Well there is one in Les Gets too because I've ridden it today:-)
Okay furrynuff ..
@emmodd - what a wooden one like a helter skelter ? I don't remember that, just a tight series of mini-berms in that "practice area"
That particular spiral is def the one in Les Gets
Yep. Definitely not imagined it.
There is a wooden spiral around a tree in the woods at the bottom of te Les Gets bike park. There's even video evidence of me riding it last year somewhere.
It's just above a rope bridge which is much more scary to ride!
Rachel
Found the spiral today, and for everyone asking about about the weather, we're in the middle of a thunderstorm right now!
All these posts and nobody has asked how much beer is in Robinsons this year? 8)
Out there 7th - 14th July
Yep. Definitely not imagined it.
How did I miss that ! That's embarrassing.
More sunshine in Morzine - only issue is the Pleney not running!! It has been replaced by the service Gondola for the hotel at the top of Pleney with an uplift rate of 4-5 riders every 6 minutes!! This means nobody is doing the Pleney runs, and even so the queue is about 45 minutes. Les Gets still not too busy, and the tracks are running nicely!
Finished on a low though - bad jump in les gets ended with an OTB and a visit to Thonon hospital for a broken collar bone :-((
Gutted, how many days have you got left there?
How come they sent you to Thonon? Plenty of clinics in Les Gets and Morzine that can usually deal with that sort of thing
Everywhere closed on a Sunday. Ski patrol and paramedics all really good. Hurting like hell right now. Last day today anyway, so not missing too much. First time out here, and I was just getting comfy - oh, well!!
As an aside, my Heckler, as recommended by the STW massif was perfect, and the shimano deores were faultless.
Its somewhere we have looked at going...can you still enjoy it if you are the sort of rider that wears a XC helmet and only some knee pads (not because we are just too good, but because we dont ride really big stuff)?
dantsw13 - Member
More sunshine in Morzine - only issue is the Pleney not running!! It has been replaced by the service Gondola for the hotel at the top of Pleney with an uplift rate of 4-5 riders every 6 minutes!! This means nobody is doing the Pleney runs, and even so the queue is about 45 minutes. Les Gets still not too busy, and the tracks are running nicely!POSTED 1 DAY AGO # REPORT-POST
Has the Pleney Lift re-opened yet? Flying out Thursday and hoping this is sorted for the PPDS!
ahsat - yes.
That's my wife and I to a tee. And I have riden Les Gets a couple of years with a small boy on a LOCT bike seat as a passenger.
Ride to your ability, and push a little perhaps, and there's a lot of fun to be had.
Smuttie- I'm back home now but from we heard before we left pleney should be open on Wednesday
dan77 - Member
Smuttie- I'm back home now but from we heard before we left pleney should be open on WednesdayPOSTED 6 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST
Cheers for the update 
Cant wait now, only 3 days of work to get through!!
Weather is not looking good for the PPdS 🙁
aahhhh just across the valley in Verbier...awesome here and weather at present is tip top!
Did you go to Clinique Le Martin in Thonon? That is where Mr MC went when snapped knee he spent 5 days there whilst I stayed in Morzine....nightmare!
No, L'hospital Lehman A&E. In and out in 4 hrs
I was on a Gurney in the corridor next to a young French Stormtrooper on a backboard, with a neck brace and lots of blood. My collarbone felt a little insignificant next to him, poor lad :-((
Just picked up the van to take our bikes out. We leave at 3am tomorrow. Hopefully the bike shop pulls its finger out and sorts my wheel in the next couple of hours.
BTW, not impressed with the bike shop by the Pleney lift - just after your money, nothing else. One of our group asked about replacement bearings, and he literally laughed in our face. Would only sell whole headset. gave us a price, but wouldn't take the bike until it was jet washed! (only barely dusty!). Back at our apartment, a phone call to a mate back home diagnosed the requirement for an extra spacer, as the top cap was touching the steerer. Shop guy didn't even look at the headset.
The next day, another guy wanted to hire a SC Heckler. The same shop had them in - a beautiful line of sparkly Hecklers lined up. The one he was given though, was old, with a big gash on the stanchion of the fork, and a no name 2.1 tyre in hard compound on the front. The shock sagged to about 60% and he was only 10st.
Stay well clear!!
Another shop down on Rue de la Plagne couldn't have been better though - bleeding a set of Avids and fitting troublesome new pads for €20!!
at least he was offered a heckler. My mate wanted one and they insisted he take a full on downhill bike, because the hecklers were only suitable for cross country????!
