And the ski season starts

60cm of fresh snow around the chalet. Flaine opens this weekend, Samoens & Morillon next weekend. Final stages of hanging curtains and dressing rooms. First guests arrive 14 December. An exciting start to the first season of Reves de Montange, luxury ski chalet! 

So much snow!

The lounge

7 seater hot tub for aching muscles

Luxury ski chalet

Final preparations for our first ski season ... and we're very excited! The 8 seater hot tub arrived yesterday and it's currently hanging from a huge rafter in the roof whilst we build the wooden balcony underneath - had to roll it under the roof line and then hoist it up to first floor level just to fit it in before we could lay the balcony wood! All our other furniture is due to arrive shortly too - including three huge leather sofas that will be bliss to sink into in front of the open fire. 


We've also recruited our professional chef who has fifteen years of catering experience including several seasons in different luxury chalets in Europe and America so we're looking forward to delighting you with his creative cuisine.

We're looking forward to delighting our guests with a beautiful ancient farmhouse, delicious cuisine and a personal, attentive service ... all at Reves de Montagne, luxury ski chalet.

Newly renovated ancient farmhouse ... just waiting for snow!

Bedroom 1

Restored wood now covers many of the internal walls

Bedroom 2

All rooms have balconies to enjoy

Summary of summer

How to summarise the endless days of Summer in the French Alps?  Hmm, maybe with a few inspiring words and photos - here goes...

~ wild flowers of every colour and every hue, some so tiny they look like confetti scattered around, some so tall that they reached my shoulders

~ road cyclists clad in a splash of brilliant hues, grim determination on their faces as they pedalled steadily up the mountain roads

~ early morning walks where I startled deer, herons, young stoats and the occasional fox

~ armour and mud clad mountain bikers tackling the huge range of tracks in the Grand Massif ... at speed of course!

~ the sight of a hot air balloon floating lazily over the mountains, a bright red dot in the brilliant blue sky

~ mountain hikes in the early morning dew and then the blazing hot day – aching calf muscles, stunning vistas and a weary satisfaction

~  the ever changing Giffre River – sometimes so wild it rips huge trees from the shoreline and carries them in an swirling mass of angry white water that dumps them in piles along the shore, sometimes so tranquil that you can see your reflection in the clear water and watch the fish swim lazily over the pebbles below

~  the sight of people running off the mountain edge ... the sport of parapenting, catching the warm thermals and soaring with the birds



~ the deafening sound of crickets as you walk through the alpine meadows, and the sight of crickets of all sizes leaping each step you take through the long grass

~  a family and two donkeys heading off on a mountain trek to stay overnight in a mountain lodge (called a mountain refuge) with the donkeys taking every opportunity to graze and the children’s faces filled with a sweet delight



~  family days – picnics in the meadows, tree climbing with zip wires over the lake, skimming pebbles along the river, swimming in the open air pool with mountains all around, tennis, , white water rafting, pony treks...the fun went on and on

Deckchairs and butterflies

Saturday was a fabulous ski day - blazing sunshine and deserted pistes.  Strangely there were butterflies and bees all around at the valley level and then great snow conditions up the mountain.  Perfect weather for chilling in a deckchair at a mountain restaurant and watching the skiers flash past ... after exhausting yourself skiing first of course!

Freezing but fabulous February

Brrr, it's a chilly minus 17 degrees in the daytime here in the Giffre Valley ... and it's even colder up the mountains in the ski areas of Morillon, Samoens and Flaine.  It's uncomfortable for your fingers and toes but the fabulous snow makes it worth it - pistes are perfect and off-piste is light and loose.  The skies are blue and it's sunny which helps keep the cold at bay ... as do plentiful hot chocolate stops!

Red piste Sortilege on the left, blue piste Silice on the right,
both from Samoens Tete de Saix heading to Flaine

Admiring the snow, the views, the blue sky ... ahhh, skiing

Start of blue run Chalet from top of Morillon

ESF ski school at Samoens 1600!

Skiing down blue run Dolomie from Flaine towards Samoens
Tete des Saix, in the distance

January beauty

The snow has been, and continues to be, amazing!  We've had a mix of blue sky sunny days and cloudy days where you can't see your hand but throughout the conditions have been fantastic.  Snow depth is 330cm at the top of Flaine and all the runs - black, red and blue are wonderful.

Contemplating Flaine's off piste

Snow so deep it makes the pylons look shorter