CHALET NOTES 2014

Every summer New College runs two to three reading parties in the Alps, in a wooden, electricity-free chalet shared for this purpose by three Oxford colleges – Balliol, University College, and New College. This reading party has been going on in various forms since the nineteenth century, and is one of the more colourful aspects of college life. The purpose of the reading parties is primarily to read; but the Alpine surrounds are strikingly beautiful, and most chaletites take the opportunity to explore a few local walks. The chalet is also the ideal place to experience some college life among a wide cross-section of the college: parties usually number around sixteen people, drawn from the JCR, the MCR, and the SCR; occasionally old members of the college attend too. Chalet parties, which usually last for about ten days, are accompanied by a senior member, and daily life is managed by two students, a ‘manager’ and a ‘bursar’. Each attendee pays a fixed fee upfront, which consist of basic rent, currently €5 per day, and the cost of a final meal at our local hotel. It is therefore an extremely cheap holiday, although the college does not cover travel or incidental costs. Below are some practical notes about how to get there, what to bring, and life at the chalet. Reassurance: the sections on travel may seem complex, but, especially if you travel in groups, the journey is pretty straightforward these days, consisting usually of a flight to Geneva, a chartered coach to the local télécabine station, and a short walk down from the télécabine to the chalet. But the instructions of what – and what not – to bring should be taken as such.

Notes by AF, WP, AD, MB, 2004, rev. to 2014.

1 BRIEF INTRODUCTION

The Chalet des Mélèzes – known locally as the Chalet des Anglais – is situated below the Mont Blanc massif on the side of Le Prarion, above St-Gervais-les-Bains, at an altitude of 1690m. The building stands in a small, level clearing in the woods, and while this gives the impression of isolation, access to the outside world is relatively uncomplicated, considering the chalet’s height and location. The jeep track between St- Gervais and the Hôtel Le Prarion passes by some 200m away; 20-25 minutes’ stiff climb brings you to the latter. Adjacent to the hotel is the top station of the cable-car (télécabine) to the village of Les Houches. This is the most usual route to and from the chalet. The chalet itself is a three-storied wooden building, usable in the summer only, capable of accommodating up to fifteen to twenty people. The chalet is simple but comfortable: it is equipped with a gas-powered fridge, water heater and cookers, a wood-burning stove in the sitting-room, an ingenious shower arrangement and two flushing lavatories. Water is drawn from the stream outside and is quite safe to drink. Its nine bedrooms can accommodate two or three people each on an assortment of bedsteads and mattresses. There is a small and somewhat eclectic library. Lighting is provided by a mixture of candles, torches and gas lamps, as there is no electricity – something most people get used to very quickly. During the Long Vacation, Balliol, New College and Univ. send two (occasionally three) reading parties each to the chalet. The definition of the idea of a reading party varies between colleges; members of New College parties tend to bring whatever reading or work they wish and do as little or as much in the way of walking or other outdoor activities, such as mountain biking (except mountaineering, which is strictly forbidden) as they feel like. Some of the finest mountain scenery in Europe

1 surrounds the chalet and there are plenty of walks of varying length to be had. For those staying at the chalet, the morning is set aside for reading and work. The party gathers for meals; a candle-lit dinner followed by games and conversation makes for a convivial evening. All members of the party do their share of the household tasks, which are not onerous.

All communications with the chalet come via the hotel near the top station of the télécabine, and should be addressed to: Chalet des Anglais, c/o Hôtel Le Prarion, 74170 St-Gervais Mont-Blanc, FRANCE. Tel.: +33 (0)4.50.54.40.07 Fax: +33 (0)4.50.54.40.03. Website: http://www.prarion.com (includes photographs of surrounding scenery) Mobile telephone reception in the area can be patchy, as it is in the mountains generally, and although students will have their own phones with them, their use is not encouraged inside the chalet. The hotel, known to chaletites as “the Pav.”, is a favoured retreat in the early evening. The same family, the Hottegindres, has run the hotel since it opened in 1928, and are good friends of chaletites: they provide invaluable help, and are our point of contact in case of unforeseen difficulty or emergency.

