Hey STW

am looking at heading over to the Alps this summer with a few others..
Not been over before, so looking for some advice on where to stay, and what the best way to go about it is.

where to stay?
how to get over there (drive / fly)?
where to ride, and what bikes to take (DH bike &/or Trail bike)

any input muchly appreciated.

cheers in advance
Stru

depends where you want to ride and what time of the year you are going.
We go to Cham and stay in the centre (Chalet Wymper) which is basic but ok and about £40 per night for an en-suite room

fly to and from Manchester/Geneva with bike at about £130

transfer to and from Geneva/Cham with ChamVan at about £40

5 day lift pass is about £90

trains in Chamonix valley are free to people staying so we don’t feel the need to hire a car etc.

bikes – i ride a “beefed up” heckler but others ride x/c, nomad etc. All our our riding is down

oh and an excuse to show a couple of pics of my old but trusty heckler;

I’m sure a quick search will bring up loads of previous threads, in fact there’s one about riding in France somewhere on the front page I think.

However, my advice for first timers.

Drive v flying
Can be cheaper to drive if there’s a few of you in a van. 8-10 hours from the tunnel depending on luck and weight of drivers right foot.
We have in the past taken a van packed with bikes and everyone else fly out. Again depends how many are going.
If you are flying check out http://www.thecoolbus.co.uk and http://www.alpinecab.com for transfers. Used both before and they are recommended. Rob from Coolbus also does guiding in the Les Arcs area, top bloke.

Where to ride
Chamonix – very rocky and technical, less man made stuff, quieter trails
Morzine/Les Arcs – very popular, loads of DH and XC stuff, decent(ish) night life, loads of digs options from crap hole self catering to luxury hotels, trails take a right battering in late season especially if the weather is shitty, extensive lift system, massive full day routes an option
Les Arcs – good mix of riding, mostly hardcore XC biased though, quieter trails in better condition, a guide is highly recommended to find the best bits, most trails are off just one mountain/lift network so can be a bit samey. Less options for digs then Morzine although I would recommend http://www.chillchalet.com
Verbier Switzerland – similar in some respects to Les Arcs but maybe a bit more technical, small town consequently not much night life and cheap digs are hard to find other than ‘the bunker’ which is a dump. Again a guide is highly recommended, I’ve used http://www.powderanddust.com before and they were okay.

When to go:
Stick to mid season if possible, trails are less likely to be shagged and you’ve got a better chance of decent weather (although this is the mountains it can piss it down at any time). Plus the more people there means better apres ride atmosphere. ALthoug of course it will be dearer.

What bike:
Unless you are going specifically to ride DH an 150mm-160mm bike will be fine. Last time I went, I was on a Turner 5 Spot (the old type) and it was just the ticket for pretty much everthing including most of the DH courses, if a little bit slower ;o)

well these are my choice of rides:
my SX Trail:

my Mojo SL:

we’re thinking bout just taking the ‘big rigs’ and doing an uplift based week, as much as I’d like to do some proper alpine pedalling…

The SX Trail would be perfect.

You can still to some pedally stuff even with the lift assits.

If you do chose Les Arcs, talk to Rob and Coolbus about his 50km epic from Val d’Isere. He shuttles you to the top with the vans and it’s a mix of proper wild singletrack decents mixed in with some uphill pedalling. A fantastic day out. Some the hardest XC/AM riding I’ve done. Awesome.

there will be opinions from all sides of course but Morzine/Les Gets is a good first trip IMO. Fly to Geneva then transfer taxi to Morzine. Allsorts of riding, no need for a guide. Very simple, easy to book and lots of flexibility of accommodation, good trails and cost effective.

cheers guys, all sounds good.

rekon we’ll drive…
any recommendations on where to stay?

any recommendations with regards for places to stay in the Morzine / Les Gets area.

i know a google search will bring places up, but would like some human feedback 😛

appreciated.

We stayed here:last year (going again this year!)…Friendly people, great food, sleeps upto 24 people and only a short ride down the hill to the lifts.

http://www.themountainlodgecompany.com/chaletles4vents.html

I stayed at the 4 vents too last year returning this year. Nice place it is handy enough, like said above a run down to the lifts but then a climb back at the end of the day!
We have also repeat booked a guide from rideability.com. Really good lad and a good day riding. Hoping for the same again this year!!

@BFITH…..when are you heading out?

I am going back with Riders Retreat. No issues last year with my Heckler and we had some of the group on smaller stuff.

BTW your birds need feeding 😀

@Rockhopper70………. July 1st to 4th……with you !!!!

If you do chose Les Arcs, talk to Rob and Coolbus about his 50km epic from Val d’Isere. He shuttles you to the top with the vans and it’s a mix of proper wild singletrack decents mixed in with some uphill pedalling. A fantastic day out. Some the hardest XC/AM riding I’ve done. Awesome.

Sounds a bit like H.E.I.D.I.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/talk-to-me-about-verbier

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/where-to-ride-in-the-alps

some other threads to get you going. at lot depends on:

When you are going?
What type of riding do you want?

Then there will be loads of people to guide you and loads of peopel to give you conflicting views! 😉

hope this helps

BFITH – Member

@Rockhopper70………. July 1st to 4th……with you !!!!

Are you??!??!!!!???!!??
Your screen name gives me no clue who you are you see!

Ok . Know who you are now but I can’t work out the screen name!!
Presume the deposit went then?
And shouldn’t you be working!

Its a nickmane from along time ago……..long story…..
yep deposit gone……..
Quiet today 😀

Le Mont Jovet Enduro with TrailAddiction is a good day out too.

Part 1
[video]http://vimeo.com/14011878[/video]

Part 2
[video]http://vimeo.com/15686968[/video]

Uses the services of Coolbus too if I remember correctly

We had a great time with The White Room Chalet in 2010

Great food, great crack, great trails.

trail bike there will be fine, fly to Geneva on Sleazyjet.

all food and ale included as well as guiding. it didn’t cost mush more than the 2009 when we, fended for ourselves in a rather nice chalet, guided ourselves round Morzine Les gets, etc, transferred ourselves etc from the airport in hire cars, shopped ourselves and so on. We had a good time then but a much much better with the White Room.

Bike wise, I had my beef’d up 2006 s-Works Enduro. Mates had a 2006 Enduro, a Nomad and an Orange alpine. All bikes were fine and more than capable.