I’m currently scoping off-piste trails in the portes de soliel for my summer alps trip. I have planned routes of the col du coux, but looking at this map and google earth there looks to be some nice trails from the Col de bassachaux leading back to lindarets/ardents. Also heading north along the gr5 to chatel could be an alternative to the ppds route?!
I will be getting the vtopo book for other routes but any advice on these would be great 🙂

I don’t know about the trails to Lindaret, but the path from the top of the bike park lifts to Col de Bassachaux is marked very explicitly as walkers only – weather that bothers you is up to you. It’ also very technical – bit like UK technical – rocks and drops rather than fast with berms though and I expect some would need walked up at least.

The GR5 from there is quite technical at first before becoming double track into the Nature reserve park (where the big mountain is, can’t remember what it’s called, but it’s fairly obvious being huge and all). To get back to Chatel is either down into the same valley Pre la Joux is in (steep, non technical), straight to Chatel there are two ways – one is ultra difficult, and the other is a series of steep switchbacks through the woods that drops straight down the mountain. The GR5 is also very steep and takes you just beneath Chatel – I’ve only seen it from the top and it looked a bit mad.

If you get the French equivalent of an OS map of the area all of these trails are very very well marked.

There’s loads of walking trails that would make superb natural riding though – much of it very technical. The problem (for me at least) was that quite often it becomes too difficult very quickly!

I am crap though – if you’re good, there’s some great potential – and you’d be away from the Brits-abroad-storm-trooper set…

I was thinking of taking the panoramic trail until the hairpin then the last bit of cheeky down to the col. Im up for riding cheek but I fear the route could be a popular walking route up from lindarets. I dont mind a bit of tech but nothing super steep and exposed, looking at the map again the chatel side does look rather steep in places!

On a quiet day it should be ok but a sunny weekend and it’ll be pretty busy with walkers. We’ve traversed across to the bottom of the track to Linderets. It was ok. Not very tech for most of it. The GR5 looks interesting but I expect it’ll be a bit steep in places and bypasses the best bit of the PDS route.

A fellow STWer was taken by a guide from the Col to Les Roulainnes on your map and then down what he said was a very steep (in places) trail to the Lake.

If you send me an email (in profile) I’ll send you some stuff, there are some threads on here about Les Gets/Samoens which is one route I’ve done and which is excellent, well worth taxi / logistics to get back.

one we did was to drop down from top of rochassons lift on to GR5, and traverse that to col de bassachaux, and keep going on the Ardent side to Les Roulainnes. (Honestly don’t remember what any of that bit was like). Then drop down towards La Barme. We traversed back to goat village, which iirc ended up as an easy track, but i thought there was a decent descent straight down.

was on hardtails, so whatever we did must have been pretty easy, or we walked. memory is a bit hazy now, but that part of the day didn’t stand out as being particularly spectacular in terms of trails, else I’d remember.

Cheers jambalaya, email sent. this looks like that les Roulainnes route 🙂