There's a bunch of us looking to head out to the Alps this summer. I've ridden the Portes du Soleil extensively from les Gets and Chatel so know that fairly well and could lead us without a guide. However, I'm open to suggestions as to other areas. For example, what are Tignes and Bourg-Saint-Maurice like? We're not downhill nut jobs but enjoy the courses as much as the next person but are more likely to be found using the lifts to do a more trail/xc typre riding.
Also, can anyone recommend any reasonably priced companies? We went with Crystal Active before who were excellent but sadly they are no more. Anyone been with Alpine Elements? Ideally, someone who includes flights as adding them on ourselves seems to work out more expensive.
How much did you pay with Crystal?
Our 12 days riding in the Morzine area this year will consist of:
£135 accomodation
£180 flights
£65 transfers
£90 lift pass
£100 budget for food
=£570
Bourg-Saint-Maurice / Les Arcs has 100's of Kms of the sort of riding you're looking for, i.e. not focussed on DH courses but lots of lifts giving you direct access to trails like this:
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ash, that looks like our kind or riding. Great maountains and feeling like you've got the entire planet to yourself!
RTG, I think it was only about £275 per person per week including flights and full board! Total bargain I know and i wouldn't expect to be able to repeat that!
I'll back ash up the riding in les arcs is amazing. These guys aren't the cheapest there but the service, accomodation and most importantly trail knowledge is second to none.
www.trailaddiciton.com
Oh and alpine elements not with someone elses very large very poo covered stick. Google the name and you'll find some bad stories... Oh and this is from someone who used to work for them!
Onza - Tignes is pretty DH orientated with 6 DH courses accessed from 2 (big!) lifts. There's some marked singletrack (which is all shared use with walkers) and a bit of unmarked stuff to sniff out.
Bourg Saint Maurice, of course, has direct access to Les Arcs which has loads of great singletrack, mostly un-marked though so a guide is pretty essential to get the best out of it.
The wider Tarentaise valley area has pretty much limitless scope for mountain biking, a lot of it well outside the resorts.
We're based half-way between Bourg & Tignes in the town of Sainte Foy. More info on the local riding on our site: [url= http://www.whiteroomchalet.com/sumhill.htm ]Tarentaise Valley Mountain Bike Holidays[/url]
Tignes:
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Les Arcs/Bourg Saint Maurice:
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Sainte Foy:
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Sorry to hijack your thread! Have you guys taken out insurance for your bikes to cover the flights? If so, who with - I'm struggling to find someone. Ta
The bikes are insured under the house policy with M&S. You've got me thinking now but I'm pretty certain they're covered under the away from home part of that policy.
went to les arc with bike village last year. absolutely ace week. http://www.bikevillage.co.uk/
Cheers. Sounds like Les Arc/Bourg is the place to be. Now I just need to find someone who does the complete package. Sounds like a lucky escape as far as alpine elements is concerned!
We stayed in Bourg Saint Maurice two years ago. Not a very lively town, but ok. There is a big Twinner bike shop for gear and rentals.
We stayed in a really nice hotel with a pool called the Autantic, booked independently. I didn't find it very convenient because at the beginning and end of each day, you had to ride uphill to get to and from the town. Nothing major, but unwelcome after a hard day's riding. It was also a long walk into town.
To access the mountain you get the funicular railway up to Arc 1800, then chairs/gondolas above this. The double decker cable car connects you to La Plagne when you have done this resort. This cable car was out of service for repairs all last winter and part of the summer.
If you want, you can ride to the valley floor from Les Arc or La Plagne and then ride back up alongside the river. No worries about missing the reconnecting link between the two resorts.
Going the other way (towards Tignes) takes you down to Vilaroger (which was featured on Top Gear) and then down and back round to the valley floor.
Les Arcs/La Plagne differs from Portes Du Soleil in that it is not crowded, but there is little in the way of downhill courses. It makes up for this with the sheer volume of fast trails.
Word of warning - the lifts are shut on a Saturday limiting you to just the funicular. The Paradiski cable car runs less frequently than in winter. The ticket office will not make you aware of any closures, they just take your money! (typical French service)
St Gervais/Megeve near Chamonix is worth a punt too.
Few things have changed since Spongebob's trip:
Twinner is no more, now re-branded as Sport 2000. Initial signs on the biking front look promising and we'll probably use them for hire gear again.
There is now some chairlift action available on a Saturday (resulting, I'm told, from a sit-in in the mayor's office by a bunch of blokes in full DH gear...). Only the Cachettes, but this gives access to the Avalanche Cup DH track, and let's you ride across to Arc 1800 or over to access the singletrack in the Malgovert forest so plenty riding available.
Onza: I'm not aware of anyone out here (other than Alpine Elements) doing a full package including flights (although I could be wrong). There's us, Ash and bikevillage as mentioned above all doing everything else.
Les Arcs is RUBBISH ;o)
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There is now some chairlift action available on a Saturday (resulting, I'm told, from a sit-in in the mayor's office by a bunch of blokes in full DH gear...). Only the Cachettes, but this gives access to the Avalanche Cup DH track
I forgot, the only way you can get change for the benefit of customers in France is to stage a protest!
The French make this a national passtime, unlike we Brits who are dead against such direct action.
Reminds me of when we missed a return flight from Geneva because the French farmers blocked all the motorways. I have no idea why, but these lazy work shy ****ers need a reality check with all the EU handouts they recieve!
I'll throw another vote Trail Addictions way. Simply superb riding. Some of the best trails I've ever ridden - there's only a couple of dedicated DH runs, but there's an amazing amount of super tech singletrack, all lift accessed.
Did Les Arcs unguided last year and found loads of great trails all you need to do is buy a map and be a bit adventurous
[url= http://www.flickr.com/groups/784659@N24/pool/ ]Les Arcs Singletrack Group on Flickr[/url]