Morzine, capital of the Porte du Soleil, spans a dozen ski locations and lots of of kilometres of pistes alongside the French Swiss border. It’s simply over an hour’s drive from Geneva Airport, and there’s some nice snowboarding primarily based across the city. What’s vital is that the resort has a year-round life that features much more than simply sliding downhill. In these unsure winters, that’s simply as nicely, as a result of the city is situated at 1000 meters, which is on the low aspect. It signifies that the snow is on no account assured within the valley all winter.

The large benefit for Morzine is that simply above it and reached immediately by carry is snow-sure Avoriaz, at 2500m the very best village within the Port Soleil, the place snowboarding is nearly assured all through the whole season. In fact, you’ve come to Morzine to ski, however as we discovered, you don’t should do all of it day lengthy.

One morning we determined to hike, following the trail of the river to get to the Nyon télépherique. It was a couple of half-hour’s stroll in gorgeous surroundings. As soon as up the mountain, it’s only a 5 minute cable-car trip away. The birds of prey stay up beside the Pointe de Nyon mountain restaurant on the prime of the cable-car. They’re housed in big cages inside an aviary that’s nicely shielded from the wind. Eva Meryier is the chook lady of Morzine, a 32-year-old biologist who takes care of this extraordinary numerous assortment of birds that stay right here, in addition to these in her sanctuary on the shores of Lake Geneva, far under.

A condor within the aviary at Morzine. Picture: © F.Hardy

We got thick leather-based gauntlets, and the birds appeared fairly completely happy to perch on our arms, offered we stored nonetheless and didn’t attempt to clean ruffled feathers. They don’t like being petted. You possibly can even handle to help a 4 kilo eagle in your arm, however the South American condor weighs a mighty 13 kilos. Eva is aware of each one among her birds by title and takes care of all of the eagles right here.

“We now have just a little bit lower than ten folks,” she mentioned. “It’s a small firm, and I’m taking care of the birds and all the gathering half with the breeding and naturally, the paperwork, as a result of we now have to. Right here on the mountain we now have solely 13 birds, however truly within the park the place all of the birds are, we now have 320 birds. We now have all the pieces from the little falcon to the massive Andean condor, owls additionally, and we now have the biggest assortment in Europe; we now have 80 species in our park.”

We requested her what they feed on and he or she mentioned: “We solely have raptors, so that they eat solely meat and fish. To offer you an thought: for a chook of just about one kilo eats solely 100-120 grams. She will eat all the pieces from mouse to beef, chicks additionally.

We then requested how lengthy it takes to coach a chook. She replied: “We depend two years to have a totally educated chook.Individuals working with them should have a glove they usually have additionally just a little rope to make certain that the chook doesn’t escape if it doesn’t know the people who find themselves holding them. When it’s with us, they’re so educated and so used to us in order that’s all proper. And after there are some guidelines: you may’t pet them, they don’t prefer it and subsequently they chew. So you need to have a particular place together with your glove and don’t attempt to contact the chook. Hopefully they’re educated.

“So in the beginning it’s like with a canine or with a horse, you actually have to coach them. So that you go farther and farther and farther and it’s at all times with the identical particular person. And after, when they’re fully educated, after all they’ll fly away for a short while as a result of that’s what is gorgeous with our work. They will escape if they need. We don’t have any hyperlink bodily with them, however they at all times come again. They’re so used to have meals immediately from the human that they like to not run after a rabbit or one thing. They like only for us to present them meals. However truly we now have a reintroduction program right down to the lake with the white-tailed sea eagle. You have got reintroduced them within the UK already, truly. And this yr we now have 4 of these little eaglets who got here again to the wild and now we’re positive that they know find out how to fish and find out how to hunt.

