Morzine vs BikeVerbier?

Ok, I absolutely love the biking in Morzine and Les Gets even though I’ve been on trail bikes and not downhill ones.

Has anyone who loved Morzine as much as I do also been with BikeVerbier and if so, what were your thoughts on the biking in Verbier? Will I be disappointed?

I went to Les Arcs and realised what I’d been missing if that helps

Verbier knocks Morzine into a cocked hat IMO.

i loved verbier

But did you love Morzine?

Edit: that question is to all above, not just jedi by the way

Go to verbier and ride the natural stuff not the bike park although that is superb. Morzine is average and past it. 5 -6 years ago morzine was good its over ridden now.or go to les arcs like the above have said.

And by les arcs I mean all the stuff out of the resort and lift area

I had been to Morzine and the PDS region six times, all with a DH bike focused on riding the DH courses using the lifts before I went to Verbier with BikeVerbier.

The riding I did there is the best I’ve done anywhere in the world (OK so that’s limited to the UK, the US, albeit California and some amazing rides there and the Alps) and I enjoyed it by a whole order of magnitude more than Morzine or anything else in the PDS region.

A lot of this may be because my riding focus shifted a lot between those trips. I used to ride and race DH exclusively but I was never more than very average and family commitments meant I moved away from DH.

The BikeVerbier riding is epic on a scale that Morzine can’t match purely because they get you into some utterly amazing spots and the riding down is equally epic. For example:

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One trail, called Hyperventilator, is about 15km long and drops over 2500m. It takes about 20 minutes top to bottom non stop, and has rocky single track, double track, bermed switch backs, roots the lot. It’s incredible.

But, it’s not a DH track, so if what you want is something like FortBill or Mont Chery then it might disapoint. I only got airborne once on the whole trip but that was largely because the group all agreed that doing big jumps wasn’t something we wanted to risk doing on holiday. Save that for when you’re closer to home.

The way BV works is that they look to split the group up so that you have people of equal abilities riding what they want to ride. Our group was all pretty equal so we all stayed together after the first day until they’d figured us all out.

We rode epic trails with epic scenery; everyone stayed safe (although the speeds we were hitting were pretty terminal in some cases) and that’s what we asked for.

There are monster DH tracks there though; stuff that would be more or less at World Cup level so if that is what floats your boat and you want to take your DH bike then Verbier can accommodate you but it would be worth talking to Lucy and Phil first about whether they can accommodate you.

Otherwise, BV is the very reason 160mm AM bikes were invented; you definitely need dual ply tyres, a large camel back and 36mm stanchions on your forks 😆

I’ll never go back to Morzine/Les Gets again having been to BV but then I will likely never own a DH bike again either.

i’ve been to morzine and while it was a good experience – my first bike holiday abroad, so it was amazing to be in the mountains and all, for me it’s not somewhere i would rush back to.
i’ve done 5 or 6 bike trips and bikeverbier is probably the holiday i have the best memories from. we did a back country week which is less DH focussed, and i remember my mate who was ‘organising’ saying that Phil was VERY clear about that when they spoke, but DH wasn’t what we wanted – we just wanted ‘normal riding on steroids’ :D.
we had one lift day in verbier, but apart from that we got shuttled all about the region, and had to do ‘some’ climbing – probably between 300 and 700m climbing/day, but nothing too arduous, and all with massive payback.
the descents were all long, with no exceptions, apart from little cheeky bits thrown in at the end of the day if we had some more left in us, and even they were only a little shorter by alpine standards. typically it seemed to be in the van to the top of some mountain, ride downhill, get picked up, go to the top again, have lunch, ride down again, do a bit more if you’ve got it. difficult to convey how long the descents were, or how steep. you’ll want to be very sure of your brakes. you know how people say ‘oh, just let the brakes off for a bit so they cool off’? some descents just don’t give you that option – if you let ’em off you’re doing 35mph before you know it, approaching a hairpin rapidly.
so, so many hairpins.
Phil and Lucy run a super slick operation. very well managed.
two guides with our group all week, which kept things flowing. i’ve been on other holidays where the terrain and riding came very close to BV, but with only one guide, which meant you’d just felt like you’d got going and you stopped again.

you know how people say ‘oh, just let the brakes off for a bit so they cool off’? some descents just don’t give you that option – if you let ’em off you’re doing 35mph before you know it, approaching a hairpin rapidly.

Oh how true. How very very true 😀

The thing that Del picks up on above that I didn’t reference is that the experience with BV is a complete package. The organisation is impecible; the chalet is lovely and very well equipped (good idea to take your own bleed kit though), the food is amazing and the company splendid.

