Hey,

where is the best place to ride in the alps for a weeks holiday? Skill level of black runs at trial centers around the uk.

Don’t want full on down hill, but some steep rocky descents are always good 🙂

Cheers

Rob

I’m sure loads of people will say Morzine. It was good when I went but a little too heavy on full downhill type runs. Anyone been to Sainte Foy?

To echo the comment above, I’ve done a fair old bit in the pds over the years. I would say that the morzine les gets side is better than chatel for lift assisted trail riding. However, each year, each village tries to regain the “most extreme” crown so the whole area seems to-be getting a more dh focus. The other thing I’ve notices is that when it rains in the UK, our man-made stuff is still ridable, not really the case in the pds though as everything seems to be carved out of clay. Bumped into some guys last year who did a tour and chatel was the area they were least impressed with.
Personally, I’ll be looking for somewhere other than pds this year but in true stw style, someone will be along to tell me I’m wrong and it’s the best place ever.

I’ll be watching this thread with interest though as I’m keen to hear of alternatives.

anywhere with a chairlift that runs in summer will be ace.

la clusaz / bourg st maurice / serre chevalier / verbier are all good alternatives to the Portes-du-soleil braking-bumps and ‘VTT interdit’ signs.

there are many, many, many more.

we did the 3 valleys last year there was limited lifts on some days but some great riding mainly natural stuff and you’ll need a guide to get you to the best stuff went with a company called pleisure who did free a free guide

Sainte Foy with The White Room is sensational. I went last year and have rebooked this year…the riding up there is simply spectacular. Ive also been that way with Trailaddiction and they were good as well. You cant go wrong with either. Tons of singletrack, both the fast flowing type and the super technical rocky type as well. Nothing ive ridden in the UK comes close.

I love Morzine but I haven’t been anywhere else and if you don’t want purely DH runs then I would consider somewhere else, however there are some good XCountry runs locally too which are well signposted. I would say if you go to Morzine/PdS region don’t bother going with an orgnised company it is so easy to find your way around and there are so many hotels/chalets available to rent.

Les Arcs area, holds up better than Morzine if you get rain IMO + not full of power rangers 😉

Les arcs for me but you really need a guide to get the best of the area. trailaddiction are the best people, they’ve been doing these kind of holidays longer than anyone else in the area. accomodation, food etc is great.

And go early season – the braking bumps get evermore silly as the season progresses.

Only been to Les Gets, Morzine and Les Arcs but Les Arcs is by far the best if you want steep and rocky and not a lot of DH runs. A guide is needed to get the best out of the area though.

We went to morzine for a week this year and rode at les gets bike park on the dh runs for two days then did a cross country loop one of the other days. There is lots around morzine and I think anywhere round there will be stunning cos the alps are just so beautiful. As said above its all well sign posted and if you go mid season I bet it will be busy all over so there will be people to point the way. We went the week before everything opened really although the big lifts were going and it was already very busy on the dh runs. We did a few walks on the other days and the trails we walked would be fun on a bike too which was around le praz de lys. Enjoy-I cannot wait to go back. Wish we’d stayed longer but we wanted to spend the second week dossing around the wino regions eating cheese!!! Very mucho fun 🙂

In the Alps Les Arc/TrailAddiction is fantastic, but don’t forget about the Pyrenees too – AQuickRelease have some great stuff going on!

What dates do the lifts open up ?

Usually first week in July although some resorts may vary and in the first week everything might not be open.

sospel… However you’ll have pedal 😈

Hi Giddy Rob,

I’ve only been to Les Gits and Whorescene in France and can testify thats its pretty DH focussed though you will still have a great time. From what I have heard the other resorts in the France may have more to offer you? Places like Les Deux Alpes and Chamonix and some that spring to mind. Does it have to be France? There are loads of other places in Europe to ride? Dolomites? Slovenia? There are choices galore! You will probably get quieter more natural terrain and the holiday cost may be cheaper as they are less popular?

If your really keen look at getting hold of this book for some inspiration, the Author is Rowan Sorrell who may be an ex World Cup DH’er but he knows what people like to ride and doesnt miss out on any of the other important details (like prices, best type of bike to take, getting there etc) it could be a worthwhile investment?

Rowans bookie wookie

White room or Riviera over Morzine any day but I am 40+

White room or Riviera over Morzine any day but I am 40+

Over 40 and in need of a strong pair of glasses 😉 the OP said “french alps”, and as much as I like adi, he’s riding in italy.

+ 1 for Les Arcs / Bourg St Maurice

Bike Village in Landry near Bourg very good, and Sam (the owner) certainly knows some top routes!!!

No, my name is not Sam 😉

I enjoyed my stay with Trail Addiction.

Trimix,the lifts open officially the weekend of passportes which is the last weekend in June.

Morzine is great but you need to do some leg work/research to find the best trails. I was a bit disappointed with the fairground like DH trails. They are great fun but do not have much “Alps” about it, just big long tracks. Off the beaten track there are some great trails. It is just not very easy to find them, for example there does not seem to be many GPS routes logged. There are some great trails in the VPO (I think thats what its called) Portes du Soliel guide book if you can get past the bad English. I am a reluctant to tell you you great trails we found as one of the reasons they where good it that not many people had biked on them!

I think that there are trails in say the Lakes give any trail I went on in the Alps a good run for the money so thats where I am going this year.

Don’t underestimate Morzine, it’s class! The riding there has a unique atmosphere, though the hills aren’t as big as other places. You do need to dig around a bit though and not just show up on the day if you want to hit the best stuff. Get an IGN map. The ridemorzine website is a great source of ride ideas and also make contact with Torico Morzine. The greatest ridge descent I’ve ever done is near Champery but I think it’s cheeky and brutal (but rideable, and fun) in the wet. Ridemorzine has details. I get the sense that I missed a lot of the best stuff there. It’s frustrating but people are cagey about publicising the good stuff and that’s understandable. Torico do regular social rides from their shop I think.

Chamonix good if you like rocky stuff.

Vanoise National Park looks amazing, but mtbing is banned. Does anyone know if this is enforced?:

(source: http://serge.courseapied.net/billet.php?idbillet=4958)