I'm toying with the idea of a road trip for me and my 12yo son to an alpine resort for some lift assisted HT riding.
He can ride BPW blues, not ready for the reds there yet.
I'd like to ride from accommodation to trails / lifts. Where would be a good location to base ourselves?
Tignes, plenty of other stuff for kids there too!
Hard to beat Morzine. Loads of bpw type trails. Lots of greens and blues. The blues are probably a bit steeper than bpw blues but if you are there a week you'll both have the measure of them by the end of the week. Seeing more and more families there every year as well.
Tignes
10 minutes of your life you won't get back:🙄
Montgenevre could suit. Super fun. Quiet too so trails stay smooth. Serre Chevalier down the road too.
I know it's MTB in the Alps, but I "thought" I'd heard Morzine was riddled with horrible braking bumps. We'd be in HTs. Is this true? Or is it mainly on the DH runs? or elsewhere?
Thanks for the advice. Keep it coming. What's the real world drive time to Morzine? GMaps says 13hrs for us, is this generally accurate?
Have a look at Livigno, though harder to get to. The Flow trails would be ideal. Probably better for kids than Morzine too.
Morzine braking bumps do get progressively worse through the summer season.
Having been a few times I'd personally recommend elsewhere for a 12 year old on a hardtail.
Morzine greens were pretty ropey last time I went. No work done on them, and similar to Blues but without any berms!
having risdden Tignes I’d go there. Lots else to do by the lake for free with your Tignes Card too.
Not been, but heard that the trails at Saalbach are well groomed at generally a bit easier and more family orientated than the French resorts
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> https://www.saalbach.com/en/summer/mountain-biking/interactive-touring-map</span>
When I read your thread title my brain went Tignes.
Morzine expensive and prone to rain. Trails could be good but would be busy and can get a bit battered.
Tignes is cheaper, free lift pass and a nice vibe in summer.
It is a further 3 hours on but I'd say better for a first time trip.
Make sure you get rafting too. Canyoning is fun but might be tough for a 12 year old and via ferreta is excellent but again could be a bit much.
Whatever you do, it won't be your last trip so relax and enjoy, the mountains will still be there for a few years yet.
Lots of kids on the slopes of Chatel, bus was full of them after school. Never seen so many small fs bikes
The greens and blues in PdS (Morzine area) are a lottery.
Green / Blue down Les Gets 1 is lovely, super easy and scenic. The Green from halfway between top of Super Morzine and Avoriaz is even better, it’s great for any ability.
Green down the Pleney is sketchy as hell in the wet! It’s basically a big sloppy mess and surprisingly steep and rooty, green down Les Gets 2 is worse! And ends in a suburb somewhere without any sign posts back to the lift.
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 12px;">Not been, but heard that the trails at Saalbach are well groomed at generally a bit easier and more family orientated than the French resorts</span>
eek, no, No and thrice NO.
We did Saalbach then Tignes two years apart with 7-11 year old kids. We had a great holiday in both, but objectively (and comparitive to Tignes), Sallbach trails are simply shit. There's no other way to describe it at that age group and especially on a hardtail.
DO not choose Saalbach over Tignes.
And I say that as a confirmed Austrophile.