lovelesgets

#loveavoriaz

DON’T GO OFF PISTE

WITH YOUR INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS…

So why are they still being used to transfer funds overseas when a specialist can provide an easy and cost effective alternative service?

Despite many being familiar with using a specialist foreign currency exchange service or broker to transfer their money abroad, many more remain unaware of the benefits, such as up to 4% savings. On a £400,000 transfer this equates to a saving of £16,000.

FC Exchange is one such service provider. Operating since 2005, they are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to operate as an E-money institution (FRN:900205) and have

Contact

James Croft Personal currency exchange

+44 (0)20 7989 0000

Business currency exchange

+44 (0)20 7989 1111 Register with us online

fcexchange.co.uk

FC Exchange is a trading name of Foreign Currency Exchange Limited. Registered office: Salisbury House, Finsbury Circus, London EC2M 5QQ. Registered No.05452483. Authorised by the Financial Services Authority (No.511266) under the Payment Service Regulations 2009 for the provision of payment services.

HM Revenue & Customs MLR No.12215508.

achieved success in this sector due to their commitment to provide a customer-focused service.

FC Exchange is not only able to pass cost savings onto its clients by offering more competitive exchange rates, but through savings on the transfer fees too where banks would charge around £25-£45 per transfer.

Further, unlike most banks, its products can be customised thereby enabling clients to target, fix or protect exchange rates in the volatile currency market.

Daniel Wray at FC Exchange points out that 2015 has already thrown up a few surprises within the currency market and with the pound reaching a 7-year high versus the euro, it is important to stay in contact with a broker who can keep you abreast of the exchange rate fluctuations.

Limit and Stop Orders can be helpful to clients, enabling them to maximise their returns by allowing them to target a better rate of exchange whilst at the same time having a safety net in place to secure the rate if the market moves adversely”.

“

Getting the best exchange rate is now one less thing for us to think about during the ski season.

Prior to working with FC Exchange we would constantly have to monitor the rates to make sure that we were converting our guests’ money at the best rate. Now we leave this to the experts so that we can focus our time and energy on what we do best.

“

Increasingly, people are steering away from banks when it comes to making international money transfers. It is common knowledge that banks are big, can be impersonal and are often unresponsive.

Dom, skiology.co.uk

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Summer in the Valley

by Rob Purver

As summer destinations, Morzine, Les Gets & Avoriaz have a huge amount to offer. The warm weather and gentle winds allow even the most sun-shy office worker to top up their tan with a solid 15 hours of sunshine on most days, and if lying still and soaking up the rays isn’t your thing, there are endless activities for the kids, and an everlasting supply of adventure for the big kid in all of us. As an alternative to the summer beach holiday, you’ll not be disappointed. #lovemorzine

Cycling Probably the most famous of alpine activities in summer, road cycling and mountain biking are growing in popularity year-on-year. With a different flavour available for every taste; endless climbs and epic vistas for the roadies, steep, rutted, rooty descents, giant jumps, drops and breakneck speeds for the downhillers, and mile upon mile of barely used singletrack, epic ridgelines and tight loamy woodland trails for those who are willing to put in the pedals to earn their turns. Whatever discipline you enjoy, it’s cycling heaven.

Hiking The original alpine pastime, hiking has undergone a ‘cool’ re-vamp in the last few years thanks in no small part to the growth of the trail running scene. You don’t have to run, obviously, but a casual saunter, committed amble, dedicated hike or full-on trek can provide huge rewards for any fitness level. Apart from being incredibly good for you, the best thing about hiking is… it’s free. Plus the views and vistas, often available to only those on foot, are unbeatable.

Swimming Indoor pools, outdoor pools, adventure pools, pools with waterfalls, hidden lakes, lifeguard patrolled lakes, and small-sea-sized lakes. If you really like swimming or you’re just looking for a way to cool off, we’ve got the right body of water for everybody.

White Water If you like your water ‘less placid - more rapids’, then the area is more than capable of catering to your needs. A family favourite, white-water rafting is available along the Dranse, the main river flowing out of Morzine into Lac Leman (Geneva). But the current coolest of white water sports to undertake is canyoning. It's a mix between white water rafting (but you forgot the boat), rock climbing and taking the most refreshing shower you’ve ever taken in your life. Canyoning is fun, a little scary perhaps, but certainly not to be missed this summer.

#lovelesgets

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©Portes du Soleil - Mathieu Vitré

Ride Morzine_Source.pdf

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Mountain bike & Road bike holidays Catered, B&B, Self Catered Centrally located in premium chalets

Riding in Morzine for over 10 years - we share our riding experience so you can get the most from your Alpine holiday.

For more information about summer events and activities, visit morzinesourcemagazine. com or pick up the latest edition of Morzine Source Magazine this summer.

www.ridemorzine.com info@ridemorzine.com

Motorsport For the drivers and bikers out there, the area is an absolute tarmac dream. As a stop of on a longer route or as a basecamp to drive some of the most beautiful roads in Europe, we’ve got near-endless mountain roads to explore and enjoy.If you’re more of a watcher than a doer when it comes to engine based activities, you’ll not be disappointed in summer. We’ve got a full tarmac rally, Rallye Mont-Blanc, which runs in early September, and spread throughout the summer there’s a whole series of 4x4 off-road trial events, usually hosted in a not-so-dried up riverbed. Expect mud. Lots of mud.

Run an Iron Man It’s not a hugely tempting prospect for a significant proportion of the population, but an ever-growing number of people are getting a taste for endurance sports. With the Evergreen 228, one of the hardest triathlons on the planet, starting from our very own Lac Montriond, you can come out, relax and then swim, cycle and run (mainly uphill) for over 200 kilometres. There’s also two lighter versions; a 115km distance for those who aren’t quite so super human and a 58km, which although still a serious challenge, is more accessible to us mere mortals.

Build a house Unlikely to be something you’ll do on a whim, yet the property market in the French Alps is booming right now. There’s still plenty of affordable land to stake your claim, and a plethora of ecologically friendly and energy efficient design and build companies to make your dream a reality. We warn you though, if you visit in winter, then return in summer you’ll find your life back home in the UK suddenly seems a lot less appealing, and once alpine fever catches, it’s mighty difficult to shake.

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THE SOURCE WEBSITE It’s always our aim to pack every issue of Source Magazine with as much useful resort information, news and events as we possibly can to ensure you have the best holiday in Morzine, Les Gets and Avoriaz.

But there’s always a tonne of extra information that we can’t include. Head to the Morzine Source website for our fully comprehensive resort guides, a huge calendar of resort events and the most up to date news and information from across the Portes du Soleil. There’s also a handy business directory to help you find airport transfers, equipment rental and much more. And it’s mobile friendly. Planning your next holiday has never been easier…

A2SKI advert.pdf

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04/11/2015

13:15

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g with get you skiin methods can e ski ng at iv hi pr ac te ne -o Ease have one-to n ca Our Ski with just u of Yo . up er e p - mad ient pow graceful, effic all private grou trained English sm a in i sk to n ly lessons or lear family... all with our high and your friends ructor’s. ski lessons speaking inst rience. Book ™

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