Morzine update for 2011 « Singletrack Forum

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Morzine update for 2011

28 posts & 15 voices | Started 1 year ago by toons | Latest reply from buzz-lightyear

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toons - Member

Can't wait

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The Portes du Soleil resorts have all been busy upgrading and building new trails. Mountain biking in Morzine is going to be better than ever!

New for 2011:
3 new managed DH trails under the Zorre chair at Super Morzine
2 new blue and 1 new red graded DH trails in Les Gets
1 new blue and 1 new black graded DH trails in Châtel
Crosets II DH track and the Mossettes DH track rebuilt
AirBags in Lindarets, Châtel and Les Gets Bike Parks
New Fabien Barel coaching track and Marzocchi kids zone in Les Gets
New Bike Park in Morgins
New signage across the Morzine-Avoriaz-Montriond MTB trails.
New bike carry system for the Chaux Fleurie chair in les Lindarets

Posted 1 year ago #
GW - Member

loads of graded shit and new signs! yay! **** brilliant!!!

Posted 1 year ago #
toons - Member

Eh, to me that reads 8 new DH tracks!

You miserable bugger.

Posted 1 year ago #
legend - Member

actually Gary, the marked trails in Morgins are by far the best I've ever ridden! You should get yourself back out this summer

Crosets II DH track

that's another Ben Walker track (built the Morgins track and Champery WC track). I'll see if i can find the photos of it

Posted 1 year ago #
Ambrose - Member

Roll on July, I'll be there

Posted 1 year ago #
grum - Member

Hear such mixed reports about Morzine - I've never been but I suppose I should go and find out for myself what it's like.

Posted 1 year ago #
Ambrose - Member

It depends what you want from the place. I go for miles and miles and miles of superb XC with lots of lift assistance when I want it. I gather the DH stuff is pretty good too

Posted 1 year ago #
portlyone - Member

Ambrose - Member
Roll on July, I'll be there

plus 1 (well 3 in our group!)

Posted 1 year ago #
legend - Member

as promised, Croset II update photos taken in December

Posted 1 year ago #
Hob Nob - Member

I gather the DH stuff is pretty good too

If you don't ride the main tracks, otherwise its dull motorways.

Posted 1 year ago #
legend - Member

If don't ride the main tracks, otherwise its dull motorways

that'll be the sound of a man that's never done the blacks going into Pre La Joux (Chatel) or Morgins Those certainly are not motorways!

Posted 1 year ago #
GW - Member

Yeah, I know about Bucko n his Bro's amazing tracks, I was just being a whingeing misserable old bastard grumbling about signage and grading bollox. "oohh.. remember when it were all fields?" an that? :roll:.. I'm actually jealous as **** of you youngsters and your care free lack of comittments lifestyles. I will be spending 10 days in Brittany instead this summer, mostly wasted, ('least the drugs are better there )

Posted 1 year ago #
Blower - Member

well wish i was going this year,alas no work all year no money grr.

Posted 1 year ago #
Blackflag - Member

How long before those nice sweepy berms are ruined by excessive break bumps??

I'll still be going though!

Posted 1 year ago #
nickjb - Member

We're going in the last week of August so it'll be a bumpy mess on the downhill in Les Gets. The XC is always fantastic.

legend, hope you don't mind I've reposted one of your pics on facebook. Were they really taken in December. I'd expect more snow an less toplessness

Posted 1 year ago #
Hob Nob - Member

that'll be the sound of a man that's never done the blacks going into Pre La Joux (Chatel) or Morgins Those certainly are not motorways!

Granted, i'll give you Morgins, but not the PLJ trails!! The top trail into the PLJ bowl is dire, as is most of the bottom section. There is probably 3 trails in the middle woods worth riding. I prefer the lesser ridden steeper, more techy stuff, but everyone has their poison

We're not going to Morzine this year, unfortunatly getting married appears to have consumed a large potion of my holiday allowance for the honeymoon, so its a week for the Mega & thats it.

Interesting to see what they have done under the Super Morzine lift, as there is a lot of tracks under there, some of which are bloody steep - be interested to see how they make them more managable.

Posted 1 year ago #
legend - Member

How long before those nice sweepy berms are ruined by excessive break bumps??

again I'll need to go hunting for the stuff he put on Ridemonkey, but basically the courses he builds (yes, I would bare his children) are about as immune to braking bumps as you can get. Every berm effectively has a small roller on the way in that basically forces you to ride it properly, I didn't really believe it would work till I rode the trails last year - by far the best condition in the PDS!

Plus its a long old trek on a DH bike from Morzine

screw that, we always drive round for the day - much easier! Anywhere else in the area we'll just stick the (now dozens of) unofficial tracks. A lot of the Pre La Joux ones were just unofficial ones that have had signs put at the top and certainly on a par with Pleney and Super Morzine tracks (apart from the North Shore one, that's not my bag). But if you wanna get going proper fast then Morgins' where it's at just now

Posted 1 year ago #
scruff - Member

Details of these roller anti brake bumps please.