And I'm sure that DH bike was more expensive too! I really can't tell you how rude they were in that shop. When he dropped the Heckler back, the guy insisted in looking at the soles of his shoes, because someone had left a footprint on his shop floor, and he wanted to find the culprit!!! It's a bloody mountain bike shop FFS!!!
That shop isn't any better in Winter either.
I booked a set of Volkl Tiger Shark 12's for a couple of weeks two years ago (they were new model that season and I rang to confirm they had them) paid in advance to make sure etc.
When I arrived he tried to palm me off with some crappy Head intermediate things that looked a good few years old.
Tried to tell me they were an "equivalent model" to what I ordered !
Refused a refund and I ended up getting a friend who's local to "have a word"
Proper rip off place. Wouldn't go there again if they were giving stuff away.
Easy business though I guess, in it solely for the money. It's a shame because imagine what these business could be like if they were as good as a decent LBS... Infact I wonder why more struggling LBSs don't just move out there lol
We're on the train about to head to France!
Bring on morzine!
Is that the British run shop opposite the Pleny ticket office? They were dead helpful at bashing my mech hanger back into shape (after I asked them in French). I tried to buy an SFN in French from and Englishman in Chatel the following year.
Safe travels weeksy, let us know how it goes.
OliverD , come out of the pleney lift, across the road towards town, 2 shops down.
The ones in town were much better.
Weather is not looking good for the PPdS
Really? Looks fine to me, at least for Saturday and Sunday.
http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Morzine/6day/mid
Oh, and if you're looking for a decent mechanic, the Scott dealership (diagonally opposite the petrol station) is excellent, if it's the still the same Aussie bloke. Not cheap, but not silly money either, and they do a good job.
Shop wise, Drug Sport Vital and Torico were both excellent for us last year
Edit:
if it's the still the same Aussie bloke. Not cheap, but not silly money either, and they do a good job.
He was there last year and he was super friendly
Latest injury update - broken collarbone requires surgery, 2 months off work. Also broken wrist - 1 month in plaster, so can't drive :-((.
So 2 out of 5 of us have fractured wrists. What can you wear to protect from this? Also, would body armour with shoulder protection help stop a broken collarbone? Just on the off chance I am ever allowed back to the alps???
gotta take it easy out there mate. the smashing yourself to bits rate out there is alarming!
it's not necessarily a body armour thing, more of a not falling off thing!!!
I agree!! My fall was on a pretty innocuous section. You have to concentrate 100% of the time!
The number of casualties we saw in Les Gets in particular was shocking, mainly on the jumps on the Chavannes run.
Heal up soon Dan.
nickf - MemberReally? Looks fine to me, at least for Saturday and Sunday.
I cry a little bit inside when looking at this one...
http://uk.weather.com/weather/10day-Chatel-FRXX0468
so much planning and time gone into this trip, I'll be gutted if it's a wash out lol
Latest injury update - broken collarbone requires surgery, 2 months off work. Also broken wrist - 1 month in plaster, so can't drive :-((.So 2 out of 5 of us have fractured wrists. What can you wear to protect from this? Also, would body armour with shoulder protection help stop a broken collarbone? Just on the off chance I am ever allowed back to the alps???
Armour will only [i]reduce[/i] the possibility of a broken collarbone. When I'm going for it in the Alps I always wear a pressure suit, full-face and neckbrace; land badly, however, and the collarbone will break, regardless. Maybe I've been lucky, though several dead bikes will attest to the fact that I do crash, repeatedly. And I've landed on my head/shoulder reasonably frequently.
Broken wrists? Nowt you can do about that, other than riding better. Sounds trite, but you have to stay on the bike more, and also learn how to crash properly/stop sticking your arms out. I've yet to break a wrist as I seem to have perfected the art of handing like a sack of spuds on my hip/backside/shoulder.
Finally, I tend to hang onto the bike at all costs. Even if it's pretty much certain that I'm going down, I try to ride it out anyway. That works about 60% of the time......the others tend to hurt.
I cry a little bit inside when looking at this one...http://uk.weather.com/weather/10day-Chatel-FRXX0468
so much planning and time gone into this trip, I'll be gutted if it's a wash out lol
I'm only riding on the Saturday, thankfully!
No armour will stop a collar bone breaking... wrist breaking is just bad crash technique, don't try and stop your fall with your arms, try and roll.
