Dark Matter and Neutralinos
Astronomical observations & experimental strategies
August 28 - September 9, 2005

Les Houches International Predoctoral School - Session XX
Scientific director Pierre Salati - LAPTH - Annecy - France

Presentation

Lecturers

Application

Participants

General Informations

Pictures

Version française

The village of Les Houches is nested in the valley of Chamonix right beneath the Mont-Blanc in one of the most dramatic parts of the french Alps. The session XX of the Predoc School series will take place in a hamlet of mountain chalets surrounded by meadows and woods located at an altitude of 1150 meters. Lodging and meals are provided to every participant. A library and a few meeting rooms are made available around the clock for students and researchers.

Arrivals are scheduled on Sunday August 28 in the afternoon whereas departures will take place on Friday September 9 after lunch. The registration fees include the lodging in single rooms as well as the three daily meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner). They amount to 450 euros for PhD students and to 650 euros for postdocs. They must be paid upon arrival to the secretary of the Les Houches conference center. A few fellowships will be granted to PhD students only in order to partially cover their registration fees.

















How to contact the Centre des Houches ?

Postal Address :
Ecole de Physique des Houches
La Côte des Chavants
F-74310 Les Houches
FRANCE

Telephone : (33) (0)4 50 54 40 69 - from Monday to Friday at office hours only.

Fax : (33) (0)4 50 55 53 25

E-mail : secretariat.houches@ujf-grenoble.fr

You may contact participants at meals hours - from 12h30 to 13h30 and from 19h30 to 20h30 -
by directly calling the restaurant of the conference center at (33) (0)4 50 54 41 24



Facilities

The School has the following facilities :

  • a small library with the main scientific journals and some reference books,
  • three working rooms with blackboards and an auditorium for 70 people,
  • projectors for standard slides and for transparencies,
  • a video projector for computers,
  • a video-tape recorder VHS + monitor multi-system (NTSC, PAL, SECAM),
  • a photocopy machine,
  • and a fax machine.


  • Your Stay

    Meals are taken at the school dining room. Drinks are not included.

    Coffee, tea (free!) and liqueurs are available at the cafeteria located just beneath the dining room.
    Breakfast : from 8:00 am to 8:45 am - Lunch : at 12:30 am - Dinner : at 7:30 pm.

    The cafeteria has a piano, baby-foots and table tennis. A few montain bikes are available.

    Participants are housed in chalets. All the buildings have now been renovated.
    Most rooms are single occupancy. However please read our warning.
    Electricity: AC - 50Hz - 220V.

    A flashlight is handy at night. The school chalets are scattered on the mountainside and outside light
    may be poor - power failures, storms and even star parties.



    Weather

    Weather is quite unpredictable at this altitude of 1150 m. Temperatures may range from -15 to 5°C in winter
    and from 5 to 25°C in summer. Sport clothes are preferable. Warm sweater(s), rain gear, good walking shoes
    and home shoes are necessary.

    You may have a look at the weather forecast at les Houches and in the Chamonix Valley.



    How to go to Les Houches ?

    For those who need a visa, please note that if you intend to come to Les Houches from Switzerland,
    you need both a Swiss and a French visa. A Schengen visa is not valid for Switzerland.


    By Local Buses from Geneva :

    The Les Houches Village is directly connected to Geneva airport by bus. For availability
    and timetables, click first on the Geneva airport web site, then on Public Transportation
    and eventually on Ski stations. You can then download the Aeroskibus timetable pdf file.
    You can also make an on-line reservation on the Altibus web site - if you understand french !

    From Geneva main bus station located at the center of Geneva to the Les Houches Village :
    take the bus going to Chamonix and get off at the stop Office du Tourisme - tourist center -
    of Les Houches. For the bus timetable, download the pdf file here and have also a look at
    the Geneva bus station website or at the tourist information center of Geneva.

    Note however that the bus service is not convenient. First, it is not frequent. Second, the bus
    stops in the village of Les Houches which is still 4 kilometers away from the School. If you
    do not want to climb on foot, we advise you to take a taxi. The fare amounts to about 12 euros.
    You need to make a reservation by calling (33) (0)4 50 54 41 76 or (33) (0)4 50 54 41 09.


    By plane :

    Geneva Airport is 1 hour driving from les Houches. There is a regular bus service between Geneva and
    Les Houches - see the section on local buses from Geneva.

    It is also possible to use a private limousine service but you need to make a reservation on the Airport
    Transfer System
    web site. A shared transfer between Geneva and the Chamonix Valley amounts to
    about 40 euros one way.

    For further updated information on Geneva airport, see the site of the airport.


    By train :

    From France, arrival at Les Houches railway station, with one change at Saint-Gervais. There are about 10 trains
    daily between Saint-Gervais and Les Houches whose railway station is about 5 kilometers from the Centre de Physique
    that is uphill. Once again, if you do not want to walk all the way up, we strongly advise you to take a taxi. The fare
    amounts to about 12 euros. You need to make a reservation by calling (33) (0)4 50 54 41 76 or (33) (0)4 50 54 41 09.

    For other fares, the updated train timetable and reservations, you can consult the French Railways site.


    By road :

    Les Houches are easily accessible from France - A41 highway - from Switzerland - by Martigny and Col des Montets -
    and from Italy - by the Mont-Blanc tunnel which has now been re-opened.

    From Geneva and Le Fayet : 8 kilometers before Chamonix, 300 m after passing under the second tunnel, bear right
    by the first road out for "Les Houches Les Trabets". When arriving at the cable car station "Bellevue", turn right
    and continue upwards - roughly 2 kilometers starting from the teleferic. 500 meters after the cable car station "Prarion",
    turn left and follow small arrows at crossroads. Continue up to the end of la route de la Côte des Chavants. There you are !

    From Chamonix : bear right for "Les Houches-Chef-Lieu", turn right in Les Houches, go ahead at the cable car station
    "Bellevue". Then proceed as above.

    Click here for detailed road maps. Cars may be rented from Geneva and from Chamonix, but making a reservation would
    be a save idea.



    What to do in Les Houches ?

    But following the lectures and studying of course !

    For those who would nevertheless need to relax, we suggest the observation of the night sky. Conditions are quite good
    at the School - when the sky is clear... - in spite of the lights of les Houches and Chamonix. As an example, here are
    pictures of Sagittarius and of the Hale-Bopp comet taken from the School :

    gif (175 Ko) jpeg (20 Ko) - gif (170 Ko)

    The Astronomy Club of Chamonix has good instruments and organizes very nice star parties in the mountains - at the col
    de Balme, 2200 meters - during summer. Contact Observatoire du Mont-Blanc, 67 Lacets du Belvédère, 74400 Chamonix
    and call 04 50 53 45 16.

    During the week-end, Chamonix and its surroundings are ideal for hiking and climbing.
    For more informations, click here or visit the Les Houches tourist information web page.