This is a little bit early but it's going to take alot of planning.

I want to push myself next year so I've decided I'm going to ride roughly from the matterhorn to morzine, where i'll join my mates for some lift assisted riding.

Basically I plan to carry my own supplies, but I'll be staying in mountain huts were possible getting away from civilistion. I did it walking for my d of e gold and it was one of the best experiences I've had.

So a few questions:

Has anyone done this before, where can I buy maps, are there any other sources of information about this. I know there are guides who do this but i'd prefer as much as possible to organise and plan this, either on my own or with anyone else who wants to do it.

Does anyone want to do this?

That sounds like an ace ride (gutted i dont think i will be able to come with but i am ment to be getting married next year)

sorry i cant help you with the info hunting, but i would like to here how you got on just incase i want ed to do it my self, i really like adventure riding 🙂

Good luck mate 🙂

I have never done anything like this before, except the d of e bit because that was overlookd by our teachers.

I keep reading in magazines about these epic rides, and decided why not, with enough preperation I should be able to do it.

When you say Matterhorn so do mean from Zermatt itself or actually from the base of the Matterhorn? You can cross over into Saas-fee via the Monte Rosa route but not on a bike that's for sure!

I imagine any trip like that will be mostly an epic hike-a-bike!

You could ride from the base of the Matterhorn, down through the Mattertal to the Valais, then along the Valais and up to Champery and through the Portes Du Soliel i guess. That could be great fun.

Well it doesn't hve to be the matterhorn, but for the time being until i tie down a route then anything goes just ending up in morzine is good because i'll be meeting mates with my stuff and my dh bike.

Evening bump

There is the haute mountain bike route, from Zermatt to Chamonix (although usually the other way round), which I think could be followed for a few days, before changing course to Morzine. Several companies run it as a package, but I haven't found a decent route guide for it to do solo.

Its something I fancy doing myself and was going to plan something for next year so I may be able to hook up for a few days riding if we can match times. One problem is as I see it is not just to have a single route, but a high and low route for each day to allow for weather conditions.

Maps from Swisstopo (Switzerland) and IGN (France). Facewest.co.uk sell the appropriate ones as well, I think.

I did a 3-day hut-to-hut trip with a group a couple of weeks ago BTW. It was great fun – we used quite a lot of uplift (but still come climbing) to get the most singletrack out of things, although cr*p weather on what should have been the biggest day did restrict things a bit.

Hut to hut in the Alps is so nice, as you don't have to carry loads and loads of gear/food. We ate lunch in valley restaurants in between and had breakfast/dinner in the huts. Change of clothes and a sleeping bag liner is all you really need to carry beyond normal riding kit.

stevomcd, thats along the lines i was planning, need to figure out a route, i know there will be days without uplifts, but i will use them where possible.

What distance were you covering a day?

We did about 110km or thereabouts over 3 days, but it was a bit unbalanced. First day about 30km with around 800m of climbing. Van uplift to the start (2200m) and a 1000m uplift in the middle. 2nd day about 60km with again about 800m of climbing (and a LOT of uplift! All the way through Les Arcs & La Plagne). 3rd day about 20km, all downhill! Distances (sort of) include lifts.

The second day was tough, as big a day as I've ever done with a group and with really tough weather conditions (heavy rain most of the day, turning to snow at the top of our final climb later on – so much for weather forecasts!).

http://www.grande-traversee-alpes.com/en/my-journey/by-mountain-bike.html

Not sure if this is of any help but it covers some long distance stuff in the area.

Be interested to see how you get on.

Good luck

I'd also be interested to know how you get on.

The bf and I did St Gingolph (Geneva) to Nice on a trans alps / off road / self supported mtb epic / jolly about a month ago. We stayed in huts/gites/refuges along the way. Think it was about 600km and took us about 2 weeks – we followed the GR5 for about 60% of it. Brilliant, rewarding holiday!

Elsa,

How much of the gr5 is rideable, it seems good to base my route on something which already exists to stop myself getting lost.

MSP the more the merrier

get the maps wfrom http://www.stanfords.co.uk We have done quite a few such trips they are tops. Done Obertsdorf to Venice, Obertsdorf to Garda, Garmisch to Garda etc. Next July is supposed to be Geneva to Nice. Have got all the maps already and just started the planning.

C

Couldn't tell you as we only followed the bits of the GR5 that we thought were rideable i.e. 60%. Even then there was plenty of pushing and carrying, but thats all part of it – you are traversing the Alpes after all.. We used Memory Map and Google Earth to help us.

GR5 does pass through the Vanoise national park, where mountain bikes are not allowed. Drop me an email if you want and I can give you some good alternatives (certainly better than riding up the road from Bourg Saint Maurice to the Col de l'Iseran, which is what a lot of tourers seem to do!).

FYI Ash from http://www.trailAddiction.com (sapaudia on this forum) once road (or rode, and carried!) the entire length of the GR5, unsupported – if you ever need any info on that, I guess he's your man.

Just got back from a few days riding the last few days of a "Chamonix Zermatt"

I'll write it up over the next few days

P1120407 by endlessride, on Flickr

It all depends how much hike a bike you are willing to do.

No hike a bike in Switzerland.

CIMG1428 by endlessride, on Flickr

I've added a video of our trip

Might well be worth a chat with the guys at "the map shop" in Upton on Severn. Funnily enough it sells maps (for everywhere) but they have a reasonable knowledge of some of the alpine and otherwise adventures that people have taken on over the years.

If you have even a slight "Wunderlust" then it is a fantastic place to spend an afternoon just looking at where you can go!

The problem with this type of trip is the number of maps you need. I use the Swiss mapping software on my computer, print out the route on multiple A4 sheets and keep the relevant sheet in my pocket as I navigate. This method only works if you have an idea of the route before you set off.

P1120306 by endlessride, on Flickr

Cheers for all the info, I'll email a few off you who have offered help, once I have got a route, i'll pick your brains to refine it.

The pics and videos have certainly confirmed that i really want to do this.

I'll keep this updated as I go along.