Chamonix Chalet news » Features

Eco-friendly Snowboard and ski gear for 2009

Chalet la Foret — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:37:05 +0000

It’s good to see more companies making headway into greener products for the mountain. Amongst the first in this area and still at the forefront is Arbor who practise what they preach with carbon offsetting and recycling at their offices, use of sustainable and recycled materials in their shops and promotions and of course their foundation of superb snowboards made of natural materials.We’re big fans of Arbor’s boards, having owned many of them, from the monster big mountain S-series, via the A frame and the Element to the fun poppy Draft over the years – and this year’s lineup looks superb once again. I personally am very tempted by the gorgeous marquetry of the new Wasteland:

whilst Monsieur prefers the bamboo-based Coda:

Another company that’s been making good environmental efforts for years is Lib Tech. The world’s most EnvironMental snowboard factory! (it says on their blog). Good for them – also their Skate Banana reverse camber board has been getting rave reviews. I hear nothing but good things about these boards and hope to give one a go this season. Monkey suit possibly not included, more’s the pity…

Burton joins in this year with the Green Mountain Project range. Good to see more boots, bindings and clothing available in environmentally friendlier materials. The Cartel GMP and Lexa GMP are particularly interesting as it’s unusual to see a more eco-friendly binding

…and also these are the first boots I’ve seen making strides (ho ho ) in this direction. Looking forward to trying them on and seeing how they feel.There are also gloves, jackets and pants available in the range, made from recycled fibres. Burton say they are hoping to use these products as a lab to improve environmental friendliness across all products – let’s hope so. Green Mountain Project.Salomon’s Sick Stick is a very nice looking bamboo board:

which you can see in action here.It’s won the Volvo SportsDesign Award for Eco Design (interestingly, over the Arbor Wasteland) so well worth a look – a good direction to see Salomon moving in.Colorado-based Venture snowboards are a small company putting big emphasis on sustainability – they make a good range including the only eco-friendly split board I’ve found:

Skis seem to be a bit thinner on the ground but New Zealand based Kingswood look interesting with their carbon neutral bamboo cored skis, and Movement in Switzerland use FSC-certified wood cores.In the handy stocking filler department, waxes are always good! Burton have got a greener soy-based wax out now:

and Oneballjay are have their Biogreen wax – every little helps!Finally, the humble underlayer – you can avoid synthetics and go with Merino wool instead. There are many companies making good Merino products but I am a big fan of Icebreaker who combine excellent sustainability credentials with hard-wearing, well designed clothes. Merino undies are a whole new level of luxury – until you’ve tried it, you have no idea what a difference it makes! It’s nothing like regular wool – very soft and comfortable.

They are also brilliant for travelling in as they’re warm and light. The accessories make good presents too. And of course Patagonia have always scored well, with a string of firsts in their production and materials. Some useful links:Keep Winter Cool

Chamonix for vegetarians and vegans

Chalet la Foret — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:08:12 +0000

Je suis végétarien / végétarienne

The Alps are a surprisingly good place for vegetarians – as long as you like cheese.

The staples of melted cheese in all its forms – fondue and raclette are the best known but there are many more – are combined with potatoes or pasta in countless ways. As a result, although the French don’t really go in for vegetarian food per se, there’s always lots of options without meat – though do beware of the onion soup as it will almost always be made with meat stock.

Also, a lot of this cheese is not made with vegetarian rennet, certainly in restaurants. However, you can buy cheese made with vegetable rennet fairly easily, in both the supermarkets and the health food shops. The soft goat’s cheese is also not made using it – this mild, fresh cheese is wonderful with the local honey which is, unsurprisingly, superb.

Almost everywhere does the local salad of toasted goat’s cheese on slices of bread with salad and walnuts, which makes a really nice lighter meal – Chambre Neuf does one of the best Chevre Chaud salads in town

Since pretty much every French restaurant in Chamonix has a reasonably good vegetarian choice due to the local obsession with cheese, I haven’t made a separate vegetarian list for the town – take a look at those recommended for vegans below for places with particularly good or more unusual menus.

