The deck out side the chalet...
Snow clearing has been hard work....
Fun in the snow....
Good Food!!!
So After a long summer of getting up at a reasonable hour a guy called Allen arrived and announced that he would like to hike up to Alp de Chaux to watch the sunrise… After the first few minutes of agreement and thinking of how lovely that would be,it set it that we were actually getting up very early to hike the very steep (for the time of day) slope up to Alp de Chaux the next day.
Bleary eyed and half frozen we arrived at the gusty summit.It was a lovely start to the day coupled with heading straight back to my still warm bed at Chalet Martin.
Across the Valley in Leysin where there is an amazing via ferratta which we like to drag people up from time to time. last month i took my Dad and brother up there, my dad coming from suffolk one o the flattest parts of the Uk and my brother living in Berlin certainly enjoyed the higher perspective we achieved from the summit.
We had a great day out.. Chuffs circled and ate from our hands
I took a couple of pictures from the ”Animated” decent path where in places you are as exposed as on the climb up but with no protection.. its pretty airy but very cool.
After our action packed day we kicked back and had a few games of ping pong on the deck outside Chalet Martin before a very restful nights sleep.
My brother and i decided to surprise my dad by sending him Paraglyding with local expert Christophe Smith. He has never done anything like this and is not very good at hieghts but he took to it very quickly and had a great time i was very proud of him.
Later on in the summer we took a trip down towards Lutry by lake Geneva and enjoyed a walk through the vineyards it was a lovely autumnal day and we found a very nice wine tasting place called Vinorama.
Nice wine from the area starting from Lausanne all the to Villeneuve in order from west to east,very organised !
We then wobbled back through the Vinyards taking a few cheeky short cut through the snakes and ladders ..
Into October the weather here got pretty chilly and snowed for a few days.We all thought it was the start of the winter for sure.
But then it cleared up a little and we thought it would be a great time to hike out to Pont de Nant and climb through the scetchy hills about to the Petit Dent..
Gem on the Ridge walking up to the Petit Dent.
One of the slightly dodgy snow fields leading up to the summit with big cracks in between rocks covered by snow the others thought is safer to carry on by scrambling along the gullies edge..
View just below the summit as path up was covered in snow and best left alone unless we wanted an express sledge down.
Anyways that just about wraps it up for a few weeks.. winter is on the way and we are very much looking forward to alot skiing and snowboarding.. will be my first year of ice climbing aswell so will be keeping you posted on that see how we go!
Here are our adventures over the summer at good old chalet martin
Since I’m not very good with words I will be keeping my thoughts to a minimum and let the pictures do the talking …
Not a bad place to be working (the view from the office)
Via Ferrata fun!
We also had some great days out on the vfs in the area.
Solalex love!
Solalex is a beautiful national park just 15mins from the hostel, we spent allot of time up there walking, climbing and slack lining.
The Solalex Fox it comes to eat your lunch!! or at least trys to
Climbing The Mirror 13 pitches of fun and hard work.
The descent down!!
Then there were the climbing trips…..
Our latvian friends at the crag…. making climbing look cool.
Holly climbing hard…
Our Friend Luke who came out with the Kentucky school group, can’t work out if he’s having fun or not.
Then there was the music..
We had a jazz band stay for the Monteux jazz festival and they put on an amazing show….
History of hip hop at the Monteux jazz festival
Sun set at the Monteux jazz festival.
so thats it so far from Chalet Martin.
Oh Chalet Martin, how we miss thee. Beyond the wonderful people, friends, and travelers we met there, it is the holiday season that really makes us miss magnificent Gryon. The winter sports alone are legendary. The skiing and boarding kick ass and the snowshoeing was my surprise favourite for certain. It is absolutely stunning up there and it is difficult to keep your eyes on where you are headed down the slopes as the views are so beautiful. You can see all the way to France from the resort. Fabulous.
The holiday season in the Alpes also brings the wonderful Montreux Christmas market. They have what seems like hundreds of little huts lining the streets and waterfront offering Christmas goods and specialty treats, including Meg’s fave: vin chaud! They even have little cabins with big open fires in them that provide sustenance for a little warm up time. Some even have the biggest frying pans we have seen full of delicious looking Swiss delicacies. It is definitely a full day to explore a wonderful market in a gorgeous town.
One of our fondest memories was without question, Christmas dinner. Group dinners are a regular occurrence around Chalet Martin where everyone comes together to create a feast that would be the envy of many. The Christmas dinner, however, is one for the ages. Not only is there enough food to feed a small army, sharing this experience with so many friends from all over the world makes it particularly special.
Just writing this leaves me wanting to search for the next flight… sigh…
We went to Chalet Martin for a few months and stayed a year. Megan and I traveled for two years all together, staying in countless hostels all over Europe. Many of them were incredible places run by lovely people, but living at Chalet Martin was simply amazing. Not only is it the best hostel we have been to, the incredibly amazing staff and owners have become wonderful friends. We have already had a couple of reunions with the lifelong friends we made in Gryon – a couple of them even made it to our wedding this past summer in Canada! Living in a place with such a perfect atmosphere is truly special. While bonding with travelers of diverse origins and enjoying Switzerland’s natural beauty, our experience at Chalet Martin was unforgettable. We have made tons of friends from all over the world. Without trying to sound clichéd, our time in Gryon was certainly life changing and we cherish those memories more than anyone can know…
That’s it… where is my passport…
Am I correct to assume that skiing the Swiss Alps is on most peoples bucket list? Some of you are probably thinking to yourselves “yeah that would be great but there is NO way I can afford that and the Alps terrain will be WAY to hard for me”. wrong and wrong. Now you can afford this luxury with our great ski packages priced for adults or students, dormitory beds or private rooms, long or short stays. Whatever your preference may be, we have a package for you! On top of that there are ski runs here to fit everyone, yes even you beginners!
Chalet Martin is a quick 5 min train ride to the Villars Gryon ski resort. With over 120km groomed runs and 38 installations our ski resort offers something for everyone. The Villars-Gryon ski resorts official opening this year is December 18th with a special opening ski weekend on December 11th & 12th. Also, the resort is open all the way until April 25th so you can get in that last spring ski.
Check out the weather and book yourself in before the winter passes you by. We look forward to having you stay in our authentic Swiss Chalet where you will find a home away from home in Gryon.