Following on from [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/where-are-the-little-hidden-gems-of-the-alps ]this thread[/url] where I sought inspiration for alpine adventures, I can state it's now officially OK to start planning this year's trip. 😈
Where are you going? Or where would you like to go?
We are currently contemplating a split fortnight - a week in Les Arcs and surrounding areas (our usual spot) followed by a week somewhere else. No idea where yet though!
My Brother-in-law is currently trying to sort our accommodation for a week of DH fun in Morzine 🙂
We had a year off last year so I'm really looking forward to it!
Sierra Nevada again this year. 😀
Why? - group decision, amazing natural riding, warm and dry, loved it last year. (No particular order)
Did the PPDS in 2012 which was great, had another 3 days of natural riding although it pee'd down for two of those
Roll on June, Woo Hoo 😛
The white room.
We're going back as they have a much nicer chalet now than in 2009 when we went first, epic riding around StFoy, great food last time we went, free beer and wine.
Superb guiding too.
Morzine, PDS, why, well, it's great!
Broken knee meant no Alps trip in 2013 so plan is to reschedule the Chamonix/Verbier trip for 2014 to include an overnight hut stay. Did a day in each place in 2012 and need to get back to do it justice.
Also hoping to add a week's guided riding with either Trail Addiction (who I did Destination X with in 2012) or White Room (who I skied with in 2012) and if I can some riding around Jura with Metabief Enduro in May.
White room again, a little later than last year to try to avoid the snow and get up to the really good stuff.
Not the Alps, but heading to California. Lake Tahoe, Mammoth mountain etc....
Alpe D'Huez for Mega 🙂 On my bucket list of things to do
Going back to Sameon ( near Morzine ) with Bike Alp again Been the past 2 years and amazing riding. Sameon is full of beautiful natural stuff and Morzine and Les Getz are just over the ridge if you want to go.
PDS for me 4th year, can't wait. Why, it,s great fun even when it's freezing cold like last year on the Saturday
White Room 5-12 July.
2 weeks in Morzine. I love the place
Not the Alps...back to Sierra Nevada with Ciclo Montana, so many more dry trails to ride
Tignes/Les Arcs and if we survive onto AdH for the Mega, gotta finish it this year, not letting a rib stop me this year.
Somewhere in Austria...
Aosta then south this year
Two weeks with Bike Verbier again. Cant wait I know its going to be great.
Somewhere in Austria...
Tell me more... any ideas yet? I fancy Austria but don't know where to start.
Not sure yet but I'm thinking of going with White Room too.
For those of you who have been, would you recommend it for an Alps first-timer? I'm a bit worried about being a bit slow/unskilled!
Have been riding for years but I'm not the bravest or the quickest, although I have good staying power, so to speak. Have done most of my riding in the Surrey Hills and Welsh trail centres.
Also, I have a choice of two bikes - Soul with 120 forks
Or a old style Cannondale Jekyll with 120 forks.
What do you think? And cheers for any replies 🙂
Not the Alps, of course, but the Taygetos range in Greece - May-June and September-November.
Natural stuff plus mule paths and footpaths, cheap beer and wine and all the comforts of home. 8)
@ the pilot...
You will be fine. I have been to Les Arcs for last 3 years, this will be my 4th in July but for 2 weeks this year.
Take a full sus if you can as it will be far more comfortable.
There is a real mix of stuff in Les Arcs/La Plagne, you will find plenty for all abilities.
@ the pilot.
There is a range of difficulties in the trails and the guides are good at picking suitable trails for the whole group or managing the different standards. When they're pointing straight the trails are generally not that hard it's the switchbacks that I find need getting my head round. The STW Billy no mates tour mk2 is likely to going ahead in July again.
No a Alps this year......... Doing Whistler instead 😆
Bikevillage again 8)
Andy R, Where are you staying and are you riding on your own or with a guide? I noticed an advert for mountainbiking (I think as it was all in Greek) in Kardamili a few years ago and have fancied it ever since!
[i]Tell me more... any ideas yet? I fancy Austria but don't know where to start.[/i]
Not sure yet. Rode in Zillertal this year, we've been tempted by[url= http://achensee.info ] Achenkirch/Achensee [/url] area having passed it on our way further south...