2 WHAT TO BRING

2.1 Medication and Insurance If you need medication for, e.g., asthma, insect stings, allergies, or any prescription medicines, you MUST bring adequate supplies for the duration of your stay at the chalet. Getting medical help to the chalet in an emergency can be a very expensive and arduous business. The chalet’s medicine chest contains the usual first-aid items; should you need any of these, ask the trustee on your party. You MUST take out travel insurance: ensure that you are covered for all activities you wish to undertake. You MUST also take out health insurance if you haven’t already got a policy which will provide adequate cover in France. Citizens of EU member states will need a European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to treatment on the French health service. This replaces the E.111 form, which is now no longer valid. Information, and the card itself, can be obtained via http://www.ehic.org.uk.

2.2 Clothing You need to come prepared for a very wide range of temperatures and weather conditions. In the mountains, the sun is hot and intense when it is out and you will need to protect yourself. Rain and occasionally snow are not unknown, and it is cold at high altitude, especially at night. Walkers should be prepared for sudden changes in the weather and equip themselves accordingly before setting out. You should bring the following:  Comfortable clothing for walking, plus things to change into afterwards (including some things you don’t mind getting dirty: most people do a certain amount of simple laundry), including:  Warm sweater and/or fleece  Sweatshirts and t-shirts: several thin layers are warmer than one thick one – but you may find you want both on occasion. NB Avoid jeans for walking in: if they get wet, they take ages to dry out and can rub painfully. An old pair of corduroy trousers or a pair of shorts is much better.  Waterproof top and overtrousers

2  Walking boots or sturdy shoes with good ankle support (if you’re buying these for the first time, be guided by a good outdoor clothing dealer and walk them in before hand)  Walking socks (preferably seamless)  Sun cream  Sun hat  Sunglasses  Soft shoes (for use inside the chalet)  Sleeping bag (and pillowcase, if desired) – the chalet does not provide these!  Towel  Torch (headlamp) and spare batteries  Small rucksack (for walks)  Water bottle (an old Evian bottle or whatever is absolutely fine, but you should have water with you when out walking)  Swimming costume/trunks (if you fancy swimming in glacial lakes)  Camera (optional)  Walkmans, i-pods, radios etc. should be used with headphones only.

2.3 Luggage Bring a rucksack. The paths leading to the chalet are stony and are steep in places. Any suitcase with wheels will no longer have these by the time you get to the chalet, and carrying a suitcase will be no fun at all.

3 COSTS AND MONEY

The total cost of meals and accommodation is around £50, plus whatever you spend on cable-car fares (NB: These can be up to c. €12.00 each), drinks and any odds and ends you want to buy. We will also charge for the final dinner. So chaletites can expect to pay to their bursar before they attend about €80-90, which will cover all basic living costs, an extraordinarily cheap way of seeing the Alps for over a week! But drinks etc. on the mountainside can be expensive, so chaletites should also bring what cash they require; there are banks and cash machines in St Gervais and Les Houches. See below for information on rail and air fares.

4 DAILY ROUTINE AND ACTIVITIES

Different colleges establish different routines for their parties, but New College parties tend to spend the day something like this: At about 8.30 am jugs of hot water for washing are delivered to the bedrooms by a pair of chaletites according to a rota; they also prepare a simple breakfast for the party. Nobody is obliged to cater for anybody else appearing after nine o’clock. Very occasionally, energetic members of the party may get up early and go down to St- Gervais for croissants. After breakfast, everyone lends a hand in doing small jobs in and around the house (collecting candles, empty mugs and glasses, dealing with rubbish, seeing to the stove if necessary, sweeping out the dining room and salon (sitting-room), chopping wood etc.). The two cooks on duty that day go shopping for that evening’s dinner, if they have not done so the day before – we try to shop every other day. For those who stay at the chalet, reading and work have absolute priority before lunch; quiet should therefore be maintained as far as possible. Lunch is usually picnic-style and a

3 communal effort. Games in and around the chalet may be played in the afternoon; these include such arcane delights as chalet tennis and chalet golf. Somewhere between five and six o’clock those still at the chalet usually adjourn for a pre-prandial drink at the Pav., where they are often joined by those coming back off the mountains. Otherwise (or in addition to this) mulled wine may be served before dinner, which is served around 7.30-8 p.m. The party (with the exception of the cooks) clears away dinner; all withdraw to the salon for conversation, card games etc. After about midnight, there should be silence in the chalet, as it is anything but soundproof.