The only thing that is hard to swallow is the price; it’s going to cost you about £1000 all in including flights. The holiday itself is about £700. That’s thanks to the strength of the Swiss Franc. Oh and if you have to buy anything for your bike that is also ruinously expensive.

But the price is only hard to swallow once; the first time. After that you’ll think it’s great value for money.

I’d be interested in the answer to the OP’s question, too. Pretty sure he’s asking ‘if you like Morzine where else do you like?’, not ‘Morzine sucks and is full of brits/braking bumps, so where is better/different?’

Nick I don’t think anyone has said that. Bear in mind that he OP is asking for a contrast between a place and a bike holiday company. They aren’t apples and apples.

If you like Morzine you will like Verbier but you might not necessarily like BikeVerbier (although I’d be surprised).

Verbier has DH tracks with lift access from the town. You can shuttle and ride all day long on the same tracks and there are a lot of them in the bike park.

Morzine has lifts and tracks as well and you can ride in Les Gets. It’s been a few years since I was there and I know a lot of building work has been done, but the new stuff I’ve seen and ridden appears to be very ‘slope style’ influenced. If you’re into riding big, fast trails with even bigger jumps, then I don’t think Verbier is for you.

On the other hand if you’re into riding technical, steep, rocky and varies trails that even in the bike park are not particularly groomed, then Verbier is definitely for you.

That’s very helpful info to be honest. Nickjb you are right that I was asking where else is likely to tickle my fancy if I liked Morzine. Yes I know it has plenty of braking bumps, minor lift queues and super skilled dh riders blasting past you but none of that bothered me. I just loved doing Le Pleney all day and learning to clear the tabletops in Les Gets by the end of the week.

Anyway, the above is very useful and sounds great to be honest.

@GeeTee,
Just out of interest what do BV call the trail in your picture? It is one of my favourite ones in that area.

the best things about other places were…..
1) Lack of braking bumps
2) Not needing Wet Screams
3) It not being full of mincers going flat out on the easy trails on DH bikes trying to knock the missus off
4) All of the above

Just out of interest what do BV call the trail in your picture? It is one of my favourite ones in that area.

That was the day we did Hyperventilator. From where we are in that picture, we rode down to the lake you can see behind us. There is damn on the left; we crossed over that, then pushed up the hill, ending up somewhere just behind where my helmet is (I’m the larger chap in the foreground looking at the camera). It was a big push.

This is taken from that spot:

I know the trail… Was just curious what they called it. I know it by it’s geographical name.

This location might look familiar to you.

I’ve ridden with BikeVerbier and was really impressed – I would massively recommend them as a company – and I also really liked the riding there.

I have also ridden in Morzine which I enjoyed, but I personally found it a bit too DH focussed for me. I enjoyed as something a bit different, but it’s not really my thing…

For what it’s worth, I really enjoy technical xc type riding and Verbier seemed to do that brilliantly 🙂

Don’t forget Powder and Dust if BV are booked up – very likely. I first got put in touch (by Lucy) with them when BV were full. Same deal, with a relaxed, fun, Scandi vibe.

Verbier is awesome. The only thing I missed was the odd flat out section/air/berm fest. But it’s head and shoulders above morzine. REAL mountain biking in my opinion. But there’s similar ish riding to be had in PDS if you venture out a tad.

Weather was often better in Verbier too. Except a Barmy 2002 dust fest in Morzine.

I was in Chamonix guiding in 2003, which was the driest summer they’d had in years. Fantastic.

For what it’s worth, Cham absolutely knocks the spots off Morzine too if you’re into ‘natural’ or ‘proper’ mountain biking. Only problem now is there’s stacks of access issues. 🙁

Verbier is totally on my list.

I think it very much depends on the type of riding you want to do.

If you want to go away and ride DH for 2 weeks, and ride hundreds of different tracks, from reasonably easy to outright lethal and everything inbetween, then Morzine/PDS is hard to better. However, staying away from the main lines is par for the course. You really need to know the area well to make the most of it.

If you want to do some proper mountain biking, then other places such as Verbier/Chamonix etc will be a better choice IMO.

geetee,is the guy on your left,not the one hidden,Steve Wade from Orange ?

geetee,is the guy on your left,not the one hidden,Steve Wade from Orange ?

It is indeed. He co-owns the chalet with Phil and Lucy.

I had the privilege of holding his wheel down Hyperventilator the day he came out with us. We were giggling like school boys at the bottom. Just completely blown away by how good the riding was!