Thanks for the info hugh_b and mrhoppy. I guess there's only one way to find out if the Alps are for me or not! The STW Billy no mates tour mk2 sounds good too, I'll keep an eye out on here 🙂
Hopefully Rivierabike in and around Molini...
Bike Village in July.
White Room 5th -12th of July with two of my brothers and 3 other mates. See you there godzilla. Should be awesome 🙂
White Room for the fourth time. Just cos it's awesomeness.
Morzine for my brothers wedding then leaving the alps for Lake Garda. Anyone been riding around there?
2nd year in a row to Molini with rivierabike ..
Whistler thank god, upto here with PDS.
@pilot you'll never know till you go ! To be honest you'll get the most out the Alps on a FS with 140-160 travel and good brakes (you can rent), a week there on a guided holiday with uplift covering big mileage will be tough on a HT. Do you ride the steeper stuff off South side of Pitch for example, how about Deliverence on Leith ? It's nothing to compare with Alps but it's a start.
Awesome! See you there Andy.
Talk amongst my group of friends is Sauze D'oulx or Finale Ligure later in the year.
Not heard much about Sauze, basing it on one friends review and some youtube vids, does sound great though.
Finale would be october time.
Got a few days in ADH for the Mega, toyed with a week somewhere else, but we're doing 2 weeks in Whistler instead.
Not sure this year... Money's a little tight. Would love to get back to White Room (would be 3 years in a row, they are absolutely brilliant), or try Bike Verbier or BasqueMTB. Also half tempted to drive down and spend a bit of extra time just exploring around, the guided format's brilliant but sometimes it's nice to retrace your footsteps too. I could easily spend days at les arcs...
Sacked off the idea of the Mega again, but that's starting to feel like if I don't do it soon I never will.
Literally just sent in my booking to Stevo & Iona at The White Room for some classic single track ripping action in mid july with the rest of the STW massive! 😉
(under the "Dietary requirements" section on the form i have put "CAKE, lots of cake"...... 😉
Hired a Chalet in Morzine for a week. Can't wait
Sx of us off to Bourg D'Osain in June for a few days on the road bikes. More famous Tour climbs there than you can shake a stick at.
Dave - ModeratorTell me more... any ideas yet? I fancy Austria but don't know where to start.
Not sure yet. Rode in Zillertal this year, we've been tempted by Achenkirch/Achensee area having passed it on our way further south...
Dave, have a look at the area around Zell am See. bout an hour south of Salzburg on the train. very picturesque. also got a massive lake which feels more accessible than Achensee. it is also far enough away from the blot that is Inntal. Saalbach-Hinterglemm is just a 4€ bus ride away if you wanted to mix it up with a with the park rats.
went there a few years back and are already planning on another trip this year....
jamj1974 - MemberMorzine for my brothers wedding then leaving the alps for Lake Garda. Anyone been riding around there?
Lake Garda is in the Alps.... :/ personally i find the place a bit over-hyped. spent lots of time down there with work and have had a chance to ride many trails in the area.
my feeling is, is that if you have a big bike with 6-8" of squish and double ply tyres then you're laughing. the trails are very rocky. i like technical rocky riding, but 1000m descent of thump-thump-thump gets bit boring and tiring (DB Alpine w/Lyrik). after a few days you begin to get the feeling it is all a bit samey. not that the riding is overly hard, you just never get that "flow-zone" feeling. there are some gems, like up above Pregasina, where there is more flow/speed but they are the exception rather than the norm.
if you've not got a big bike and don't like long rocky descents, you may not like it. lots of very pretty "pista" to ride if you like epic XC ride with spectacular views, mind.
if you have not already booked have a look at getting to Meran/Vinschgau region. riding is much more varied and the climate is generally better than down by the lake. lots of marked trails. lots more flow. guided tours/shuttles up to 2700m-3100m with trails ending around 800m.
also a few cable cars in the valley so one day climb & descend and one day lazy works, too...
also planning on a trip there around september time (when the kids are back at school and prices are 2/3 of what the were a week before).
Lots of love for White Room!
Not many going with TA yet. They seemed to be much quieter in 2013 than 2012. Hope things are ok for them.
White Room.
