J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by msej449

And another - slightly tangential - thing: it seems to me that Nendaz has been allowed uncontroled building expansion without equivalent investment in lift infrastructure. The place is massive but there's only an old draglift and small télécabine connecting it to the rest of the area. The (northern) Siviez-PlanduFou link is a new bubble, but they would have done better to uprate the (south-facing) Prarion-PdF first.

I wonder how much difference separate passes will really make? In practical terms, Nendaz is pretty isolated as it is, given the one antique cable-car connecting it to the outside world via Plan du Feu. I can't image that many people go there from the Verbier area. And Vaysonnaz/Thyon is similarly a bit of a slog - If you're based in Verbier/La Tzoumaz then by the time you get there, it's time to be thinking of getting back if you want any margin for lift closures or bad weather. And presumably the converse is true - you have to do a lot of skiing to get to the Col de Gentianes from Thyon.

For those of you who drive to Switzerland and shop en route:

As of 1/7/14 there are new import restriction rules for visitors to Switzerland. We were stopped yesterday for the first time in 10 years at a minor Border crossing and our car inspected and us questioned. They were mainly interested in food, furniture (oddly) and my DSLR equipment.

Full details are at
http://www.ezv.admin.ch/zollinfo_privat/04342/04343/05761/index.html?lang=en
but some key points:
- A limit of CHF 300 per person of goods recently purchased;
- Individual allowances can be aggregated, but ...;
- No one item more than CHF 300;
- Additional limits for certain foods, alcohol and cigarettes etc.

In particular not more than
- 1kg meat
- 5L alcohol of up to 18%
per person.

For those of you who shop en route in France you should be prepared to be questioned and keep these limits in mind. I'd suggest that any for any new-looking, high-value items, like laptops or DSLRs, you have the original invoice with you to avoid any arguments. And get your vignette before you travel rather than have to stop to buy one under the eyes of suspicious Border Officers.

The main aim, I think, is to deter Swiss residents from shopping over the border and foreign owners furnishing their apartments and chalets with UK and French meubles without paying Swiss VAT.

View this as the same as not having a tax disc in the UK. It's just a different way of funding the roads.

We were stopped 2 years ago in a hire car that hadn't had its vignette renewed. The police were indulgent and said we should stop and the next service station and get one. We then had an argument with the car hire return who just wanted to give us a credit note, not reimburse us, to which we said no, obviously. Really, you don't want the hassle - especially if you're driving back to GVA to get a 'plane.

If you're in your own car then compared to the cost of the fuel, tolls, insurance etc. a vignette seems reasonable to get access to the Swiss autoroutes. If you don't want to pay, then you can opt to use alternative roads.

1st Feb.2014 - In Verbier all this week. Temperatures have been below 0ºC at 1500m all day, until today, so surface conditions on piste have been very consistent and pleasant to ski on. Although in a few places it's begun to wear thin. Fresh snow yesterday in Veysonnaz and this afternoon across the whole area, with some more forecast tonight and in the morning. Temperatures a bit higher today at +2ºC on the balcony at 1500m but forecast to drop again after tomorrow.

Hire cars at Geneva Cointrin should all carry a motorway 'vignette' - These expire every February. Occasionally, the Geneva car hire people miss replacing the vignette, so it's worth checking. The Swiss police are very hot on picking up and stopping people without them. The 2013 vignette is no longer valid - it must be a 2014 one.

The financing point is well-made: A lot depends on whether you can finance the capital sum independently of the rental income. Apartment rental will usually pay for running costs and a maintenance fund. But rentals are unlikely to cover a mortgage. Counter-intuitively, it seems more feasible to pay mortgage costs on a chalet - but this needs a high proportion of bookings over a long period. Ideally, chalets should be catered, which can be difficult for a UK owner. The UK owners I know in our village seem to fit this model - those with apartments rent, but it's more 'casual'; the ones with chalets work hard to rent them out as much as possible.

Actually, I agree on two counts: First, I hate it when you have the majority of cars with their lights on, but a minority with them off - it's so easy to miss a car that's blending in with the background. Second, now that the majority of cars have automatic lights anyway, those with them off are usually in a minority in poor light conditions and ideally, should conform just to make things consistent.