www.ski-base.com/blog

At last!!

2007-12-09T02:21:00.000-08:00

At last we can put some pictures on for everyone to see why we've been working so hard. There are a few finishing touches still to go, art work to put up etc but at least you can now see what we're raving about. The bedrooms look fab, better in fact than I imagined.

3 weeks to go

2007-10-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe a month has gone by and I've only just got round to posting new pics. It seems a little bit of a waste of time as they're already out of date and there will be more next week. We are just days away from getting the keys and everything is slightly chaotic as we desperately pack up box after box of lovely stuff to go down to Brevieres. I'm a bit envious if I'm honest,it all looks so beautiful I almost want to keep it at home.But,let's not be side tracked it's time for the talk to turn to the serious stuff, like whose responsibility is it to collect the fire wood and where can we buy a Christmas tree!

No time to write, just take a look

2007-10-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

Blimey, I hope its sustainable!!

2007-09-26T01:34:00.000-07:00

There certainly is a lot of wood going in to this place. I suppose it's understandable, we are surrounded by it. I'm assured that we are not just ripping chunks out of the National Park to build the perfect ski home. This is a picture of the underneath of one of the balconies and although it's difficult to see, they are huge slabs of wood, entire trunks, carved to shape. I've never thought about it before, but these buildings certainly use a lot of forest. It's interesting to see how it's managed. If there is an avalanche further down the valley,the trees that have been knocked down are salvaged and stacked neatly to be used later. Any wood from old buildings that can be saved is retreated and used again in the new building, in fact we have a lot of the old wood from the original farmhouse in the master bedrooms, it looks fantastic. I guess it's reassuring to know that nothing goes to waste, especially when you're paying for it!!

Oh please give me a day off!!!

2007-09-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

Another very unpleasant job had to be dealt with last month. It's just slog, slog and more slog.It was time to find a gem of a champagne and slog it was. Actually it did pour with rain constantly and I did have to drive as far as Brevieres and back in two days. However we met some lovely producers. Mrs H as always, was very concerned about quality and grape variety, whilst I was mainly concerned with my French grammar or lack of. I thought I was doing rather well until, after speaking in my very best Francais for at least twenty minutes with one of the Gimmonet brothers, he broke in to perfect English, delivered in a fantastically sexy french tone. It was only after such a shock and tasting 5 different delicious champagnes that I was obliged, as he left the room briefly, to mention to Mrs H that he was actually rather sexy. Oh OK, OK so I got distracted, but there's no need to worry such a facetious remark was soon dismissed and I was back on track in no time! Gimmonet really is a wonderful champagne, not too easy to get here but worth the hunt.

Builders Bum

2007-08-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Gosh, what a busy summer! I don't think I've ever seen so many builders in one place. You can hardly move inside Chalet de la Cloche for denim and tool belts. However I must admit that I am a bit disappointed because I have been waiting patiently to add some lovely exterior shots so that everyone can see the real thing rather than an artists impression. It seems we have to wait a bit longer as all the fancy bits that make the chalet beautiful, like the bardage (wood cladding), balconies and stone work, go on last. Never mind, I can offer some proof that they are actually working on the balconies and I've even managed a glimpse of French knickers for the ladies!

View From The Salon Balcony

2007-06-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

What a great view, it will be even better covered with snow in a few months time. It almost feels as though you could put your skis on, jump off the balcony and straight on to the nursery slopes.

The Wine Cellar

2007-06-22T03:08:00.000-07:00

I think it's the small things that make a difference and last week I discovered that some of the biggest and most expensive ski chalet companies buy their wine in the UK! They tell us they are all sourced especially for the customer and that that they have a sommelier, but what they actually mean is,they get someone to go to the warehouse and drive it down to the resort in a van!

I made this discovery last week when I was on a tour of the Savoie vineyards. I went to source some delicious local wines.I didn't 'go it alone' as you can imagine. I thought that old adage 'I know a lot about wine I drink it all the time' wouldn't get me very far, so I employed a wine expert to help and took along my friend Mrs H, who is a professional chef and the fussiest drinker I know!! It was our expert Wink (yes that really is her name) who enlightened me as to how chalet companies buy their wine. I was horrified. Talk about cheeky.

We found some fantastic wines, not at all what I expected. I am planning to add a link to the vineyards websites from our own, so that everyone can see what I mean.For me,it's important to support the local producers, so it was a good place to start the cellar.Next we will be doing a champagne tour to find some exquisite aperitifs.I plan to visit Ruinart (my personal favourite) Drappier, Mailly and Gimmonet. The last two are smaller houses that supply many UK wine stores under 'own names'. I'm looking forward to it.It's good to try something new, you never know when you might make a great discovery. After that, it will be the Rhones,Bourdeaux and Loires.

Fingers crossed they don't deliver in a white van, then I will look silly!!

Illustrations of interior (artist's impressions)

2007-06-21T06:16:00.000-07:00

View of the salon on the top floor,with truly spectacular views of the slopes.

The seating area of the salon with open fire and french windows

One of the master bedroom with en suite jacuzzi bath.

Here we go

2007-06-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be a good idea to document the progress of Chalet de la Cloche, so here we go...
It sounded like a great idea at the time, an adventure; create the perfect ski chalet. No more tiny bedrooms, no more vinegary wine, no more dictatorial chalet hosts and NO more cauliflower cheese. Yes, adventure it certainly is, a huge learning curve, but the best possible learning curve. Sure, it took a while to understand that the French wont answer emails unless in fear of their lives and yes, of course we weren't quite geared up for the fact that the bureaucracy involved in building in a conservation area in the French alps would take 2 years to get through, but we are on track now and on schedule to open on December 5 2007.

I can't believe we are nearly there and all the fun bits are coming up, like sourcing the very best wine we can drink (oops sorry I mean taste) and sampling seven wonderful menus each from the the short list of chefs (there are a lot of dinner parties chez nous at the moment!)

There's a lot of competition out there so we have to make Ski-base different, a bit more personal and may be even a bit more in touch with the locality. It's one thing to brag but entirely another to deliver, but I have a point to prove. I am fed up with paying through the nose for second rate quality so I can see no point in moaning about it, the thing to do is change it.We're ski mad, we know what we want from a place in the mountains, so I'm figuring that other people will want it too, and there's only one way to find out...