As already said there isn't much you can do to save your wrists, bad technique in crashing, you need to learn to rol when you fall over, that will also protect your collarbone. There are lots of ifs and buts, mr mc snapped the top off his knee due to not unclipping on the steep 10% shoot on le plenty. Heal soon though, remember we all ride harder and faster in the alps than the uk no matter what we think. Heal done.
Thanks for the healing Karma!! My mates wrist went in a front wheel washout on a dusty loose berm near the bottom of Chavannes. My fall, well, when I work out how, Ill upload the vid of it taken from my bars - I still haven't got a clue what I did!! I seem to have got airborne on a tabletop and performed a front somersault!!
You are right about going harder/faster out there. I guess that comes from the length/steepness of the runs.
maybe I should be thankful that it's may be wet and orrible when I'm there next week... to slow me down lol
i foolishly got some fast running dry tyres in for my trip next week
forecast is looking a bit moist from thursday
http://www.yr.no/place/France/Rh%C3%B4ne-Alpes/Morzine/long.html
spikes + swampthings it is then!
Kimbers, the forecast for our trip was for rain every day until about 5 days before. We had clear skies every day!! It was so dry up there it shouldn't turn into a major bogfest.
In anticipation of mud, I bought these for my front[url= http://http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/TYGXDTTT-26-BLK-22/geax_datura_mtb_ust_tubeless_tyre___26er___black___22inch ]Geax Datura UST dual ply £17.99[/url]
and tried them in the mud at Bedgebury first. Great grip!
It seems to change daily to be honest... But with that much forecast to fall out of the sky it must be a big rain band coming in... Very depressing.
I've got minion super tacky front and highroller rear, won't be changing them so hopefully they are up to some wet fun
Sunny and roasting here.
We've not found our apartment yet.
We have cold peroni for 4 euro
I personally think armour will help protect your collar bone. I broke mine playing football right at the shoulder end of the bone and if I'd be wearing my POC jacket (unlikely on a football pitch I know) I'm totally convinced it wouldn't have happened. I had surgery too dantsw13 and it's more of a faff but you're more likely to be as good as new a few months down the line
Thanks Steve - it seems my surgeon is a good 'un, so hopefully i won't end up wonky!! I think its more of the impact on the family of me being out of action/not driving for 6 weeks that is the worry. The lads are all rallying round with offers of help, so hopefully it will be fine. Your thoughts on armour are about the same as mine - it won't stop everything, but it must take out a little of the impact.
Weeksy - we had a bit of an apartment faff too, but cold beer fixes all!! For Brekkie in the morning Eds Supermarket doesn't open until 8.30, so don't bother with an early night!! Maybe I should have left you my Heckler out there, as I won't be needing it for a while!!!!
It's the mountains, the weather can change quickly and can be quite localised ... I wouldn't worry too much about the forecast till the day before / morning of the event.
Don't worry if you've broken it on the non-gear change side or drive an auto you'll probably be back driving much sooner than you think, maybe as little as a week after surgery, but you'll definitely be a careful driver! Driving or not just make sure you do the physio
On the weather topic the sun out here is so strong and with the altitude it dries out so quickly it doesn't matter if you get rain every day there'll still be all the dust and sunburn you could want. It might stay wet in the trees but there's a lot of exposed stuff that dries out really quickly
Armour will not prevent broken bones. It might help reduce grazes, bruises and puncture injuries, but not bones. Take a look at most mx riders, none of this pressure suit rubbish, just a lightweight roost vest. Broken bones are part life on two wheels.
I may be going at the end of August/beginning of September, although if the weather is likely to be that bad, I may go to Spain instead 😆
I do drive an Auto, but the wrist fracture means 4 weeks in a cast, so no driving for 4 weeks :-((.
I have to admit if I go back to the Alps, jumps will be off limits.
[b]dantsw13[/b] - Member
Thanks for the healing Karma!! My mates wrist went in a front wheel washout on a dusty loose berm near the bottom of Chavannes. My fall, well, when I work out how, Ill upload the vid of it taken from my bars - I still haven't got a clue what I did!! I seem to have got airborne on a tabletop and performed a front somersault!!I have to admit if I go back to the Alps, jumps will be off limits.
Book yourself (and your mates) a session with Jedi. FWIW I suspect he'll be able to tell what you did wrong on the table top. If you go to the Nirvana Cycles website and look at Jackie's crash (which broke her collar bone) Jedi debugged that one and commented here on STW.
Healing vibes to you.
