Off piste/natural trails in morzine/les gets/chatel

Hi all

Currently in morzine, absolutely loving the place and want to get the most out of it. At the half way point in the holiday which isnt a nice feeling haha.

Anyway, after getting abit more familiar with the area, and the lifts etc. I wondered if anyone could recommend some off piste riding, some nice natural singletrack would be good.

Super morzine is seeming the best so far, and thinking of heading over to chatel and maybe into switzerland tomorrow. It’s my first mtb holiday, but generally a red run rider.
Would love to experience some natural stuff here too.

Your time and replys really appreciated.

Thankyou.

Find Les gets bike school and ask them to take you la Bourgeois and the descent to Samoens. Epic

AS Wors said, it’s epic. I did it in the wet a couple of years ago which was a mistake, way to scary for me. Save it for a dry day with good visibility.

Trips over the border to Switzerland are simple, get to the Mossette lift. Come back on the Swiss Mossette lift, via the GR5. Get a drink and a snack at the Refuge de Cheserey, a remarkable spot.

If you are confidant with a map and a dodgy translation there is riding to be had from Col du Encrenaz to Essert Romand, via Les Bois Noirs in the VTOPO guidebook available from lift stations. Be aware that the trail behind/ under Mont Chery/ Le drouchit/ La Mialle is landslipped away and impossible.

And then there is Les Roulaines, from Col du Bassachaux to Ardent (Lac du Montriond) Steeptastic, scared me silly.

Thanks very much guys. Sounds fantastic.

Dont spose anyone can point la Bourgeois and the descent to Samoens out on a map or gpx file by any chance?

Or is the only way to be guided?

Thanks all

Buy a copy of the VTOPO guide, plenty of routes in there to get you started..

Col de Cou is a more natural route. We’ll, place really but there’s a classic mtb route, even though it’s actually a footpath along the narrow ridge. Great views. Miles from any lifts. Should end up in Champery and lift back from there.

XCish in that’s there’s pedalling and bit of climb to get to the ridge. Ridge is technical and narrow, then descends through woods.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2517625183

Link to 1 of the descents from La Bourgoise, you will need a transfer back to the top of le Col de Joux Plane, unless you fancy riding back up it

ps Bit of a fuss about off piste from Pleney at the moment. Frenchies don’t like it.

Can understand if it’s tonnes of tracks all over the place. Gets a bit like that in UK in places. Far too many loam tracks. Just pick one and make it good. But anyway.

I’m all for natural(ish) off piste though, away from the crowds.

Col de Cou is now a no-bike trail along much of the ridgeline. I did hear there was potential for fines if caught.
Shame, because it’s brilliant.

Just got back from Morzine, an interesting mix of conditions over the weekend, from dry and dusty to heavy rain and slop. Tracks were drying out nicely on our last day yesterday, but a still a bit slippy under the trees.

Worth heading over the Morgins in Switzerland, you can get there via a quite long and fun traverse (mostly rocky fireroad) across from the Mossettes lift. The trails there were much more natural feeling than the Morzine, Pleny, Chatel, Les Gets ones, and felt like the grading was a step up too (ie Blues were more like reds etc). Only bummer is that to get out you then need to ride from Morgins to Chatel (a bit of an up and down road ride) and then get a bus up to Chatel Bike Park.

Morgins Blue

Col du Cou is indeed now barriered and no bike signs. I may have sneaked down early doors but spoke with the farmer at the dairy farm midway who confirmed its being ‘policed’ and you can be fined. FWIW I saw nobody walking it on my not ride obvs I pushed down it 😂

If you have problems reading no bike signs,

CF lift up to chatel lifts, along fire road following panorama (green) before it turns back down towards chatel continue straight on a switchback, and continue down to a cafe, go to end of car park and middle track into the trees along the flat (not the right most one that goes uphill), and follow that trail, walking when you see walkers all the way down to the road and waterfall on your way to the lake.

Some nice single-track and some steep loamy/rocky chutes. Watch out for falling rocks on switchbacks from above, hence no cycling route. Didn’t see any walkers at 4pm last week when storms were closing in and lifts stopped

I am currently daydreaming about my trip to PdS in July. Last time we did the Col de Cou to Champery, which is now interdit. That was my favourite day of the trip, so I’ve been trying to find similar.

Does anyone have any pointers about whether this is a legitimate route? It looks like a minor adventure I would like to attempt:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/30714528

That route youve shown obviously starts from the col du coux so I assume you’re planning on getting there the usual way from Les Crosets side, and then descending towards Morzine via Erigné?
If unsure if legit, Id always check it against the strava heatmap for MTB.

