Morning all!

We are considering alternatives to morzine for next year’s summer holiday. Ideally we would like to be based in the same place for 10-14 days and not have to travel to trails. We would like somewhere where the trails are well marked. Any suggestions? Basically the same set up as the portes du soleil but a different location.

Hmm, travelled a fair bit around there. There is much better riding to be had but I can’t think of anywhere that has enough for 10 – 14 days without travelling between venues.

Les2Alps has quite a lot if you like open tracks but is generally full of braking bumps and doesn’t have much tech stuff.

If you want minimal travelling I would be looking at a montgenevere, pila, les arcs road trip. Think that would do 10 days, not sure if you could spread it to 14.

Just spent a little time in Saalbach Hinterglemm in Austria. Fantastic place really. It reminds me a little of Morz/les in that it’s two towns, higher and lower and you can reach both through a network of 5 lifts.

Lots of choice for trails. You can ride up and over into Leogang and if you were able to travel, then the likes of Semmering and Schladming are reachable.

I loved it there and wish we had more time but it was just a stopover on a road trip.

Hackleberg trail, a 6km descent was a highlight. X-line was another.

Cool place.

Thanks guys!

What do people think of alpe dhuez or les arcs as a base?

Will you have a vehicle?

Yes, we will be heading over in the van but once we reach our base we would rather not have to drive to the trails if possible. Having said that, if we can ride in the same area for the majority of the holiday we wouldn’t mind the odd short journey to another resort on 1 or 2 days.

There’s nowhere else with the same level of extensive lift and marked trail network as the PdS.

Best thing would be to hop between Pila, Verbier, Alp d’Huez etc I reckon. There are other smaller resorts worth a look too.

I’ll check back in 3 weeks. I’m off to San Martino di Castrozza in the Dolomites. (It’s a work trip too, life’s tough in the holiday business). Discoverdolomites are doing the guiding, trip report once I’ve been.

Alp DHuez as base ?

Although you can access down to Allemont and Bourg Doisans, some great Enduro trails opposite Alp DHuez accessed from Bour Doisans, 10 days means you would be repeating lots. Alp DHuez can be poor weather often. Also, when you get ten mins of light rain on alp DHuez trails they become very slides and not worth riding.

I would suggest basing yourself in The Briancon area, less than an hr for – Alp DHuez, Les Deuxs Alpes, Montegenevre, Vars, Les Orres and Xc further south and in the valleys if poor weather above. Also Serre Chevalier and Puy St Vincent and Risoul. Although not ridden in these resorts so no opinion.

The riding in Verbier and the backcountry stuff in the surrounding area is absolutely amazing, but you’ll defo need a guide/transport to get the best out of it.

http://www.bikeverbier.com are the people to contact – great outfit with lots of very satisfied guests on here.

I’ve ridden in Morzine the last two years but I’m off to Andorra in a couple of weeks so I’ll let you know how they compare after 🙂

Andorra as mentioned is fantastic. A base for ten days though I’m not sure. With a van though you can scoot across to La Molina in Spain too. That’s wicked fun.

I would take 10 days with ride slovenia.
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/great-week-with-rideslovenia

Looks like a resounding ‘no’ then. We keep looking at alternatives but nowhere seems to have so much in one area.

Trip to the Dolomites was good. I displayed world class mincing on some of the downhill sections. Steep rooty, drop-off switchbacks are not my thing. There would appear to be enough for 10 days riding, you may need a taxi return for some of the routes. Loads of routes up to nearly 3000m with some serious penalties for failure on the WW1 supply routes. Pics and more details to follow. The local maps will have all the trails in them. San Martino has a 6km long 1000m drop bike park to play on too €15 a session.

Meribel would be a good bet. Varied trails, well marked, quiet compared to Morzine and under two hours to Les Arcs, St Foy, Tignes, Les Saisies and loads of trails easily accessed locally but not on the trail map.