Posted 1 year ago #
legend - Member

go searching Ridemonkey for posts from BuckoW. Happy hunting

Posted 1 year ago #
Ambrose - Member

@portlyone- we are there from 23-30 July. Maybe see you there.

@GW- I'm 49. Age is in your head. Just drink a lot of milk so your bones don't get brittle and snap.

God bless 'Les Trail Fairies Francais'

Posted 1 year ago #
andysandes - Member

hate the slating the porte de soliel now a days, it was a pioneer in mountain bike resorts and back in the md 2000 when I was guiding there morzine was a great place to be in the summer working at the sherpa, especially cavern and paradise/opera when What u need to do is u morzine as your base and aviod the pleaney and head out on the super morzine and get to all t
he quality riding there is out there. If u can't find it get a guide or go with a company that offers guiding otherwise u might end up on the 'motorway' as suprisi ngly u wouldn't turn up at the places where joy riders/switch backs and bike verbier etc and expect to know where all the best riding was would you? E.g one of the best trails in the pre les joux (chatel bike park) is widow maker or clandestine as they call it, but it is hard to find without a guide, or point de moissette.

Sorry rant over, have been elswhere in the alps and thorughly recomend pila alp d'heuz etc

Anyway this place is one of the best linked resorts in the world as long as u know where your going!!!!

Posted 1 year ago #
7hz - Member

I felt that some of the problem with the area is it is too polarised - either mental DH stuff that just points straight down the hill, or natural XC stuff. There didn't seem to be any flowy man made trail pointing down the way you could do on a XC bike and enjoy it. The scope for that kind of thing is huge, but it just doesn't seem the done thing.

Posted 1 year ago #
GW - Member

@GW- I'm 49. Age is in your head. Just drink a lot of milk so your bones don't get brittle and snap.
Ambrose, good for you but WTF are you on about? I can't get to Morzine this summer because of family commitments, **** all to do with brittle bones.

There didn't seem to be any flowy man made trail pointing down the way you could do on a XC bike and enjoy it.
There are lots of trails that flow brilliantly and almost nothing any decent rider couldn't enjoy riding on a 100mm 4X hardtail. just slam the seatpost on your XC bike and have some fun, just don't expect to be riding Glentress style blue routes.

ps. too many people worry about what bike they have, most peoples XC bikes these days are way better at coping with DH than the shonky 5" travel V-braked DH bikes we rode in the PDS back in the mid 90s. and most people ride the same way out there as here so if you don't destroy parts here you probably won't over there either. (excepting brake cookers)

Posted 1 year ago #
Blower - Member

ps. too many people worry about what bike they have, most peoples XC bikes these days are way better

+1

Posted 1 year ago #
7hz - Member

There didn't seem to be any flowy man made trail pointing down the way you could do on a XC bike and enjoy it.

There are lots of trails that flow brilliantly and almost nothing any decent rider couldn't enjoy riding on a 100mm 4X hardtail. just slam the seatpost on your XC bike and have some fun, just don't expect to be riding Glentress style blue routes.

How about an average-to-not-great rider on a light 80mm XC bike?

It was good to be there, don't get me wrong, and I think it brought on my riding loads, but I think the place could really do with some nice flowy bermy blue / red route stuff ala GT. It is fun not to have to be on the brakes the whole time, not to have to hang on for dear life over frankly horrendous breaking bumps. I think I saw one guy there who was riding the DH on a HT, and he had big forks and was a seriously good rider. A lot of others seemed to go for the 40lb full on DH bikes with full storm-trouper armour, again most of that seemed to be for dealing with the breaking bumps FWICS

Not knocking it, it is great if that is what you want, the XC stuff is great, and the extensive lift system is great as well for holiday riding. I'm just an old fart who would rather chill out and flow down a well built trail than hang on for dear life on a 40 degree incline trying desperately not to go too fast!

Posted 1 year ago #
GW - Member

but I think the place could really do with some nice flowy bermy blue / red route stuff ala GT.
I'm just an old fart who would rather chill out and flow down a well built trail than hang on for dear life on a 40 degree incline trying desperately not to go too fast!
The average gradient of GT blue route descents is incredibly flat, (for me anyway) they are pedal fests with little challenge. There are plenty flat natural trails in the alps too but to me heading out to the PDS with it's incredible lift network and massive mountains to ride flat trails would be missing the point.

Posted 1 year ago #
Northwind - Member

On the other hand imagine how long it'd take to get to the bottom with that combination of high altitude drop and low gradient Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Posted 1 year ago #
buzz-lightyear - Member

Why do they build them so wide?

Posted 1 year ago #