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You guys are making me jealous. Is there camping available or is it not worth it and as expensive as an apartment?
A group of us are looking at going out at the start of September. Thanks for all the tips guys, hopefully get to see the DH world cup at Les Gets at the same time.
Just arrived for 2 weeks of family fun, some riding some mooching and swimming and exploring.
Random question for the regulars/locals…is there anywhere reasonably local where you can see Marmottes easily? I know it’s not the highest or quietest part of the Alps so unlikely but I have a couple of kids who’d love to see one. Either from a lift or on a walk that’s easy to access from a high lift somewhere.
Lift out of Le Crosets has always been best in my experience. Lift from Lindarets towards Azoriaz can be pretty good too. They like a good sunbathe on the boulders
Parked up between Lake Geneva and Morzine in a valley with surprisingly good 4G reception.
We want "enduro" style trails (think La Thuile) or long flow lines. Not overly keen, not biked, for full on DH or massive jump lines. What is there in Morzine area?
What lifts does Morzine ticket cover?
Weather tomorrow is pants anyways, so I'm doing some paperwork crap. Wednesday should be decent, albeit a little windy.
Might go for a ride in the afternoon climbing under our own steam.
#redwine
Right..... Two days in Morzine and I'm sick of ******g berms.
Really very little variation in the trails down to Zore lift.
Ride one trail a couple of times.
Berm, jump, berm, berm, berm, jump, berm, berm, jump, berm, berm, berm, jump, jump, berm, berm....
Bored of that, let's try another line.
Berm, berm, berm, jump, jump, berm, berm, jump, berm, jump, jump, berm, berm, berm, jump.
ad infinitum..... No one stand out trail. All very similar.
I found myself thinking about what to eat rather than concentrating on riding.
Add to that the insane queues for the lift and I jacked off that area because it just wound me up.
Red and black down to Lindarets were unfortunately closed. Rode the blue which was OK because there were stones which at least made it feel alpine.
The blue (Chesery) is a joke. Complete waste of time. 250m vertical on a fireroad to finish. BS.
At the end of yesterday I discovered the trails going from the golf course down to the Proclou lift. The red and the blue were fun, more enduro style with rocks, roots and some natural kickers and drops (and some ladders) to contend with.
Didn't get down the bottom to ride in Morzine valley.
Overall not that taken by the place. Don't quite understand the hype.
Overall not that taken by the place. Don’t quite understand the hype.
Sounds like you've missed everything recommended in this thread.
😅 Probably.....
You did it wrong. I've been there a dozen times and I always find new things to terrify myself on.
We want “enduro” style trails (think La Thuile)
Overall not that taken by the place. Don’t quite understand the hype.
That's my feelings on the place too. Very bike-parky, admittedly it was ~ 15 years ago that I went. But once I'd discovered the other alpine trails, La Thuile, Tarentaise, Beufortain etc I don't have any desire to go back to Morzine.
That’s my feelings on the place too. Very bike-parky, admittedly it was ~ 15 years ago that I went. But once I’d discovered the other alpine trails, La Thuile, Tarentaise, Beufortain etc I don’t have any desire to go back to Morzine.
There is enduro/natural stuff in the Morzine/Les Gets area but you might need to pedal a bit or go off the beaten track.
One such trail was 'Monkeys ass (to goat village)' which was on a slightly hidden turning off the Panorama trail. If you don't know it was there you'd ride by it easily. There's a reason I went on a guided trip.
Overall though, I agree that Morzine is mainly bike park stuff, there's much better places too ride if you don't want that.
Definitely seemed a lot more bermy this time compare to previous trips.
For me, I'd much rather do stuff over on the Swiss side. A hiking route off to the left off the superhighway en route from Morzine to Lindarets is much more interesting than the bermy red/blue from the Col to Lindarets. Mossettes back towards Lindarets... but beware... there WILL be hikers on the bike-only section rather than the parallel hike-only section.
If you don't mind a pedally fireroad section then one of the Les Gets XC loops (Chappelle Jacquicourt?) has a proper rooty bit (actually too many roots for me when they were wet), and eventually meets up with the French National DH course.
Anyone interested in some unused PDS lift passes?Due to a collarbone break my son’s pass and one adult pass have only been used for 2 days.
We’ve got an adult pass for 3 non-consecutive days (up until the end of the season) and a youth pass (16-25 yrs) for 3 non-consecutive days until the season ends too. Both were 5 day non-consecutive passes and have only been used for 2 days each.
We’ve done some maths, how would £120 sound for both? Value is £180. We leave Sat so could meet up or could leave with our hosts to be picked up (not far from the far side of the wobbly bridge).
*there is a small chance our hosts might already have sold them but I haven’t seen them yet and don’t want to leave this any longer!
Don’t want to leave tomorrow! (definitely not a stealth bump!)
When’s the best time to visit Morzine?
I’d heard it was busy at the beginning of July?
Now is a good time. Queues are likely non-existent. He braking bumps will likely still be there, mind.