On the slopes, things are again not too bad with cheese sandwiches (toasted or not) always on offer, and hummus sandwiches and veggie pastas, quiches, gratins and pizzas usually available. Ski area restaurants which have a particularly good veggie choice are:

At Les Grands Montets
The Cremerie du Glacierat Les Grands Montets, which you can either drive to (signed from the car park entrance, look out for the heliport signs as it’s right next to it) or ski/snowboard access through the woods from the Pierre a Ric piste (look out for the very small sign on the right near the end of the run). Specialises in Croutes, a kind of bread-based local pizza equivalent, and a wide selection of Gratins which they will happily do for you without meat. Lots of veggie choices including my personal favourite ‘Crozets’ (which is the local buckwheat pasta) baked au gratin with Morel mushrooms and Beaufortain cheese. mmmmm! Some of the croutes are in a creme fraiche based sauce which is good when you’re a bit over-cheesed.

Also at the base of Les Grands Montets is the Marmottons restaurant and bar which has a small but very nice veggie selection including spinach lasagne which I highly recommend.

Vallorcine has a brilliant restaurant in the train station, which is very close to the lift. L’Arrêt Bougnette (+33 450 546304) serves unusual Savoyarde specialities like Sarrazin (buckwheat) crepes as well as all the usual favourites to a mostly local crowd. Inexpensive, atmospheric and delicious, the menu varies but there’s normally plenty of vegetarian dishes. Worth either calling or dropping in to book, as it can get very busy.

Je suis vegan

…Or an equivalent French word as far as diet is concerned is végétalien.
Skiing and snowboarding vegans will probably prefer to bring sandwiches for actual on-piste eating (in fact a lot of people do this anyway as it saves a load of money). Most of the restaurants on the mountain do salads by the quarter which are sometimes suitable, and tomato-based pasta sauce is sometimes available, as are soups – but it’s probably best not to count on it.

Chamonix restaurants that are good for vegans:
In town, things are much better! There are several restaurants that either have vegan options available or will do a vegan menu if you contact them in advance, notably Munchies (Rue des Moulins, Chamonix. Tel: +33(0)450534541), Alan Peru and the Hotel Eden.

Otherwise, Casa Valerio is an excellent Italian that has some vegan pasta dishes, Satsuki is a very good Japanese place that does good tofu noodles and has with a lovely downstairs room that can be booked for a special occasion. There are two Indian restaurants, Tigre Tigre and Annapurna.

The much loved MBC does excellent tofu – I especially recommend it in their red curry – and also can adapt several other dishes for vegans, such as their fajitas.

Most of the wrap and sandwich places in the town centre do a vegan option (generally hummus), with a special mention to the lovely bagels at the recently relocated Grand Central, where you can also get fresh juices.

Self-catering vegans will be very happy as the quality of fresh produce in France is always great. In Chamonix itself, there’s a very nice wholefood shop called Biosphere in Chamonix-Sud, for more specialist products like tofu, and another in Les Houches.

Even the supermarkets carry basics like veggie burgers now. For a longer stay, I really recommend a visit to the excellent Satoriz wholefood supermarket in Sallanches, opposite the Carrefour (link to map here).

This is an excellent shop, along the lines of Whole Foods in the US, and if you’re going to be around for more than a few days, it’s well worth a visit – the staff are very friendly and helpful, and the quality superb. They do a good selection of wine as well.

Market day is Saturday and there are sometimes local organic and biodynamic farmers selling lovely fresh produce. The supermarkets are very good too, and usually have a selection of French organic vegetables.

Market in Chamonix, originally uploaded by smichels.

Driving to Chamonix – stops en route to the Alps

Chalet la Foret — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 12:34:57 +0000

It’s 900 km from Calais to Chamonix, so it can be done in a day, but sometimes it’s good to break the journey to the Alps. You may want to just have a quick overnight stop or a more leisurely break to relax on the way…
Calais to Chamonix route on Google Maps

Michelin and the AA both have good route planners to help you

reflected sunset, originally uploaded by rhubarbcrumble.

To Book or not to Book?
At busy times (Easter, Christmas, half term) and especially if you’re travelling on Friday or Saturday, it really is a good idea to book. At other times, you can afford to be a bit more flexible and stop when you feel like it. It’s not a bad idea to have the numbers of a few possible hotels with you, so you can call ahead and save time.
Many places close on Sunday, and it’s best to book both room and dinner if you are travelling then.

The Chain Gang
There are plenty of chains along the way, and these can be handy as many of them have 24 hour checkins. Some are entirely automated, and operated with a credit card! They range from Campanile, Novotel and Ibis which are generally reliable, to the more basic (shared bathrooms) but inexpensive and functional Formule 1. Here’s a useful rundown of the budget chains and their features.

