Done Morzine twice now so fancy somewhere else for a week this summer.

Also done Verbier so count that out too.

Thinking Chamonix…?

Where else is good for general trail stuff – bit of DH maybe but not solely that. What my mate might call an “eclectic mix” of riding, with plenty of lifts to mix things up.

Ideas?

Will be flying into Geneva then taking a taxi transfer so can’t be too far from the Morzine area.

Chatel

Les Arc and Sainte Foy area. It’s got everything.

Try Tigne.

Alpe D’Huez is great and very close to Les Deux Alpes (with a weeks lift pass at one getting you a days free pass at the other).

Best to avoid Megavalanche week if you are not competing though, as it is very busy.

Switzerland: Rhone Valley incl. Zermatt or Graubunden.

Huge mix of everything. Easy transfer by train from Geneva for Rhone Valley or Zurich for Graubunden.

Here are two less thought of options for you less than two hours from Geneva.

la Clusaz/le Grand Bornand = four interlinked resorts.

Areches Beaufort/ les Saisies = 19k mainly downhill to Albertville with a bus back up + the usual gubbins.

cheers all.

Do you want waymarked MTB pistes or something more adventurous? The Alps are very big….

Chamonix is a waste of time in July & August as most riding is essentially illegal. A local Arete Prefectorial limits riding to 12 named sections of trail.

Went to Tignes last summer. It was awful. We left after 2 days and went to Morzine.

Very little open (including the main lift, even though it was the ‘opening of the bike park weekend’) There was too much snow and melt-water. We could find about 1 bar open, 1 restaurant. Tiny supermarket with barely anything fresh. One outdoor shop that had a few bike parts on sale.

The Porte Du Soleil had loads of new tracks since I was last there in 2006, so it’s worth a re-visit if you haven’t been for a while.

I would plump for Chatel. Or Morgins, but I think that will cost a bit more as it’s Swiss.

Maritime Alps with RivieraBike

you wont regret it!

Les Arc and Sainte Foy area. It’s got everything.

+1, we had a boss week last year with The White Room.

We stayed in Chamonix this year, pretty good, but we had a couple(was that good we had to go back) of days in Pila, loved it. The normal runs are brilliant and the 11km run back down to the town is fantastic.

Probably have a week there this year.

Pila

Morgins is a small town and was very quiet when i was there (july) but the 2 downhill trails were special.Les Arcs sounds like the perfect mix, the epic singletrack is exactly that with a dh track you could session plus a fair bit in the town itself. You can always get the eurostar to Les Arcs as well to save flying. Look at trail addiction or Coolbus Rob will point you in the right direction.

Is Chamonix rubbish in July and August? You can’t ride off Grands Montets, Flegere (except the DH tracks), or Brevent in the direction back to Chamonix (this is my understanding). But there is still a hell of a lot you CAN do. I didn’t even like the Flegere stuff that much when I went in June, compared to other stuff, which you can ride in July and August (but others on here will disagree). Whether there are just too many walkers then, whether or not you’re technically allowed to ride, I don’t know.

jhw- as previously discussed there is more to the Chamonix valley (& environs) than the Commune of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc 😉

Les Arcs IS indeed the place to go though – specifically here 😉
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Les Arc with TrailAddiction. Ace!

Or Alp d’Huez / Les Deux Alpes for a more ‘bike park’/downhill feel.

+1 for RivieraBike also!

can you get a taxi transfer from Geneva to Les Arcs, like you do for Morzine?

I guess the holiday firms like TrailAddiction will run transfers as part of their package, but I’m talking about an independent transfer, so you’re not tied in to any accommodation.

thecoolbus.com offer transfers from Geneva to anywhere in the Tarentaise Valley, including Les Arcs.

trailAddiction, BV and the like organise their own airport transfers.

All in it seems to work out cheaper to go for a package, when you factor in a chalet, food, guiding (a must in Les Arcs), airport transfers and all the hassle of sorting this all out yourself, £489 with trailAddiction starts to sound very reasonable. The main thing though is the fact that lift passes are sorted, we stopped in the best places for lunch, always stopped in a different bar with a view for a post ride beer and the backcountry day to Mont Jovet has to be one of the best bits of singletrack i’ve ridden!