4.1 Cooking Worth a separate mention, as it means a bit of advance planning. Each day, two members of the party cook dinner. They need to buy anything they need in addition to what is bought in as part of the bulk order of groceries in the morning (or the day before), fresh bread and any other necessities. The nearest really large supermarket is the Intermarché at Sallanches, for which serious athleticism or access to a car is necessary; there are others, of course, and both Les Houches and St Gervais have excellent markets on Monday and Thursday mornings respectively. Receipts should be given to the bursar and any personal expenses declared. You will probably spend the later part of the afternoon and early evening cooking: most cooks produce two or three courses (or equivalent). There is absolutely no obligation to aim at cordon bleu level. As everyone cooks at least once, it is worth bringing a couple of reliable recipes suitable for preparation for up to fifteen to twenty people. By tradition, each party dines at the Pav. on the last evening, and the Hottegindres are invited to join us.

5 HOW TO GET THERE

There are any number of ways and means of getting to the chalet: what follows is the most popular one. See the appendix at the end for alternatives, especially if you are not coming from the UK, or want to stop off on the way to the Alps. By far the easiest way to get to the chalet is to fly to Geneva and book one of the various direct coach services from the airport to the Les Houches télécabine – ‘Alpibus’ seems to be the current favourite.

5.1 By train The nearest railway station to the chalet (actually, it’s an unmanned halt) is Viaduc Sainte Marie. This is on the narrow-gauge electric railway between St-Gervais- les-Bains-Le-Fayet (SNCF) and Martigny (CFF). You will therefore need to change at one or other of these points. It’s possible to travel to the chalet by train from London to Paris by Eurostar (www.eurostar.com) and thence to St-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet. See http://www.voyages-sncf.com/guide/voyageurs/fichepdf/564.pdf for train times. (NB Check that the timetable you are looking at is valid for when you want to travel.) Unless you take the night train from Paris on the outward leg, you will not arrive in time to take the télécabine up to the Pav., unless you really want to take the first Eurostar from Waterloo (departs 05:34). Obviously, this doesn’t apply to the return journey, which can be done much more easily in a day. In summer, there are two through TGVs from Paris on Saturdays. Otherwise, you will need to change, usually at Annecy or Bellegarde (the latter route may be marginally cheaper), or possibly Lyon. Both Eurostar and SNCF tickets can be booked through www.voyages- sncf.com. Look out for the very reasonably priced Prem’s fares: if you can’t get any of

4 these, and you’re 25 or under, the Découverte 12-25 fares are the next best thing: it isn’t worth buying a Carte 12-25 (≈ Young Person’s Railcard) unless you plan to do a lot of travelling round France by train. The booking system can be obstreperous; if it is, try booking each leg of your journey separately. For what to do and where go once you’ve got to Viaduc Sainte-Marie, see 5.3.

5.2 By air The nearest and most convenient airport for the chalet is Geneva, which is served from many points in Europe (Full details on http://www.gva.ch/en/default.htm: click on “Travel Information”). Most chaletites take cheap flights from the UK: EasyJet (www.easyjet.co.uk), FlyBe (www.flybe.com) and Jet2 (www.jet2.com), among others, serve Geneva from a number of airports. Luton – Geneva return fares (EasyJet) start from around £70.00. Check other airlines’ websites for special offers, in particular those of British Airways (http://www.ba.com) and Swiss Air Lines (http://www.swiss.com).

When choosing flights, it is important to arrive in sufficient time to catch the last cogwheel train of the day. The timetable varies through the summer: check http://montagne.chamonix.com/TmbPre.php?ling=E to find out the times which apply to your party. As a general guide, if you’re travelling to and from the chalet by train (see below), then you should try to arrive at Geneva airport by 12:00; on the return leg, you won’t be able to make flights leaving much before 16:30.

You can get round these restrictions if you’re prepared to walk all or part of the way up the mountain – various possibilities are outlined in the appendix. Otherwise, you could take a taxi, either from St-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet station or from Geneva airport: a list of local firms can be found on http://www.st-gervais.net/acces.htm. Not all will have 4x4 cars, however. Miage Taxi does, and has delivered chaletites to the chalet from Geneva airport for around €150.00. Alternatively, you could stay the night somewhere before going up the mountain. The Michelin and Routard guides list many possibilities. Staying in Switzerland will probably be expensive.

5.2.1 Getting to the airport Buses run half-hourly to Heathrow and hourly to Gatwick (http://www.theairline.info) and irregularly to Luton (http://www.nationalexpress.com). From Oxford, Gatwick can be reached by rail via Reading. (For details see http://www.rail.co.uk.)

