Premières Neiges

Heavy snowfalls were recorded in Méribel last week, with 33cm falling in twelve hours on Thursday. The resort is now blanketed with snow (see webcams on www.merinet.com) and the scene now looks set for an excellent beginning of season. The first lifts open in Mottaret on December 6th, many tour operators are offering tempting last minute deals on holidays. Premières neiges promotional prices on lift passes are available until 19th December

Crime in Méribel

Two chalets have burnt down in the past couple of years, and dozens of cars have been reported as stolen to the local Gendarmes. Does this mean Méribel is a hotbed of arson and car theft? The answer, I’m glad to report, is ‘No’. The ‘stolen’ cars had all been moved to a nearby car park to allow for road snow clearing, and the chalets fires were found to be accidental. Crime, thankfully, is relatively rare here.

Head of Méribel’s Gendarmerie, Frank Martinol, stated that the most common crime is ski theft. Last season Britons reported 155 stolen pairs of skis – a high proportion of the total 262 ski thefts. Are we less careful of our ski equipment than other nationalities, or does the generous payout offered by UK insurance companies spur us on to report more often?

If you don’t want to lose that brand new, shiny pair of skis don’t leave them out of your sight. At mountain restaurants split your skis, secure them with an anti-theft device, or leave them where you can keep an eye on them. Don’t leave skis overnight on apartment balconies either: they have been known to disappear from second floor apartments.

Finally, do remember to lock your chalet when you go out. Méribel may be a very safe place, but there’s no point inviting the light-fingered in…

Contributors:

Ed Mannix runs London Overseas Consultancy, and specialises in advising British property owners in Méribel.

Gary Ward is Technical Retail Manager, Freeride
(www.freeride.fr)

Chris Learoyd is Director of luxury chalet company Alp Leisure Ltd (www.alpleisure.com)

Simon Rowe is an accounts consultant.

Francis Petex is a Guide de Haute Montagne.

We’re interested in your views. Please e-mail us at yourviews@themeribeltimes.com  

For more information on Méribel see independent website www.merinet.com, and www.meribel.net, the official Tourist Office site

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Speed Cameras on French Roads

One of the pleasures of driving on French motorways is that should you inadvertently exceed the already generous speed limit (130 km/hr) the chance of being caught by the police is slim. Until last month, that is, when the first fixed speed cameras were installed across France. The 17 ten radars automatiques have caught 40 000 speeding motorists in just three weeks.

The new French cameras (which cost 80 000 Euros each) take digital pictures which are automatically transmitted to the Police. Unlike British speed cameras these ones can never run out of film – if you are flashed, you’re caught. One hundred cameras are to be installed by the end of this year, and a further thousand are planned for the next two years.

Whether the French authorities will be able or willing to send out penalty notices to foreign registered cars remains to be seen, but if you are hiring a car in France this winter, be warned.

According to the French Government traffic website (www.bison-fute.equipement.gouv.fr/) at least eight cameras are to be installed along the route taken by most British motorists between Calais and Méribel, including three to be installed between Chambéry and Méribel.

Remember that radar detectors are illegal in France. Simply having one in your car can lead to a large fine or even the confiscation of your vehicle.

Avoid first day hassles

If you have ever had to queue for lift passes and photo machines, wait in busy ski hire shops or slog around an unfamiliar supermarket after a long day’s travelling, you will be glad to hear these annoyances can be a thing of the past.

Several forward-looking Méribel companies allow you to reserve their services in advance, so saving your precious holiday time. New company Chaletfood undertake to do your supermarket shopping, and will deliver to your door.

You can order food, drinks and household items, and arrange a delivery time that suits you. Various standard packs are available, and special requests are catered for. Prices are competitive with the resort supermarkets. Book online at www.chaletfood.com.

Both Méribel and Mottaret’s lift companies offer pre-booking of lift passes, either by post or online. You can have your passes delivered to your hotel, arrange to collect them at the Tourist Office, or from a priority line at the lift office itself. This is especially useful for independent travellers arriving on a Saturday during busy periods, when lift pass queues are most likely. (Note if you are travelling with a tour operator they will usually collect lift passes for you.) For Méribel visit www.meribel-alpina.com, and for Mottaret www.s3v.com.

Ski shop Freeride.fr encourage you to reserve rental skis and boots before you arrive in the resort, so guaranteeing you the equipment you want and saving time in the shop. They also offer a mobile service which will deliver and fit equipment in the comfort of your own accommodation, and collect it at the end of your stay. For more information contact www.freeride.fr.

Intersport in Méribel not only offer online equipment reservation (www.meribelskirental.com) but will also fetch you from your accommodation by minibus, and collect your equipment at the end of your holiday.

This season, why not do a little reserving in advance, and let the mountain to come to you?

How? What? Where?

Where’s the best snow? Which lift pass should I buy? How do I get to the beginner slopes? All these questions and more will now be answered at the new Information Chalet situated at the Chaudanne in Méribel. Lift company Méribel Alpina will staff the chalet with multi-lingual staff throughout the winter season to better inform their clientele. Find it at the second pylon of the Burgin Saulire lift.

La Chasse, part II

In our last edition Ed Mannix explained how la chasse is organised in France. This week he describes hunting in the Méribel valley.

The local hunting association (ACCA) has nearly a hundred members who are local property owners and these are divided up into around ten teams who shoot as groups although perhaps only two thirds of the membership are frequent regular attendees during the season which starts in early September and continues through until January. That said, most people lose interest in December with the start of the ski season.
The ACCA has its AGM in June each year and whilst attendance at the meeting is usually high, the impression is that there are a dozen different meetings going on all at the same time in the same hall with everyone talking at once. The association’s president chairs the AGM and various members of the eight-man committee stand for re-election on a rotating basis.

Right at the end of August subscriptions are due and membership cards are revalidated at a meeting at the Mairie in Les Allues when the final allocations of game are officially confirmed. For the current season, some 40 roe deer and 20 red deer including 5 stags are divided up amongst the teams whilst the allocation of 15 chamois is shared amongst individual members on a rotating list as this is the only quarry which is stalked in the valley. Deer are generally hunted by the teams operating informal drives with some fixed guns and others walking with the dogs, whilst the wild boar (which is considered as vermin) is hunted by the teams in the same drive. Some years however, depending on the boar population and the amount of damage to fields and gardens that has been reported, general boar drives are organised when the greater part of the ACCA’s membership participate together. The shooting always finishes with lunch at the Plantin restaurant in an effort to avoid less disciplined behaviour with a gun in the afternoon.

Whilst the Méribel valley’s game is principally quadruped and pretty big – a good red deer stag can weigh over 200 kg – there is some hare as well whilst capercaillie, black game and even ptarmigan breed locally and are shot by a keen minority of members. Marmots are also hunted and with their keen eyesight and sharp awareness, they make a challenging rifle shot at anything up to 150 metres.

Despite all the rules and regulations that apply, “la chasse” in Méribel is great fun and has provided me with some excellent if not exhausting days out. Whilst the shooting can in no way be compared with what we are used to in the UK in terms of quantity of game, the quality is high and every successful shot will has been well earned. Also, “la chasse” has given me the opportunity to meet some excellent people and to get to know the geography of the Méribel valley so much better.

EDM