I've just started considering an MTB holiday in the alps and been surprised by how expensive the fligts are. Manchester to Geneva is basically £300 pp with EasyJet once the extra costs are added on for the bike and hold luggage. This is all assuming EasyJet reverse their ridiculous 23Kg bike limit!
Any cheaper options? Not a massive fan of driving as the Mrs doesn't like to drive over there.
Fly and hire, the White Rooms bikes were really good.
Usually go to the White Room, last year was total amazeballs. Guides were great, Pat sat in dog poo, Alex ripping the trails, Stevo Whooping and a bunch of great Scots.. Also found my love of full on DH riding. Going to be hard to follow that this year... Probably going to hire an RV and hit Utah/Moab.
Pat sat in dog poo,
Ha ha, Pat crashed balls first into a rock and then later in the week blew his tyre off the rim with his head next to it trying to get it to seat tubeless. He's pure comedy gold.
Austria. Leogang, Saalbach/Hinterglemm and hopefully some new stuff in Maria Alm.
Great riding and I have a place there. 😛
[url= http://www.apartmentamade.com/ ]Apartment Amade - Maria Alm, Austria.[/url]
Probably Destination X with TA this year (did TA Les Arcs 2 years back to back, a few yrs ago). Did Chatel, PDS last year. Wont be going back to PDS again. Trouble is Whistler ruined us for the bike park experience (Chatel is knackered, Les Gets was good but a mission to get to, Morzine was OK, liked Morgins (once it had dried out) but, really we all thought it was a bit .....meh!). So ditching the big bikes this summer and off in search of some natural trails with pedaling and uplift, hence Destination X.
Austria. Leogang, Saalbach/Hinterglemm and hopefully some new stuff in Maria Alm.
Great riding and I have a place there.Apartment Amade - Maria Alm, Austria.
Interested!
Doing a week in AdH for the mega and nipping over Les Deux Alpes for a day or so. Then, hopefully, driving up to PDS for a few weeks and eating nothing but pizza.
Only been PDS once before and for nowhere near long enough. Can't wait!
Possibly going to Chatel, maybe for PPDS / to visit friends who moved there. (will be taking/hiring a bike).
Also St Sebastian is on the cards, again to visit friends and it would be rude no to take a bike and ride some of them lumps they got there.
2 weeks in PDS (mostly Les Gets) riding DH tracks with my son - him on DH bike me on my Liteville. Possibly 1 but hopefully 2 long weekend trips to Molini.
Currently debating what to do. Been with the mountain bike chalet a few years ago. Last year i missed out but mates booked an independent chalet and hired a guide for 3 days. They preferred this
Like the look of the white room but probably looks too structured.
Has anyone got the train to bourg?
The direct train from London only runs in the winter, so in the summer it means a few changes. OK in principle, but it could mean dragging a bike box across London and then Paris as you change between stations.
2 weeks touring around the usual resorts and trails, then 5 weeks working on the bike in Chamonix. Maybe finsih off with a trip to Andorra afterwards.
..oh, and then 1 month in Utah / Colorao / Arizona. Gotta do the Mega, the Maxi and The Whole Enchilada in the same year.
.....and that's after a 3 week trip to Scotland.
Aint sabbaticals amazing!!!!!
Trans Provence tour for me!
mrhoppy
Pat sat in dog poo,
Ha ha, Pat crashed balls first into a rock and then later in the week blew his tyre off the rim with his head next to it trying to get it to seat tubeless. He's pure comedy gold.
And not to mention going pretty spectacularly OTB just about 5feet into the first bit of single track on day 1 after leaving the Land Rover!
At that point i thought, "blimey, these white room guides are really not mincing around" 😉
Sounds amazing, I'll change my plans
Between Pat and Yvan, I think White Room could probably assemble 2 normal guides 😆 Loved riding with those guys.