5.2.2 Getting to the Chalet At Geneva Airport railway station, buy a ticket from the TPG (Geneva Public Transport) machines to zone 11. If you’re not planning to stop off in Geneva, the one- hour ticket is fine; it costs CHF3/€2.05. The ticket machines will accept cards as well as Swiss Francs and Euros. This ticket is valid for both the train and the tram as follows. See http://www.tpg.ch for more information. Trains run every 15 minutes from the airport to Genève-Cornavin (the main CFF [Swiss Federal Railways] station). From there take a no. 16 tram to the Amandolier (SNCF [French National Railways]) stop (journey time 13 minutes, runs around every 10 minutes Mon-Fri, around every 15 minutes at weekends). The SNCF station, the Gare des Eaux-Vives, is about 50m from the Amandolier stop and is reached by taking the first side road on the left immediately before the stop: this road has a slight bend and goes slightly downhill.

5 From the Gare des Eaux-Vives, you will need to travel to St-Gervais-les-Bain- Le Fayet. If you can’t buy a ticket from the booking office (because it’s shut) or from the machine (because you haven’t got the exact fare in Swiss Francs), find the ticket inspector once you’re on the train and pay your fare. Alternatively, buy your tickets in advance from www.voyages-sncf.com. Fares: €21.80 return (€16.40 return for under 25’s). Remember that you need to date-stamp your tickets before getting on the train using one of the yellow machines on the platform before beginning any journey on the SNCF. You will very probably need to change at either Annemasse or La Roche-sur- Foron. Connections can be few and far between, so plan carefully and be prepared to wait. Timetables for trains between Genève-Eaux-Vives and St-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet are on http://www.ter-sncf.com/rhone_alpes/V2/carte_horaires/index.asp: select sheet 30. Note that timetables covering the dates of the chalet parties may not be available until late June, so do check the online timetable (www.voyages-sncf.com – or www.bahn.de, which is easier to use).

5.3 The Final Stage There are two possible ways of getting up to the chalet. One involves a télécabine ride and has less uphill walking. The other way requires a fairly steep climb which with your entire luggage can prove a little tricky.

5.3.1 The route via Les Houches (this is the one most chaletites take)

From the train station in St. Gervais Le Bain le Fayet, travel to Viaduc Ste-Marie on the narrow gauge line to Chamonix. This is a request stop, so be sure to ask the driver to stop before the train leaves St-Gervais-les-Bain-Le Fayet. When you get off, you will see a track at the viaduct end of the platform that leads up into the woods: follow it until it brings you out of the woods, turn left, passing the chalets and flats on your right, and head up to the main road which runs through Les Houches. When you reach it, turn right; after a minute or so you will see the télécabine station. Take the télécabine up to the top station. When buying your télécabine ticket mention that you are staying I the ‘Chalet des Anglais’ for a reduced fare. From the top station of the télécabine it is a short walk up to Le Prarion which is visiable on your left. Depending on when you arrive, other chaletites may have stopped for refreshment at the Hôtel du Prarion at the top of the path from the Col de Voza. If they haven’t, the route to the chalet is as follows. From the hotel, follow the signposted jeep-track towards St-Gervais. After about 800m, you will see the base station of a ski-lift on your right (Téléski des Chamois) and the top station of another on your left (Téléski du Plancert). Continue for around another 250m, keeping an eye out for a narrow track leading away to the right. (If you find yourself on a tree-lined straight stretch with an even descent, you have gone too far.) You may find it helpful to count the drainage gutters which run across the path; just after the eighth, you may see the roof of the Other Chalet through the trees. The path is around 30-40m beyond it. Follow the path, passing the Other Chalet on your left, cross over the stream and about 200 metres on you will be standing in front of the chalet. The walk down from the Hôtel du Prarion should take around 15-20 minutes.

5.3.2 The route direct from St. Gervais

6 If the narrow gauge railway or the cable car is not functioning for some reason (see 6.2) then you will need to go to the chalet via the TMB. On leaving the station building at St-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet, you will see the terminus of the Tramway du Mont-Blanc (TMB), a rack railway. Buy a ticket at the TMB booking office to the Col de Voza. The journey time is around 50 minutes. On leaving Col de Voza station, follow the signposts to Le Prarion; it’s quite a stiff climb of at least 30-45 minutes if you have luggage. From Le Prarion the route is the same as described at the end of 5.3.1.