Split it up with a guided/shuttled week with someone like WhiteRoom in the Les Arcs area get shown around all the good stuff, to the trails that need a driver and then pick off the best bits by yourself in the second week.

Given how popular Morzine is with bikers it’s surprising no other resorts have tried to mimic it. I suppose compared to winter season even Morzine is like a ghost town so the money isn’t there. Can’t complain I suppose. We pay around £1300 for a chalet that is £5000 in winter.

As I mentioned we have looked for alternatives as we’ve ridden PdS a lot but still haven’t found anything. That said this year we did more exploring and found some great ‘new’ trails. Plenty of life in the old resort yet.

Given how popular Morzine is with bikers it’s surprising no other resorts have tried to mimic

The low altitude and lack of some massive mountains gives it a real advantage in terms of the area accessible. It’s easy to link resorts in a way that requires a car/van/shuttle in other areas. I think it’s why outside of those areas the guided chalet holidays are ruling over the roam where you like. For trail riding I much preferred the stuff in Les arcs/St Foye/La Thuile and surrounding areas but a lot needed a magic van to appear and pick you up and drop you at the top of the next 30/40 minute trail. It also doesn’t turn to slop when it rains.

I would say Meribel too. We’ve been there twice and the riding is great. Loads to go at and so much quieter on the trails than in a Morzine.
There is a massive area to cover and it seems a lot more varied, more so if you don’t mind not just riding downhill all day. There are some great tours that link in with the lift network.

Don’t expect the same “buzz” in the resort though. It’s a lot quieter than Morzine, (which is brilliant for the riding.)

Have you thought about splitting the holiday in two? So a week in one place and a week in another?
Les arcs has some amazing trails and would definitely keep you busy for a fortnight with a guide assuming you want trail bike rather than full on dh bike trails but you need a guide to get the best from the area.
Pila over the hill is great for a few days, alpe d’huez or suaze d’oulx too. But there aren’t many places where a full week is easily spent. Staying in aosta at the bottom of the valley below pila is great too, lovely italian food and a proper town/city rather than a ski resort. Lift runs to the top and then 11km dh at the end of the day back totown.

We’ve taken to doing a road trip hitting lots of spots for a day or two to get the most from them.

Meribel, as long as you don’t mind pedaling.
Chamonix if you don’t go July/August and you don’t mind pedaling.

We keep pondering the same question, as we’ve been to Morzine 8 years running now. Definitely wanting somewhere else.. but we hear most places are good for 2-3-4 days at most (Pila, Les Arcs, etc) but not enough for a whole week of DH only.

If you want dh only, do a road trip. I guarantee after doing so you’ll realise that the trails in the PDS really aren’t that great! So many places in through Europe with great trails. Go explore!

Europe -as per kayak23 Austria recommendations. All fantastic riding.
Or get your arse to Whistler.

Like the others have said.. if you don’t want to do much pedalling or much looking at ign maps then the PdS is great.

There are far better places to ride if you are prepared to pedal + look at ign maps + have a quiet time in the evenings.

Rode a couple of days in Meribel this summer, and a few in Valloire – some really top stuff in both places. Meribel has a few lifts, and a bus from Brides les Bains up to resort that takes bikes. Courchevel the same. Think the 3 valleys link up the lift system on some days of the week. No lifts or busses on saturdays (obviously.. why would you open on Saturdays?.. )

TBH most places outside of the PdS have funky lift opening hours, close at lunch, and generally lack in the whole resort to resort lift infrastructure that the PdS has.. But that’s what makes it popular, and what makes the quieter resorts more appealing for me at least (having just left Morzine after 8 years living there)

Well I’ve just got back after a week riding in Andorra and the whole week was with Single Track Safari the riding was amazing the best I’ve ever done.

Lots of climbing so if you don’t want that look at their gravity weeks but for me it was true All-Mountain riding over natural terrain that pushed my skills to their limits.

Martin the guide (and owner) was one of the nicest blokes you could ever wish to meet.