Holding a raptor. Picture: F.Hardy

“We’re fortunate as a result of we now have a gondola to go immediately within the restaurant. Subsequently they’ll come at any time when they need. On daily basis when there may be good climate folks can see the birds simply right here in entrance of the restaurant. It’s fully free right here to the mountain. In the event that they wish to eat on the restaurant, it’s higher to ebook. But when folks simply wish to come to see the chook, to attempt to maintain them it’s fully free. If you wish to maintain them, you simply should ask the falconer or the tourism workplace. They usually say, ‘Okay, we wish to go at the present time.’ And usually we now have three folks that may do that each day. Kids can maintain the birds as nicely, from 12 years outdated. Any youthful and they’re generally just a little bit afraid or they’re a bit too tiny.”

We’re requested to carry the birds with our arm up at chest degree, and it’s fairly powerful to carry it there for any size of time. It weighs possibly three or 4 kilos.
One of many owls, Ezekiel, is a primary cousin of Hedwig of Harry Potter fame. Then there’s a Harris’s hawk from Latin America.

Eva says: “We suggest an animation the place folks can fly the chook. So it has just a little little bit of meals, and the chook goes on the glove of the particular person and after goes again to his falconer. And you are able to do it as much as thrice.

So in case you come to Morzine the one factor you will need to do is have the chook expertise. It’s fully free.

Chalet Alpaga 1, set above Morzine

We stayed in Morzine with a chalet firm known as Alikats. We met up with proprietor Alistair Decide, who lives within the resort, and requested him how the corporate received its uncommon title.

“I’m Al, my spouse’s Kat, and it was my dad’s thought. After we have been considering via names of firms, we wished to keep away from the type of customary mountain chalet firm names that concerned the phrase alpine or mountain or lively or journey or issues like that. So we thought one thing that might be distinctive, and my dad got here up with the concept and it caught.

“We began in 2011 with only one chalet – a catered chalet – and we now have 4 catered chalets and eight self-catered chalets within the winter. This yr we’re carbon impartial, which suggests we now have offset the entire carbon emissions related to our enterprise. We’re waste impartial, so we now have offset all of the waste generated by our enterprise. We’re additionally zero meals waste, which signifies that we don’t put any meals within the bin. It’s fairly a giant operation to have the ability to handle all that waste. So everybody who works for us, one of many causes that they do work for us is as a result of they’re additionally dedicated to sustainability.

“We got here to Morzine as a result of we wished to be someplace that was a year-round working city, not only a ski resort. We wished to be someplace that was going to be straightforward for us to get again dwelling. Sure, that’s much less of a difficulty today, however that was undoubtedly a part of our considering. Loads of the ski resorts within the Tarentaise are three, three and a half hours every method. So for us, an hour and a half to Geneva makes it straightforward to get dwelling. We infrequently fly now and we try to do all of our journeys both in an electrical automotive or sometimes prepare.

“Many of the chalets are both air supply warmth pump or they’re simply pure electrical. And we do have one boiler in our dwelling that’s wooden pellets – in order that’s a great various. However a lot of the chalets are air supply warmth pump or electrical. In our self-catered chalets we do meal deliveries so folks can order from our kitchen, after which every day our staff arrives at about 4 or 5 within the afternoon with the meal for the night, plus reheating directions and takes the friends about half an hour or so to warmth it up and plate it up, able to go for the night.

“We compost all our greens and fruit, after which we now have one other system for animal-based merchandise. So meat, fish, cheese, butter, eggs, any of the waste from these elements of the menu. It’s known as a Bokashi system, which permits us to anaerobically decompose the waste down for a number of weeks, at which level it then turns into secure. It’s not attention-grabbing to vermin, and we will then add it to the primary compost pile, which suggests we will mainly compost all of our meals waste, after which that goes again into the beds to then present vitamin for the following rising season.

Holding Hedwig’s cousin, the snowy owl. Picture: © P.Hardy

If you wish to know extra concerning the resort, go to en.morzine-avoriaz.com – and for the chalets it’s Alikats.eu A seven-night self-catered keep at Alikats Chalet Alpaga 1 is priced from €7,600 / £6,690 for 12 folks or €633 / £557pp. Learn extra right here about Les Aigles de Leman birds of prey.

Learn extra about Morzine right here. Hear an expanded model of this submit on the podcast Motion Packed Journey or examine it at Actionpackedtravel.com