I was looking at riding the balcony trails near Courmayuer (Val Feret & Val Veny) on the Tour of Mt Blanc in August but I saw that last summer the local council had a bike ban in place so mountain bikes were forbidden on these trails from mid July to October. Was this just a one off for 2021 or a permanent thing over the summer months?

The implication was that it would just be 2021 whilst new trails were built for the bikes.
Handily, I rode the balcon trail between Refuge Bonatti and Refuge Bertone today, and there was a no biking sign ready to be put up near the Refuge Bertone, I guess for the 1st week of July as per last years ban. HOWEVER, there there was a sign at the end of the Bertone-Courmayeur descent for the MTB route via Col Sapin. It adds about 450m climbing to go via the col, but it also means you go even higher so you get even better views, every cloud etc…

I’ve not been into Val Veny this summer, so not sure what’s happened there.

In other about here access news, the home run from Pila to Aosta is closed indefinitely until a solution is found to a landowner liability problem, and a new VTT route has been built along the Posettes trail in Chamonix so a variation on that descent will be allowed all summer.

Is that the descent from near the top of the Aiguillettes des Possettes to Montroc @Grump? I think it might have been known as Root City some time ago (at least that’s what the guide called it). Still have clear memories of riding it over a decade ago.

@tuboflard Pretty much, it’s the same start and middle, but the exit to Montroc (which could, without doubt, be described as Root City!) has always been banned as it passes through the Aiguille Rouge National park so obviously I wouldn’t know anything about it… (although guiding it is pretty cheeky)
There’s a variant that, not long after you hit the tree line, turns off left and heads to Le Tour, and is much more flowy than the Root City option. Eitherways, there’s now a built MTB trail that uses a mix of itinéraire partager (where walkers and bikers are encouraged to play nice on the same trail) and dedicated walking and MTB tracks to go down to Le Tour. The line to Le Tour has been ok to bike outside the July – August MTB ban, and now it’s fine to use the MTB route in July and August too. Slight complication for this year is that the Le Tour gondola is being replaced, so the trails that go under it are all closed, and there’s no uplift on that side of the hill

Thanks for the information @Grump. Just to clarify, if I ride clockwise ( SW) from Col Ferret along on the Val Feret balcony trail (TMB) but I’ll turn off at Arminaz Desot and head up to Tze de Secheron and over Col Sapin and then down to Courmayeur?

I rode the balcony section on Val Veny back in 2019 and stunning views, but we came back down the road and there was a lot of vertical lost on asphalt, so I wasn’t so keen to revisit that one, but the Val Feret trail was one I wanted to do.

Thanks @Grump, great local insight. Need to get back there.

@John_Key Yup, exactly that. It may also turn out to be possible to traverse to the Bertone refuge then continue up the ridge and round to the Col Sapin, but it’s unlikely. I imagine the Courmayeur commune will publish info in the next week or so that will clarify all this, until that point there’s no official ban, so it’s not a problem!

For the Val Veny side, if you’re descending from Col de la Seigne then you have a fairly brutal, but totally worth it, push / hike a bike out the valley floor a few km after the Elisabetta refuge which then traverses on an amazing balcon track below the Arp and into the Courmayeur ski area before descending on great singletrack to Dolonne. Where there just happens to be one of the better pizza restaurants in Courmayeur….

@tuboflard If you’ve not been for a few years, then yup, you need to get back, a lot of things have changed in the valley, a fair bit of it thanks to Timmy at the Les Houches Bike Crew https://leshouchesbikecrew.com/

@Grump thanks for the information and its always great to have some on the ground knowledge!

@Grump. I have ridden up the Val Veny balcony trail from Courmayuer and the downhill to Rifugio Combal would be a fair push back up. From reading the Arette notice from last year that track seemed to be out of bounds over summer. One thing about that trail is the absolutely stunning views of Mont Blanc and the glacier. Just stunning. We are visiting from Aosta so were keen for a day ride up there, hence the questions on Val Feret as that is the one I think we will do.

