Briancon MTB trail recommendations

No, go to Morzine!

The generalist is wrong, it’s rubbish don’t go there. 🙂

It’s really good, we had younger kids so got more out of the bike parks, did Serre Che, PSV, Vars, Risoul and Les Orres all of which had good blues and green runs for the kids, also did Montgenevre which was shit in the park.

The parks were all quiet (other than Les Orres) well maintained and compact. Unfortunately they’re spread out so it did involve driving around which is where it loses out to morzine or BsM.

The off piste is so good, mostly because it gets so little traffic, even the marked enduro trails. L’infernet and the PSV to AlB trails were epic as the generalist said, combined l’infernet with a run out the back of Montgenevre into Italy to do “the best single-track in the Alps” which wasn’t, it was good but full of walkers and nowhere near as good as the other stuff we did.

We also did a day where we did some stuff under the chantmerle bubble and a monster backcountry trail out the back of Serre Che to Prelles through the meadows along a sketchy traverse and I to some lovely chilled switchbacks . Also did a run from PsV into the gyronde valley which was really good too.

The main issue is that because tha parks are generally up the mountains a bit there is no link for the off piste stuff which drops into the valleys so it has to be end of the day runs on the whole. If there were a few navettes running from the bottom up it could be really epic.

Navette Runs 4 times a day from Guil Ebike and Intermarche at Guillestre to Risoul. 7€ gets you about 1000m of elevation. 15€ for a ticket for 4 people.

Beyond the chairlift, the Ebike is King!

The GTHA trails are well worth a look. The section through Furfande is superb. The section from Fressnieres to Ponteil, then down to Chanteloube is a cracker too.

DO NOT DO the GTHA section the drops off the Crete de Martinet at Risoul down towards St Clements. It has been heavily logged and subsequently bulldozed. It was absolutely horrible a few weeks ago and will take years to recover.

No, go to Morzine!

If you love queues, braking bumps, endless berms and trails without any defined character from the next, oh, plus 40€ day pass and more queues.

Have been bumming around the area for the last three weeks. Les Arcs, Pila, La Thuile and currently Tignes…. All much cheaper, less busy and fewer braking bumps.

Tignes / Val d’Isere, 18€ for the day…..

Next spot is Sauze d’Oulx, probably via Briançon, then towards Liguria via Alba (a mate lives there, but the wine is also a draw….).

Honestly, I fail to see the attraction of standing in line for 35 minutes just to go up a hill (that has no connecting trail from beneath the Super Morzine lift to the bottom) only to stand in another 25 minute queue to get to the top.

And it’s not as if the trails are that diverse and interesting or long that you’ll want to repeat that process every half hour.

Much better places to ride, imo…

Thanks @thegeneralist for the info….!

DO NOT DO the GTHA section the drops off the Crete de Martinet at Risoul down towards St Clements. It has been heavily logged and subsequently bulldozed. It was absolutely horrible a few weeks ago and will take years to recover.

Is that the one that finishes at the thermal pools? I was trying to get permission to do that and failed whilst we were there, may be for the best.

Thanks @thegeneralist for the info….!

Gotta try. Got some great suggestions from this thread and wanted to do my best to add to it

Viel Spass!

I think I want @thegeneralist to take me on holiday and be my new dad.

Now in Briançon.

Stopped for a day in Valloire bike park. Not very impressive, but some nice singletrack that is not on the map.

Will try L’infernet tomorrow. After that I’ml planning to drive half way up to Granon to ride the creast the next day. Breaks up the climb and should be a quiet night up top.

Again, thanks for the write up!

@mrhoppy

Is that the one that finishes at the thermal pools?

No. There are a number of trials that head down there, and the are all marked on the Risoul bike park map. The Black graded one is the one I think you mean and is one of my favourite ever trails. You should definitely do it. The Reds are good too. NB. The thermal springs are not that hot. Mid 20s, so don’t feel that warm in summer.

The GTHA trail drops off the top section of the Black to riders left and drops down a hanging pastoral bowl, then steep, craggy woodland to St Clements, a few km down the valley from the hot springs.

@alpin The Morzine comment was intended as a joke, for all the reasons you outlined.

@TroutWrestler….i know 😉, but still it wound me up enough to comment.

Just ridden L’infernet… Put Ministry of Sound Vol II (Pete Tonga Mix) on the phones and ripped down the trail. Nice.

Climb up was surprisingly mellow going up the old military road. It was even asphalted…!

Just re-reading this.

A trail update would be theta the Enduroreac trail from PSV to Argentiere has been heavily logged after you cross the Fournel. I don’t have good suggestion as to how to avoid it that I have tried. Either cross the river and climb (+250m vert) to 44.782235, 6.530712 before descending, or follow the road down past the silver mine.