He’s a great guy to ride with and exactly as you expect him to be. A straight talking Yorkshire man!

You need a guide for Verbier, which you don’t for Morzine.

Riding in Verbier’s amazing, and Bike Verbier are the only folk who’ll get you to the very best of it, despite what other companies might claim. Plus their overall operation is tried & tested, super smooth and oozes quality.

Plus their overall operation is tried & tested, super smooth and oozes quality.

Agreed. My ex came off his bike, mashed his hand and had to fly back to the UK for surgery on the first day of our BikeVerbier holiday – they say you should judge a company by how they cope when things go a bit ‘wrong’ and Phil and Lucy were fabulous.

done the PdeS region 8 years on the trot. Went to BV last year for the first time. Planning to go back to BV this year instead of PdeS. ‘Nuff said.

Verbier sounds the dogs danglies,apart from the lifts…. and maybe hike a bike pushing alot? which yeah we all do especially in th UK,
but if i go to the Alps then i want Lifts galore.
Verbier is on the cards maybe i loved Chamomnix like nowt else and thats got to be th place to go back to.

Morzine- been shed loads,said i wunt go back, but hey-ho did most of the season there after Cham last year

And i tell ya didn’t ride any main line crap there or Les Gets which is pants.
All the sneaky stuff in Morzine-PDS is bang on i tell ya .found loads last year loads all off the main stuff away from the braking bumps.
proper good and no hiking hardly.you get ya moneys wroth with the lifts and no pushing……
i wouldn’t write off Morzine ever its just knowing the good stuff which you need to be shown or do a season to find it..
ill be back there this year as loads to ride, and that’s me saying that after riding Chamoinx where the trails there are the best ive rode in the Alps.

Looks at picture with a very familiar looking bike in… Goes off to look at bank balance 🙁

I guess I did have 2 weeks there last summer.

Hike a bike in verbier? Eh? They do their own uplifts with a van as well as use the verbier ski lifts.

Hike a bike in verbier? Eh? They do their own uplifts with a van as well as use the verbier ski lifts.

Yes but there is still some riding and pushing involved. To get to the top of Hyperventilator its two times about 300m of pushing.

We also did a day over in Crans Montana; that involved the funicular railway up to about 1500m and then a fairly long slog up to 1800m but then glorious ribbons of single track back down.

To get to the really good stuff, you have to sometimes put in a little effort.

I’m sold

Wl – Stayed with Powder & Dust then? Strange comments as they found & built trails with/rode with/good friends with Lucy & Phil.

Both quality set ups IMO and I’d love to get out there again!

geetee, I agree, we did the same big ride off the funicular (that day had 1000m of vertical pedal climbing but 2500mm of descending) but don’t remember any hike-a-bike (they have so many trails and areas sussed its likely you rode different stuff to us, we may not have done hyperventilator).

I’m not averse to putting in the effort (Top Station run in Kerala India has a 30km road climb to it…) just taking issue with Blower suggesting Verbier has loads of hike a bike when he is just so like all about the uplifts…

That road climb in Kerala was actually a bit different TBH – it had Elephants on it 🙂

IT was different as I got groped at every tea stop and I think I’m officially married too 😉 I still can’t believe I did the ride up rather than take the uplift!!!!!

Look at this thread too:
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/can-anyone-compare-bike-verbier-with-other-holiday-companies-ive-used

It’s the lift system that makes PdS popular, and the DIY element it brings, not the terrain and trails. If you are going to the Alps then get a proper feel for them by going to Verbier, Chamonix or somewhere else a bit more “natural”.

That’s my opinion anyway, horses for course etc.

As agentdagnamit says! if you want cheap holidays then do Morzine, you don’t need a guide, there are hundreds of chalets/cheap accomodation.

If you quiet trails, phenoomenal riding with awesome views and a holiday which feels like you’re riding with your mates, outstanding food, top spec chalet then it’s BV you want. It is worth every penny.

Chamonix kicks ass! …but I haven’t been to verbier or morzine so this is a good thread for me too, I want steep techy stuff more natural than groomed dh, which is why I loved chamonix so much, although there was loads of hike a bike but it was well worth it!! I hear verbier has plenty techy trails but I don’t want too much climbing, as that is time wasted when could be descending, so I know exactly where your coming from blower! I’v been told there is some good techy stuff in morzine that not many people know about and ride as most do the main groomed tracks…I’ve done les arcs and that to me was no where near as good as chamonix.

Shaggmiester that sounds like BV could cater for you perfectly! They have some mentally steep, tight, twisty, cornery descents off the beaten track.