@John_Key That climb (like so many in the alps I guess) is easier than you’d think from the way down, or at least, the memory is very good at blacking out the climb and just remembering how good the subsequent descent is…. 😀
Unfortunately it is one of the trails that got restricted last year, but the mayor’s note that came with the restriction did say that they are not against biking and they were going to construct a new path for bikes and ebikes through that area too, so it’s quite possible that’s happened, just not been published yet. I’ve got a few walking guide friends out on the TMB just now, so I’ll hear of anything new in Val Veny soon

Got to get to Les Houches this summer – looks amazing Grump

A Courmayeur thread and I knew I’d find nick here 😀

Thanks @Grump Funny how you blank out how big those climbs can be!I remember the Val Veny balcony trail drop down to the Rifugio was a fair distance and thinking it would be a far old push back up, but it would be a good option. Thanks for the info and roll on riding there and Aosta in early August

definitley my happy place lol @nuke

@John_Key Well, this answers a number of questions. https://www.comune.courmayeur.ao.it/linea-diretta/novita/notizie/regolazione-circolazione-in-bici-mtb-e-e-bike
I’m 99% sure this wasn’t published online last week, as today was the first time it showed up in any of my searches, but eitherways, the maps will help answer you questions. There is still a legal, marked, MTB trail through Val Sapin from the Col. What I’m not sure about, nor are any of the other locals I’ve spoken to, is how to link Col Sapin with the TMB balcon trail between the Bertone and the Bonatti.

Ha! makes it a big hard to link up to Col Sapin on the short uphill (1km section) going SW on the TMB from Tsa de Sacheron. Surely riding that short section to reach Col Sapin and continue down the valley staying off the prohibited paths should be OK?

At least the section back towards Switzerland is open

@Grump Presumably walking with the bike would be OK on those prohibited sections? Am riding the TMB in Sept (anticlockwise) and planning to stay at Bertone refuge, pushing bikes up from Val Sapin/Courmayeur on the TMB trail. Could then walk the bikes from Bertone to Leuchey Dessus (about a mile by the look of it)… then ride on from there along the balcony trail to Bonatti + Switzerland.

Was also planning to do the Arp Vieille / Checrouit section. The bike ban is 10am to 4pm – so could potentially walk the uphill section from Lago del Miage, wait til 4pm, jump on bikes then ride from there through the ski area and down to Dolonne + Courmayeur ?

Just tried to call the Courmayeur town hall to clarify but operator doesn’t speak English….

@seabadger, yer you’d think it would be OK to walk your bike.

@Grump

What is a good Pila to Aosta return route if there are issues currently? Would trail 21b be a good alternative?

As others have said, appreciate your ‘on the ground’ knowledge.

Sad news about that Aosta home run 😢

@seabadger I’d be really surprised if you had any issues with that approach (except for the push up from town to Bertone, which is hard going, only the section up to the col and around to Refuge Bonhomme is worse I reckon!) There’s a higher trail on the map that goes above the banned trail between Bertone and Leuchey. I have absolutely no info about it, walking guide friends haven’t seen it, but it could make it all easier. From there you shouldn’t have any problems other than the occasional grumpy walker, 99% of them are cheery as long as you’re stopping in at the side to pass each other.

Waiting for the restrictions to end should see you grand over on the Val Veny side, and the later you can leave the descent through Courmayeur to Dolonne the better, the lifts are open so you get a fair few folk taking the lift up and walking back to town, which makes the trail busy. It’s a right good trail, so it’s great if you can get it quiet!

@Rivett 21b is a great trail, I’m a little feart that the extra attention it’s getting due to the home run being closed might lead to problems a little down the line, but we’ll see. Most folk are just skipping the very first part of the home run and joining off the road crossing then using it for the way back to Aosta

Good holidays everyone!

Rientro being closed is tragic, I once spent a day doing non-stop runs from the top of WC track, down that, straight into Rientro and to the lift. Or I should say trying to do, broke a mech, cooked some pads, blew another set out the caliper, smacked my axle to bits and rattled a rotor loose in the process. Think I got 2 or 3 clean ones in the end

Was one of my best days ever on a bike, possibly the most vertical descending I’ve ever done, although it meant I couldn’t use my hands for a day or 2

Cheers for all the info and tips Grump, super helpful. Hadn’t spotted that trail above Bertone – only seems to be on the IGN map. Nice one !

Root City has always been banned as it passes through the Aiguille Rouge National park

Only just realised the Aiguille Rouge park extends to the east of the Col de Montets, I’ve ridden and walked that area every summer for at least 10 years! No more rooty switch backs from now on, I’ll turn left to Le Tour!

Good news that trail is now available in July/August, the climb from the Col de Possettes will put some folk off.

Again, cheers for the gen @Grump

<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>Super excited for getting back to the Alps.</span>