Honestly... I've spent the last six weeks visiting various parks between Morzine, via Pila and La Thuile, down to Valloire and Briançon (although I missed the last day of Serre Chaviler) and Morzine was the low point.....
Low point of Morzine was followed by Valloire, but the non bike park trails made up for it and it was less than half the price of a day in Morzine.
When’s the best time to visit Morzine
Lifts open in June and close early September. Peak weeks are French and English school holidays.
While there's certainly plenty of better riding in other resorts, what Morzine has is a vibrant social scene all summer long. I've ridden plenty of alpine resorts that have better riding but the villages or towns are absolutely deserted with most shops and restaurants closed up for summer and very few tourists.
"Morzine" is a catch all term for a huge area but the town itself is fantastic. Lots going on for non bikers and just a great place to spend time. The trails are IMHO great. I'd happily bang out laps of the Pleney black all day every day with no complaints. There's loads more riding in the PDS if you want to explore. For me, it really does everything for what I want from summer alps riding. Loads of riding options during the day and loads of apres riding options plus a ton of non biking stuff for anyone who isn't riding
People criticise Morzine because it's the popular choice. Especially on STW because everyone is so unique and couldn't be seen to hold such mainstream opinions. But it's popular for all the reasons mentioned above. It's one of the few towns that isn't a total ghost town in the summer months. 'Morzine' is just the central point of a vast area with loads of lifts and if you're based near town you can usually roll home when disaster strikes. Plus if you drive there it's an easy day out to somewhere else for a change of scenery.
Disclaimer :The official trails are a bit dull and repetitive. Lots of smooth flow trails and endless berms with massive breaking bumps. Most of the 'jumps' are just trail centre style speedbumps, although they have started building actual kickers in recent years. You have to go off the map for all the really interesting stuff. I've been there a dozen times and feel like I've barely scratched the surface. I'm frothing to go back after a long break.
This week will be a fun week to go if you want to play 'chase the world cup racer'.
Lifts open in June and close early September. Peak weeks are French and English school holidays.
While there’s certainly plenty of better riding in other resorts, what Morzine has is a vibrant social scene all summer long. I’ve ridden plenty of alpine resorts that have better riding but the villages or towns are absolutely deserted with most shops and restaurants closed up for summer and very few tourists.
“Morzine” is a catch all term for a huge area but the town itself is fantastic. Lots going on for non bikers and just a great place to spend time. The trails are IMHO great. I’d happily bang out laps of the Pleney black all day every day with no complaints. There’s loads more riding in the PDS if you want to explore. For me, it really does everything for what I want from summer alps riding. Loads of riding options during the day and loads of apres riding options plus a ton of non biking stuff for anyone who isn’t riding
I agree.
If you are family and want quieter, stay in Les Gets. It has the school lake for swimming in post ride and has less nightlife, but accesses all the same trails.
@kramer I'd say early July is best. Season starts in June but they don't open everything at the same time. August tends to be busiest and trails will have had loads of traffic already. Sept has more chance of rain and lifts starting to close (although they do appear to be getting better at lengthening the season). Avoid the Harley Davison festival if you plan on staying in Morzine.
Honestly… I’ve spent the last six weeks visiting various parks between Morzine, via Pila and La Thuile, down to Valloire and Briançon (although I missed the last day of Serre Chaviler) and Morzine was the low point…..
You've already admitted you ignored all the tips and advice in this thread, so it seems a bit counter productive telling people Morzine was the low point.
There is very good reason Morzine is the default European go to for both weekend warriors and the best riders in the world.
“Morzine” is a catch all term for a huge area but the town itself is fantastic
This is the important bit to note. I refer to "Morzine" as a base for riding the huge area the (admittedly more expensive than most) lift pass covers - Morzine, Les Gets, Chatel, Morgins, Champery etc
Holy thread resurrection...
I've been to Morzine before (lucky me) and ridden with mates who have been many times, but this year for a bit of piece of mind I'd like to plot some previous Strava rides on an old-school paper map. Plus some suggestions from this thread. My thinking is I'd get some context before I go, as well as having a backup in the camelback when I'm there. Plus I wouldn't be wholly reliant on others to suggest a ride each day.
Sooo, would this one cover most of the wider Morzine area? We will go over to Switzerland one day to do the ex Swiss DH run I'm sure, but for us being based in Morzine and using just lifts (i.e. no other transport), would that cover most runs?
Cheers
Yeah, that'll cover pretty much everything. Only thing missing is possibly some of the Swiss side and if you do the Samoens route (but that needs a drive back)
I must admit I'm a map fan but didn't really find that map that useful for riding. It's great for hiking but the riding is so terrain driven. Won't hurt though and maybe helps focus what you want to do a little.
The Vtopo guide has IGN (French version of Ordnance Survey) maps for each of the routes in it. My copy is quite old and looking at the Vtopo website it seems that the new edition includes gpx files too. Best of both worlds it seems.
https://uk.vtopo.com/products/vtt-portes-du-soleil
Thanks both!
Not much to add but I'd give my left nut for a sunny weekend on Pleney right now.
I’d give both.
I'd give all your nuts for a sunny weekend in PdS now!