5.3.3 What to do if the TMB is closed These routes all mean a certain amount of walking, but you may need to use them if you know that you will arrive at a time when the TMB and télépherique will not be running, or if they are shut because of bad weather. The latter is more susceptible to this than the former: ring 04.50.54.40.32 to check if you need to. The TMB’s number is 04.50.47.51.83. Les Houches – Bellevue télépherique If for any reason you arrive in Les Houches rather than St-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet, this is probably the best alternative. The last departure from Les Houches is usually at 18:00; timetables are on http://montagne.chamonix.com/HouPre.php?ling=E. The bottom station of the télépherique is in the middle of the village on the main road. Once you have reached the top, follow signs to the Col de Voza and le Prarion. The walk should take about an hour. Walking up from Les Houches If neither the TMB nor the télépherique nor a taxi are possibilities, travel to Viaduc Ste-Marie on the narrow gauge line to Chamonix. This is a request stop, so be sure to ask the driver to stop before the train leaves St-Gervais-les-Bain-Le Fayet. When you get off, you will see a track at the viaduct end of the platform that leads up into the woods: follow it until it brings you out of the woods, turn left, passing the chalets and flats on your right, and head up to the main road which runs through Les Houches. When you reach it, turn right; after a minute or so you will see the télécabine station. From there, the easiest route up to the chalet is probably the following: climb up through Les Chavants (the télécabine cable will be visible on your left to begin with) to the road junction at 1096m, turn right and head for the gîte d’étape, after which the tarmac road becomes a path. Head for the Col de la Forclaz (1533m), passing La Creuse and the Granges des Chavants; after that follow the (fairly level) path round to Les Combettes. About 250m further on, take the turn marked “Le Prarion”. After about 700m, the track to the chalet diverges on the left-hand side of the path (1653m), which brings you to the back door of the chalet. This route involves quite a few steep stretches, and will take around 1 ¾ - 2 hours with a rucksack. Walking up from St Gervais If you arrive at St-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet (SNCF) late in the evening, with no prospect of any onward connections, you can walk to the Chalet (2 ½ - 3 hours with luggage). Take a taxi (see above) or hitch a lift up to the car park at Les Toilles if you can, as it will save you about half the climb. Walking all the way up from Le Fayet is recommended only for seasoned hill- and mountain-walkers.

Appendix:

Books and maps

7 The best maps for walking are the 1:25,000 IGN (Institut Géographique National) Carte de randonnée series. The chalet is on sheet 3531 ET St-Gervais; walkers keen to explore the possibilities further along the valley may find sheets 3630 OT Chamonix, 3520 ET Samoëns, 3531 OT Megève and 3420 ET La Clusaz useful, in that order. The 1:50,000 Carte de Randonnées (sheet A1 Pays du Mont-Blanc) gives a useful overview of the area. These maps are widely available locally. You should be able to order these maps through bookshops in Oxford. Alternatively, you can buy them over the internet from French bookshops (www.amazon.fr, www.fnac.com, www.alapage.com etc.), or direct from http://www.ign.fr. The sections on the French Alps in most guides to France aren’t really detailed enough to be of any real use to chaletites. However, there are plenty of books devoted to the French Alps and the Mont Blanc area, of which the following may be useful; all suggestions gratefully received.  Le Guide Vert: Alpes du Nord (Michelin: Clermont-Ferrand 2000) (English translation available: Green Guide: French Alps) – Useful if you want to visit places around the chalet, but has relatively little detailed information on mountain activities or the immediate area.  Mont-Blanc à pied, à VTT, à raquettes, sur glacier…: Aiguilles Rouges – Val Montjoie – Val d’Arly – Val d’Aoste (IGN: Paris 1997) – as the title suggests, good if you’re interested in activities other than walking (but NB no mountaineering!).  Martin Collins, Chamonix–Mont-Blanc: A Walking Guide, 2nd edition (Milnethorpe: Cicerone 2002). Recommended. An excellent guide to some of the longer walks, with useful advice of walking conditions and equipment.  Hartmut Eberlein (tr. T. Pearson) Around Mont Blanc (Munich: Bergverlag Rother 2000), (Translation of Rund um den Mont Blanc.) Suggests shorter itineraries than Collins, a number of which can be easily done from the chalet.

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