From: "Jill Roth Alm" Date: March 19, 2008 9:44:02 AM PDT To: "'Jeff Johnston'" Subject: FW: Haute Route Ski Tour - Itinerary and Costs Jeff--let me know if you have other questions!   From: chris [mailto:chris@mountaintracks.co.uk] Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 11:05 AM To: 'Jill Alm'; 'Sayers, Susan J.'; lmanhart@u.washington.edu; jill@magicwheels.com; jonathan_hawkins@hotmail.com; jayashreesrini@hotmail.com; kary_s@excite.com; leif_hovin@excite.com; kenster_98144@yahoo.com; 'Monique Cherrier' Cc: susie@mountaintracks.co.uk Subject: Haute Route Ski Tour - Itinerary and Costs Hello Everyone!   Please find attached our spreadsheet with details of the itinerary and costs for your Haute Route Ski Tour at the end of March.   I hope the spreadsheet is easy to understand.  Each column has a note attached in row 2. Just place your cursor on the cell to read the comment! It took some working out and I hope it is all correct! Do let me know if you spot any errors or omissions.   Further explanations:   Dates are shown as DD/MM…sorry, just so much easier for us!   The following Exchange Rates have been used: Exchange Rate 1€ = 1.4670 Exchange Rate £1 = 1.9700 Exchange Rate 1 CHF = 0.9080   The transfers will be booked by us with ChamExpress and we will send you instructions for meeting the driver at Geneva Airport. Please note that wait times may be up to 90 minutes for the transfers as Chamexpress operate a fixed-time schedule. If your flight is delayed you may be bumped on to another transfer and there may be a supplementary €20 charge payable directly to the driver.   Everyone requires a night in Geneva as all outbound flights are in the morning. The journey time from Zermatt to Geneva is about 4 hours. There is usually at least 1 change required (in Visp and/or Lausanne). You can purchase tickets from the train station on the day of departure in Zermatt. If you would prefer us to book these for you in advance please let us know. The price is 92 CHF (about $84) for a second-class ticket or 153 CHF (about $140) for a first-class ticket.     Accommodation in Chamonix is in the Hotel Eden. Accommodation in Zermatt is in the Hotel Tannenhof. Accommodation in Geneva is in the Hotel Ibis. (The Holiday Inn Express was already fully booked.) I suggest that this is paid for by you each directly. If you are going to arrive at the hotel later than 1900 hours on your scheduled check-in date, you must reconfirm your booking in advance. I am happy to do this for you but in this case I will need to take full payment and I will pay the hotel direct.    Luggage Transfer is with Mountain Dropoffs. The price for 9 people is €380.   The final balance on the trip is due by 8th February 2008. Please contact me with your preferred method of payment.   A comment re money: Chamonix is in France where the Euro is the standard currency. From day 2 of the Haute Route onwards (including Zermatt and Geneva) you will be in Switzerland where the Swiss France (CHF) is the standard currency. You will therefore need to bring a mix of Euros and CHF. In Chamonix and Zermatt there are ATM machines where you can exchange money and credit cards can be used in most shops, restaurants, bars, hotels etc. During the tour you will need cash to pay for drinks and lunches in the huts. We suggest giving yourself a daily allowance of about $20-30 – more if you enjoy an extra glass of wine J - which equates to 15-20 Euros or 25-35 CHF.   Only 1 hut is in France (the Argentiere Hut), the rest are in Switzerland.   A final comment about Chamonix – you are all arriving 2-3 days in advance of the ski tour which starts with a welcome meeting and briefing with your guides on Saturday Evening. Skiing starts on Sunday. For your warm up days on Thursday/Friday/Saturday (and Sunday, day 1 of the tour), you will need to purchase a ski pass and there is a choice of two: The Chamonix Pass gives you access to the three main valley ski areas: Brevent-Flegere, Le Tour and Grand Montets. This pass costs €104 (about $150) for 3 days and €138 (about $203) for 4 days. The Mont Blanc Unlimited Pass is the ‘all-singing’ all dancing’ pass giving you access to all the ski areas in the Chamonix Valley. This pass costs €136 (about $200) for 3 days or €169 (about $248) for 4 days.   We can arrange these for you and have them waiting for you at the Hotel Eden. You can pay for them locally in Euros in the resort.  Please let us know if you would like us to arrange the passes for you.   The main difference between the lift passes is that with the MB Unlimited pass you have access to the Aiguille du Midi Cable Car which takes you up to the start of the Vallée Blanche. I suggest that this is a run you will want to do during your visit. The Vallée Blanche (VB) is a 12 mile off-piste route that starts at 3812 meters and, depending on conditions, finishes either at the Montenvers mountain rail terminus or in Chamonix itself. The standard route down is a very straightforward run suitable for intermediate skiers. We’d suggest one of the alternative routes down for your group – more exciting and avoids all the traffic! The terrain is heavily glaciated and whichever route you follow, it should only be skied in the company of a qualified Mountain Guide. Weather permitting we would suggest doing this run on Friday as it does get very busy at the weekend. We can arrange a guide for you (you’ll need 2 guides for your group) and the cost is $110 per person. Places need to be reserved in the cable car which the guide would arrange.  Please let me know your thoughts on this suggestion.  Again this could be paid for locally in Euros in the resort.   We will be sending out joining instructions with all relevant contact details and other relevant info 2 weeks prior to your arrival in Chamonix.    I think that’s all for now. Do contact me if you have any questions and I look forward to your thoughts on lift passes and guide for a VB day.   Best wishes Chris   Chris Parks
Mountain Tracks
250 York Road
London
SW11 3SJ
USA Tel: +1 201 863 1798 UK Tel: +44 20 8123 2978
France Office: +33 450 341 457
chris@mountaintracks.co.uk
www.mountaintracks.co.uk
Skype: chrismountaintracks