I may be going at the end of August/beginning of September, although if the weather is likely to be that bad, I may go to Spain instead
I've been this week for the last 3 trips I've done to Morzine - it's s great week weatherwize generally. I think I've had 3 days of rain in those 4 weeks but it's the mountains so weather is unpredictable. Only thing to watch going that late is when the lifts close, I got it wrong last year and for the last week was confined to Pleney side and Les Gets - not the end of the world but I tend to prefer going on longer explorations over the SuperMoz side
Thanks, that's good to know, although I appreciate the unpredictable nature of the weather in the mountains.
I understand that the Morzine and Les Gets lifts are opening a week later this year, and therefore I will be fine for these two. However, the other lifts in the area will be closed for my second week.
On the ferry, still crying about the weather for the next ten days.
Armour wont stop bones breaking as such but can help you slide out.
For those with collar bone breaks have a look at the magic laser guy in ipswich (Search old collar bone threads) recovery times greatly reduced.
Guy on our mega trip last year broke his arm and insurance said do what ever is cheapest to get you and car back so he flew his gf out to drive him home.
Would advise any first timers to get some skills training in first, would have saved us a few bangs and scrapes first year. Few pointers on setup and fault finding might help.
Lastly don't get cocky or complacent no "last runs" and know when to go get a beer.
[b]no "last runs"[/b]
TOP TIP! This is why I spent 6 months in a cast....
Just getting all my gear together ready for Sunday! Jeeze there is a lot of stuff to take!!!
Out of interest has anyone found a decent accurate weather website for Morzine, they all appear to be very different!!
Chamonix Meteo your best bet
[url] http://chamonix-meteo.com/chamonix-mont-blanc/weather/forecast/morning/5_days_weather_forecast.php [/url]
Big low pressure coming through on saturday night/sunday
well ive fitted some fast rolling dry tyres so even if teh forecast says heavy rain from next thursday (when we arrive) im going to make it sunny by sheer force of will
http://www.yr.no/place/France/Rh%C3%B4ne-Alpes/Morzine/long.html <
So, my dreadful jump technique at 1:0
[url=
vid mk2[/url]
dantsw13 links not working?!
Try now?
Dan 😡 why did you run away?
That was the I'm in so much freaking pain I don't know what to do so run....looks nasty
For bike repairs head over to Les Gets half way down the Chavanne turn left heading over towards the canyon. on the left there is a shop run by an english chap (john i think) he is a ginga you can't miss him) been out 5 times now and he is the cheapest most reliable mechanic I have found.
Canyon is an epic decent clear it and you can feel good about yourself.
Ask someone about the secret trail back to morzine off the top of the 2 super morzines head back under the lift and follow the narrow left hand line its techy steep and rooty not for the faint hearted but a cracking run
Chatel bike park rides really well loads of progressive stuff and also some nutty french kids doing massive jumps also the sight of the road gap many many many stacks on that one!!
Swiss national DH course is the quietest of the full on DH tracks (off the top of the mosettes and turn left heading over towards boulder alley) not one for those with vertigo but very rideable
all in its an epic place with so much riding I have been quite a few times now and still find new stuff can't wait to go again nothing beats the arm pump you get
Bad news on the crash Dan, at least you got it on video. I noticed that the lift was not running. Was fatigue a factor after full days riding? Healing vibes for a quick mend. How is the Heckler BTW after your off?
Edit: just noticed lift on the left was running so not end of day ride.
Heckler - not a scratch!! Far tougher than me :-)). In fact, the Heckler was great for the whole trip.
It was second run of the day, so fatigue definately not a factor. In fact, I was feeling in really good nick, which is why I tried the tabletop. Running away seems to be my natural reaction to a crash - done it a few times now!!
Had an epic days riding today, met frogleek off here on the way to the super chatel lifts. Glad I got a day of good weather riding, the rest of the week can do what it likes now.
Hit 44 mph on some of the trails, then hit 54 mph on the road back to the campsite.
Road gap has been removed in chatel, relegated to attempting the river gap instead 🙁
well that was awesome
felt my riding has stepped up a level too!
met some great people out there;
loved chatel good mix of gaps and drops and able to build up to bigger stuff, jumps and drops at les gets, roots at morzine, swiss dh track was awesome, lindertes valley- great flowing runs on both sides, morgins was well worth the trip, though thats one gnarly blue run!and champery was just steep greasy roots- back brake lost all fluid at the top so did a lot of it on my arse and had cramps from using the front brake all the way down
biggest shout out to seb and amy at progressive mtb, great hosts and chalet montanna was bargaintastic, cheers for the recommendation !