However, there are also many lovely individual hotels which can make your driving break into an enjoyable part of the holiday. Logis de Franceis a good place to look.
Here’s a list of places we’ve stayed in, or have had recommended. I’ll be adding to this as time goes on. Much credit for this list goes to the forum on Snowheads - Many thanks!

65 km past Calais: Auchy-en-Bois.

If you’ve had a long drive to get to Calais, try this very charming B and B, Chez Gina

100 km past Calais: Arras.
We stopped here when we had to get a late crossing. It’s a nice town, and surprisingly lively on a Friday and Saturday night. We stayed at the Ibis which was fine.

268 km from Calais: Reims or Rheims, pronounced “Rrance”

Place de la République – Reims (France), originally uploaded by Meteorry.

Reims is an obvious place to break the journey as it’s about half way, and the motorway goes very close to the town centre. The Hotel de la Paix comes very highly recommended – search around for good deals here. There’s a whole bunch of hotels that open late in Reims centre, but if you are arriving late or on a busy weekend, it’s probably best to book in advance.
A little further on is the beautiful and historic Ferme du Temple hotel.

At Manoir de Maffrecourt, (above) two lovely cottages, which sleep ten people between them, are perfectly geared up for ski stopovers, or could make a lovely place to extend your holiday. Lovely home-cooked dinner & breakfast are available too.

300km from Calais: Epernay

Epernay at night 1, originally uploaded by cjwalker72.

Just outside Epernay is the Auberge Champenoise which I have heard recommended several times. Another possibility is the Hotel la Briqueterie which is a little out of the way but looks very pretty.

Hotel la Briqueterie, originally uploaded by DodoPappa.

400km from Calais: Troyes

Troyes is a beautiful town with a medieval centre of half-timbered buildings, well worth a visit. In summer, we’ve camped on the way at this very nice campsite. We arrived late and ended up staying at the Best Western which perfectly all right and very well located. Walking around in the morning, I came across a very pretty hotel, Les Comtes de Champagne, which I think we’ll try next time.
Troyes tourist office with list of hotels

The Val Moret is at Magnant just past Troyes. Very close to the motorway exit, and you can park outside your room, which is useful if you have a lot of gear in the car.

Dijon: 569 km from Calais

Dijon: Rue de la Liberté, originally uploaded by K.S.Erickson.

Dijon is a pleasant, attractive and lively town for a stopover, with plenty of good hotels and restaurants. Unfortunately I can’t remember the name of the hotel where we stayed, but there seemed to be plenty of good options in the centre.
Dijon Tourist office with hotels and restaurants
A little further on, past the A36/A39 motorway junction is the pleasant looking Hotel Parcey.

584 km from Calais: Bourg-en-Bresse
In Bourg-en-Bresse is the lovely Hotel Terminus, near the railway station, which conceals a stunning chateau and grounds behind an unassuming facade.

The nearby restaurant Le Story comes highly recommended.

596 km from Calais: Nuits-St-Georges
Between Dijon and Beaune, at the Nuits-St-Georges exit, is the Hotel Vincent which also has a superb restaurant, the Alembic.

Also in this area is Les Tilleuls which is run by a friendly Scottish couple.

608km from Calais: Chalon-sur-Saône
Just 20 minutes from the motorway at the Chalon-sur-Saône exit, Les Batees is a wonderful family-run place which has delightful rooms and will cook you excellent vegetarian food.

Close by is Le Fayard, a very nice looking B & B that will also do dinner.

Beaune: 614 km from Calais

Bourgogne / Burgundy, originally uploaded by cathy.h.

The lovely town of Beaune is in the heart of Burgundy would be another good place to stop, and perhaps make a day of it before continuing the journey. The Novotel in Beaune is a particularly good one – its family rooms which sleep five are handy for an inexpensive stopover.

Poligny – 645 km from Calais
The Hotel de Paris in Poligny, in the Jura, looks like a lovely stopover. Try La Sergenterie for dinner.
For pet passport holders, the vet is at
3 Rue des Acacias 39800 Poligny
+33 (0)384 372268

Annecy – 90km from Chamonix

I’ve put Annecy here as it’s a lovely stopover if you have an extra night on the journey, even though it’s not quite on the direct route. It’s known as “the Venice of the Alps” because of the network of canals winding through the lovely old centre. A beautiful place for an evening.

We stayed in a small Chambres d’hotes called Les Jardins du Chateau (tel 0450 45 72 28, email jardinduchateau@wanadoo.fr) which was reasonably priced, well located and very friendly and helpful. They have rooms sleeping 1 -4 people.

