Eight years ago, Richard and Xavier decided that enough was enough - rather than dream of a life in the mountains they were going to make it happen. This is their story!
Ascensus Ski, Les Carroz, Grand Massif
When I first met my French partner Xavier he told me that he was a keen skier and loved being in the snowy mountains! So, when in 2004 after a hard day at the office he told me that he had found us a great French resort, with skiing suitable for all abilities, a real mountain village and with a reliable snow history, I was eager but apprehensive as I had never skied before and don’t have a head for heights!
The village Xavier had chosen was Les Carroz, a village in the Grand Massif ski domain, with Geneva airport just 55 minutes away. We LOVED Les Carroz and could never tire of the many differing pistes and the stunning scenery with views of Mont Blanc. We also enjoyed the traditional mountain feel of the village, the hospitality and family friendly atmosphere of the bars and restaurants.
We loved it so much, we came back every year to Les Carroz for our annual end of January ski week and some years we even came back in March to ski and enjoy long weekends here!! We have stayed in self catering apartments; ski hotels; catered chalets owned by large tour operators, but we much preferred owner run catered chalets. Why?The owners had real pride in their accommodation; cooked excellent food and went that extra mile in terms of service.
In January 2012 at the end of yet another fantastic ski week with our ‘ski posse’ on the minibus transfer back to Geneva, Xavier said that was it, it was now or never, that when we get back to the UK, rather than the normal two weeks of feeling the blues from missing our ski adventures, we would put plans in place to quit our hectic London lives and our stressful City careers!!
In January 2013, having quit our jobs, sold our home and most of our belongings, we said our temporary goodbyes to friends and family. We drove in our small Peugeot, filled to the roof with what we thought we would need, plus our two Cairn terriers and our cat, Mitzi!! You guessed it, we had decided to see what opportunities we could find in Les Carroz – we wanted to Work to Live not Live to Work!
We began searching for what we thought would make the ideal chalet but nothing met our exacting criteria. So always having one eye open on the local property market, and with no experience of running a catered chalet we decided to rent a property and learn the role hands on. 3 years later our ‘Dream Property’ which we had already visited two times already was still for sale and we decided that we just had to have it – it felt like it had been waiting for us! A stunning renovated mountain farmhouse dating from 1877 with spacious accommodation next to a stream, just 2 minutes from the telecabine and village centre, that could welcome 16 people! So Chalet Ascensus was born!!
Winter 2021/22 will be our 10thYear! We welcome guests, mostly in winter, but also throughout the year as there are so many mountain activities to enjoy (not only skiing) from walking to mountain biking and visiting the beautiful nearby towns of Annecy and Geneva or even Italy!
A couple of winters past, after a busy Saturday changeover day, we had a chalet full of guests, one group of returning guests and two smaller groups of new guests. When, due to a heavy storm the entire electricity supply to the southern half of our village went out, including us!! We were just about to start putting dinner in the ovens and were serving guests welcoming drinks and canapes. In stunned disbelief but with our ‘game face on’, we asked the guests if they would prefer us to drive them to a nearby village for a hot dinner but after getting out loads of tealights, candles and torches. The various groups of guests were getting on so well that they said they would actually prefer to stay and eat a cold dinner – whatever we could provide in the comfort of the chalet and with the warmth of the open log fire. Needless to say, Xavier and I had lots of handwashing up to do later that night and the electricity was off for a total of 13 hours!! These Guests still return each year!
The best things we have found about running a chalet is making friends with new guests and their families and the personal satisfaction you feel in providing an excellent chalet experience. We also have immense pride in that we have several groups who return to stay with us year after year, who like us adore the Grand Massif and the comforts of Chalet Ascensus and the warm hospitality that Xavier and I provide. We have featured in numerous ski blogs and even the Telegraph on line!!
Check out Chalet Ascensus on Chalets Direct!