You’ll see that the northern descent from the CdC towards Freterolle is v faint, thats because its a bit of a git even on foot let alone by bike. Most would come down the GR5 and then track NW back towards Freterolle and then around lac des mines d’or.

For somethiung a little diff Id prob head down GR5 towards Chardonniere and then come out below the lake. To get on to the chemin du rennard you need to take a left across a meadow just as the road levels out in Erigné. Takes you all the way back into Morz.

Or just have a go and report back! 🙂

I recommend the XCish trail the Tour du Plateau de Loex (Les Gets – from top of Chavannes. You can find it on the PDS trail maps)

Even better, stitch it into a cracking outing. Its more pedally, bit climby, (1000m of lift assistance, 600m of pedally climbing, 25km distance) you can follow it on an IGN using:
Pleney lift
Les Gets
Chavannes lift
Tour De plateau de loux
Les Gets
Chery bubble lift
Mont Caly
Col d’Encrenaz
Col de la basse
Les Paquis
Les bois noirs
Essert Rommand
and then back along the river valley into Morz.

Cheers Stoner – I was planning on getting up there from the top of Mossettes with the usual traverse/climb.

I know the TdPdL route pretty well, and that’s on our list, but it lacks some of the majesty to the CdC.

Tour de Mont Chery is definitely on the list as well, although I’ve never ridden it. Last time I was there we took the probably-illegitimate path going North at the end of the MC Green, which ends up at Le Plancouard. That was stupid, but fun.

I’m open to other suggestions of course. Is there anything else like the Col de Cou tight switchbacky bits?

yeah that route to la plancouard is out of bounds now do to regular landslides and the surface disappearing. Ambrose knows it well!

Nice wee offpiste i did last year (ignore the few runs on the Pleney)

Basically up the mont Chery lift, then climb all the way to the top, drop down the other side, climb up from there then some lovely woodsy singletrack. Well off the beaten track

Check out my activity on Strava: https://strava.app.link/0XrVupBxg4

Cheers Bob. Looks a good tip.

While we’re on the topic – what’s the current thinking on the best way to get down from the top of the Super Morzine? The zig-zags do my head in.

Straight down under the Super M lift, lean back and hold on 😉
Seriously there is a track underneath, not sure if it’s out of bounds, not many where heading down last summer but it’s rideable but steep

I did one around Pleny last year. Following someone down it who is a better downhiller than me. It was crazy steep and in the woods. Crashed and injured myself, it wrote the whole holiday off as well as the remainder of the British Summer once I got back home. Mega disaster

The old Super Morzine trail does still exist under the lift, but it was battered 10 years ago, so can only imagine how bad it is these days.

There is a huge amount of unofficial stuff to the right of it though. Ride the new top sections down to the top lift and ride along the fire road to the right, which I believe is the ‘official’ retour route back to Morzine (it’s certainly the way they make you go on the official Passportes route) & as you go down there you will are trails peeling off everywhere.

It’s a bit of pot luck what you get, some are great, some are wrecked, some are steep but fun & some are eyes on stalks wild. You usually end up a bit south of Morzine, but a quick pedal back up the road and over the bridge & it’s fine.

Top half of the Super M black is destroyed. They’ve taken away the sign marking it as an official trail. You could do it, but once you get into the trees it’s farcically bad.

I usually zoom down the road then join the black at the half way point where it spits you onto the road. The bottom section is all fine.

The trail under the Super Morzine lift is open. We always finished on that as our digs are just along from the exit.

The trail under the gondola is quality, just gets more and more wild each year

Right, so I’ve been dicking about with maps and various gps trace websites and have designed the following route:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31978683

Some definite hiking points, but I don’t mind that when we’ve got all day.

Going to try and convince my mates to try it out this summer, but given their grumbling about the Col de Cou climb last time, I don’t see it happening. It’s got the option of giving up and descending back down to the valley floor via Morzinette if it gets too much, though, which I hope will tempt.

Blimey, if you manage to ride much of that you’re a riding god!

Seriously theres some stretches in that which are serious efforts hill walking let alone hike-a-bike.

The climb up to col du pic du talon is very steep. The first section from Avoriaz towareds Morzinette is a fair carry too. But after that it’s rideable to morzinette. Its the right hand area of this photo (taken from the Ressachaux)

I have no idea what the descent down from the col du pic du talon is like. But I’m guessing it’s gitting steep.

I’m sure it will be difficult, but I like to attempt stupid things from time to time.

take photos!
If you’re having a go when Im out there (early July to late Aug), drop me an @, I may well tag along for shitzngiggles!
Good luck