If you have recommendations to add to this list, please email me!

Snowboarding jackets for starting out – a quick guide

Chalet la Foret — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 12:02:26 +0000

We quite often get asked for buying advice by people coming away on a ski or snowboard holiday, so I thought I’d get this online.

Firstly, if you have friends that snowboard or ski, they will quite likely have stuff you can borrow. It’s an expensive business getting everything at once so this can be a big help.

If you’re on a budget, TK Maxx is really worth checking out, I’ve seen some people get brilliant deals there. Ebay is also good., if you know what you’re looking for and have already tried it on somewhere.

1. Fabric and construction

Jackets come in several kinds, which can be broadly divided into shells, intended to be worn with a fleece underneath, and may be lined or unlined:

….and padded jackets, which are very thick and warm.

Remember that if you’re thinking of spending a bit more to get something to keep and wear as a jacket, some of the thicker ones are way too hot, so look for a shell that you wear over a fleece, not a giant thick one. It’s also a lot more flexible to be able to wear layers that you and remove as you go along.

The numbers: 5,000mm waterproof is a minimum 10,000mm is good for normal use. 20-30,000 is better, if you intend to go out in the snow. 5,000 minimum for breathability, you don’t want to get sweaty. If you can afford it, Gore-Tex is very good. Taped seams are a big plus, they really help keep you warm and dry, and a hood is great for keeping you warm – even if you don’t put it up, the extra fabric round your neck is very helpful. Make sure it goes over your helmet with no problems.

2. Features

Pockets: It’s good to have lots! Look for a pocket that’s convenient for your lift pass – lots of jackets have a clear one in an easily accessible place, and/or one with an elastic clip. Ideally one on either side, as different places have different setups. And an inner pocket that you can fasten securely for important stuff. A keyring inside a pocket is very useful too.

If you like to listen to music, there are plenty of jackets now with mp3 player controls built in. Remember though that you’ll be using them with your gloves on.

A goggle pocket is a nice feature, ideally with a goggle wipe pad.

Built in Recco avalanche locators are becoming more popular and can only be a good thing.

Some jackets are reinforced at the sides where you carry your board, which is a really good feature if you can find it. I don’t know why more places don’t do this. Check the cut is long enough at the back to keep you warm when you bend over (I often find women’s jackets seem to be cut too short at the back for me). If you wear a pack, it’s good if the straps don’t interfere too much with the pockets.

Make sure the jacket has a snow skirt (ideally one that matches up via hooks or press studs with your pants) to keep the snow out of your bum, and elasticated cuffs.
Underarm zips are good because you can get surprisingly hot. The zips should have pulls that are big enough to be grabbed with gloves on.

Some jackets have thumbholes to stop the sleeves riding up, and/or little loops on the cuffs to attach your gloves to.
A fleece neck warmer (a buff) can be a big help, as your chin can get chafed by the collar if it’s wet.

3. Looks
And of course you want one that looks good! Watch out for white ones because they can get dirty very fast, and it really shows against white snow.
Beware the trendy corduroy/ denim stuff as it WILL get wet in the snow, no matter what they say. A lot of this stuff is made for park and pipe riders who don’t go out in the lashing wind or driving snow in it. They keep it for messing about in the park, which it’s great for, but if you are spending a lot of time on your bum, you will get soggy fast. The same goes for furry trim on hoods and cuffs. Brght colours and stripes seem to be back back back for winter 2007/8 and it does make you easier to spot on the mountain.
Burton’s Analog stuff is expensive but is good for stuff that you might actually want to wear when you get back home.

Also this might sound obvious, but remember to try pants / jacket etc on with what you will be wearing underneath, or something similar. I’ve known lots of people buy stuff that’s too small because they thought the right size stuff was too big and heavy – it seems that way in a warm shop in the city, but not on the mountain! Get all the layers on underneath and try some pants on at the same time

4. Putting my money where my mouth is
In case you’re interested, my setup at the moment is a very thin (paper thin almost) Burton Continuum Fuse jacket – this is unlined and made (mostly) out of one piece of fabric, cut so it has no seams on the forward surfaces.

I wear a good quality fleece (Special Blend) under this and an Icebreaker thin merino thermal. This combination works in practically all temperatures, it’s brilliant. Unzip when it’s hot, pull tight when it’s cold.

just get what I’m planning on buying this winter – and yes, I am perfectly serious: