Chamonix Apres Ski Report: 10th April 2013

Oh yes, the almighty powers that be have declared that we are to enjoy an extra week of fun as Flegere has been given a new extended closing date of 28th April with reduced lift pass prices for the final week. Woohooooooooooooooooooooo! Les Grands Montets will be open until 12th May for some lovely slushy spring skiing (or just sitting in a deck chair and drinking beer).

Of course, more ski means more apres-ski, which can never be a bad thing. Apres seems to take on a new lease of life around this time of year - partly due to end-of-season panic partying and partly due to longer days and lighter (hopefully warmer) nights. Le Grand Vert last Saturday was a monster of a party, starting early with a BBQ and live music in the afternoon from An Ordinary Family and Charlotte & the OGs - both fine local bands that are worth a gander if you get the chance. Special guests were The Correspondents who blew the roof off with a totally surreal but utterly amazing mix of Jazz/Hip Hop/Drum'n'Bass/Electro thrown together with some eclectic outfits and inspiring dance manoeuvres, hopefully they'll be back again at some point. The rest of the night is a bit of a blur but I can assure you we all had a wonderful time. Despite being an "end of season" party Le Vert will be open throughout the spring and they often have BBQs on the terrace when the evenings get warmer, so don't write them off as being closed already!

Another "end-of-season-but-we're-not-closing-yet" party is the legendary Final Apres at Chambre Neuf this Friday - it will be your last chance this winter to rock with Ulfe and the boys before No Limits head back to Sweden, so give them a good send off. Dancing on tables, falling off tables, drinking beer, spilling beer, crowd surfing, raucous chanting... all obligatory.

Another upcoming date to add to your diary is I LOVE ELECTRO this Thursday at White Hub; DJ Gabe has been bringing the party to various nightclubs in France and the UK for the past 5 years, always delivering the best of French Touch, Electro-Rock, Indie and New Disco from bands like Vitalic, Boys Noize, Daft Punk, Soulwax and Cassius. Just 6€ on the door and open until 7am, give it a try while DJ Gabe's in town (ladies - he's pretty cute too...).

Back by popular demand are funk/jazz band Bronkenstein Connection. They played a few gigs in February and went down so well that they've been invited back to remind us how to get our groove on in Soulfood on Thursday and in Les Caves on Friday and Saturday. Their last gig in Les Caves had everyone busting out the funky moves well into the night, so expect more of the same this weekend.

In other news... the local train service is currently closed for 3 months until 28th June. The Mont-Blanc Express train line runs from St Gervais Le Fayet to Le Chatelard (just over the Swiss border); the Chamonix centre to Vallorcine section of the track has been closed all winter but now the entire line is closed while major improvement works are being carried out. These will hopefully result in an improved service with trains running every half hour in each direction, making it much easier to get up and down the valley without a car. Fear not in the meantime though as a replacement bus service is in place, you can find the timetable here.

Hotel Eden recently hosted an excellent (could say Eggs-cellent, but won't) Easter Sunday lunch. Due to popular demand they'll be serving up another Sunday Roast this 14th April from 1pm to 4:30pm, giving you plenty of time to work up an appetite on the slopes. Hotel Eden is 2 minutes walk from the Flegere cable car and there are regular buses that run back to Chamonix, so it's in a great spot for a late lunch and a few drinks after a good morning on the hill. I predict that they're going to be very much in demand so call Sven on +33 (0)670 16 53 39 or email sven1963@hotmail.co.uk to reserve a table.

Bon appetit!

All upcoming events can be found on our What's On Calendar.