Pat at WR is hilarious , we had to pluck him from a trail when all I could see was the top of his crash hat... he isn't slow by any means. Alex on that Orange 29er made everything look so easy , then it was your go 😯
Lake Garda is in the Alps.... :/ personally i find the place a bit over-hyped. spent lots of time down there with work and have had a chance to ride many trails in the area.
my feeling is, is that if you have a big bike with 6-8" of squish and double ply tyres then you're laughing. the trails are very rocky. i like technical rocky riding, but 1000m descent of thump-thump-thump gets bit boring and tiring (DB Alpine w/Lyrik). after a few days you begin to get the feeling it is all a bit samey. not that the riding is overly hard, you just never get that "flow-zone" feeling. there are some gems, like up above Pregasina, where there is more flow/speed but they are the exception rather than the norm.
if you've not got a big bike and don't like long rocky descents, you may not like it
As always, I guess it depends what you're after. I've done a couple of weeks in Garda and really really rate the place, mainly for the reasons Alpin finds in "a bit samey", i.e. those long thump-thump-thump descents that are punishing but great fun on that big bouncy bike with dual plys 😉
To continue with the opposing view, I'd have said the stuff below Pregasina (vecchio Porto Ponale, etc) was much more interesting than the stuff higher up. Bottom sections of the 601 are the same too. Think Sweary Northener Hebden Bridge-esque tech' that just goes on for milesssss..... 😀
The best bit about TWR weeks is that you don't have to be awesome at riding your bike, in fact, often, it's the slightly less than awesome bits that you remember, and laugh about the most:
Luckily, with about 1,000,000 hairpins per trail, by the end of the week you'll be good at them!
^^ ridden 601 a few times.... not an easy trail as such, but not massively wow or tricky, just hard work on a hardtail. or as you say, punishing 🙂 had to carry the bike once, but there were a lot of guys carrying their big bikes down sections that were a little naddgery.
the 429 above Pregasina from Passo Guil is one of my favourite trails.
Vinschgau has more to offer in the way of riding, IME. it hasn't got that "wow" factor of sitting by the lake drinking (overpriced) beer, either, but you can tweak almost every ride so that it ends at the Bierkeller.
if i were a road inclined then Arco/Riva/torbole would definitely be a good place to base your holiday. lots of long, twisty climbs with amazing views on very quiet roads.
Anyone on here been with Rivierabike?....
Poor Pat, I feel quite bad about that now. At least there are no videos of his transparent pants at the swimming lake.
yeah losing my alpine virginity this year in august and wondering where to go so any suggestions would be helpful.
the group is swaying towards Les Arcs, but we are taking the WAGs and they are more interested in walking so a mixture of flowing singletrack (for us) and nice views and pretty villages (for the better halfs)
Deux Alps has been suggested, we are also driving so needs to be fairly easy to get to from uk
The best riding in Les Arcs is on the numerous and scenic footpaths - go for it!
thanks Wallop, cant wait, already my mind is wondering to sunnier days - hurry up summer i'm bored of winter now
Umm not sure yet. May go back to the White room as it was excellent or maybe Veriber and go back to the White room another year. We were at White room last year but it was really good. I think me and the GF need to have a tough evening or 2 making some decisions.
As we want to go for 2 weeks we are looking for somewhere else for a few days on the way home that doesnt need a guide and isnt Morzine as we have been lots and want a break from it
[i]Dave, have a look at the area around Zell am See.[/i]
Ta! I'll put it on the list...
Those coming to BC and flying peasant class, Air Transat/Canadian Affair, who haven't booked fights. I heard yesterday that flights might be going up soon to account for the Canadian Dollar tanking.
That said, the Canadian dollar is expected to drop more so either way your GBP will go a bit further out here this year.
Dave - Moderator
Dave, have a look at the area around Zell am See.Ta! I'll put it on the list...
POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST
I've put a bit of info together for the area here.
[url= http://www.apartmentamade.com/summer.shtml ]http://www.apartmentamade.com/summer.shtml[/url]
JEngledow - Member
Andy R, Where are you staying and are you riding on your own or with a guide? I noticed an advert for mountainbiking (I think as it was all in Greek) in Kardamili a few years ago and have fancied it ever since!
I'll be in Platsa, (about 15 kms south of Kardamili and at about 400 metres) as we're fortunate enough to have a house there.
There's a place in Kardamili called 2407m Mountain Activities that offer some guided mountain biking and hiking stuff but I've never used them and just explore on my own - I've got a fair knowledge of the area as we've had our house in Platsa for eight years.
Any more info you need don't hesitate to email me.
godzilla - Member
Awesome! See you there Andy.
Me, or another Andy?