Summer Alps biking holiday - Is morzine that bad?

dirtbiker100

Looking at a 1 week biking holiday next year and the only constraint really is doing the passportes du soleil in the morzine area. really really want to do this.
unlike whistler with its a-line and dirt merchant, the main thing i've heard about morzine is the braking bumps. is it really that bad?
Is there anywhere else in the area that is better?
We'd probably drive so are day trips to alp d'huez and champery managable?

Looking at getting a chalet for 10 people on a budget so any recommendations are welcome.

dave_hill

Verbier gets good write ups.

Try Bike Verbier, its run by a British couple with British guides, they should be able to help.

mcbazza

Yeah, the ruts are bad.
Obviously, they get worse as the season progresses, and dependant on the weather.

Bad enough so that I'd advise against going?
Heck no.
Suppose it all depends on which trails you do. Some are more used than others.

Stuck a Lyrik U-Turn on my Stumpy for last Hol. Overkill for a XC bike. But, made all the difference (compared to previous time on the stock Fox air forx). Next time I go, the same Lyrik will move over to my new SX Trail, and should be even better.

A week is good. But, we go for week and a half. That way, you can afford to take the occasional 'beer day', when/if the rain sets in.

dirtbiker100

cool thanks for those inputs, seems like verbier is about a 2hr drive away with champery in the middle? which is a fine distance. will look into it. does it have much dh stuff in the area or is it all "xc" (which will be different to uk xc i know but still involves riding uphill ha ha)

The bikes that will be going are all mountain to dh so some will prob want an xc ride or two but mostly happy of up lifts. i've got a quake which i'm happy doing any xc trail in the uk on so should be fun over there.

i'm willing to find the less used tracks - dunno how i'll do this yet - to get away from braking ruts. Any ideas on finding out about tracks before i go or should i just chat to as many as possible when i get there?
now re-thinking the one week break to make it two...

Higs

If you get off the beaten track there is some excellent riding without a brake bump in sight. The main runs into town, particularly from the Pleney side, can get bumpy. Not a reason to avoid the place though.

Alpe d'Huez is a different proposition in my experience, rockier more technical and more 'natural'. It's a fair distance from Morzine so would be quite some day trip. Les Deux Alpes is close to AdH and great riding. The descent to Venosc is just superb.

Maybe for a week I'd do three days in Morzine then stay somewhere between AdH and L2A and do two days at each.

If you really, really want to do the PassPortes I won't try too hard to put you off but... I've done it and I've also been to Morzine a few weeks after. I wouldn't do PassPortes again. On the plus side it a decent enough event but, to me, this is negated by the crowds, queues and the fact that they have to use the main 'high capacity' trails not the best ones.

P-Jay

Yeah the bumps can get bad, and quite painful after day after day of getting rattled over them. For me my forearms gave me far more gyp than my legs at the end of the week.
Ha ha, I landed in one near the top of the Pleney back in July and it swallowed me whole! It was more of a landing bump than a braking bump though.

But hell, it's not the end of the world. TBH it's The Pleney and Les Gets I (which I can't remember the proper name for, but everyone seems to call is Les Gets 1 after the lift) which seem to suffer the worst as they're arguably the easiest of the official DH runs and closest to town, but they are maintained and I'm told it only gets really bad in very wet weather which 07 and to a lessor extent this year were. I've got my fingers crossed for a dry '09! ha ha, not likely.

Les Get II AKA Mont Chery was nigh on pristine when I was there back in the summer, mostly I think because it's verging on the insane, and once you get out of town and over to Switzerland you hardly see any bumps.

We were soooo very nearly going to Whistler next year but this recession has mullered my income so cuts had to be made. Although I've never to Whistler before, reading reviews and seeing things like Roam and Seasons I'd bet the trails are even better, less steep and more flow & fun but I'm hardly heart broken about going to Morzine again.

dirtbiker100

Thanks ever so much guys, that was a lot more advice than i was hoping for.
Higs - I can be swayed on the passportes, can you give more details as why you wouldn't?
it was too crowded and not fun trails?
Will look into staying else where but might be able to get a discount in morzine and it could just be easier to stay there for one week. i know that visiting AdH will be a long day but i think it could be worth it.
P-Jay - how far out of town do you mean when you say "and once you get out of town and over to Switzerland you hardly see any bumps."

P-Jay

dirtbiker100 wrote:

Thanks ever so much guys, that was a lot more advice than i was hoping for.
Higs - I can be swayed on the passportes, can you give more details as why you wouldn't?
it was too crowded and not fun trails?
Will look into staying else where but might be able to get a discount in morzine and it could just be easier to stay there for one week. i know that visiting AdH will be a long day but i think it could be worth it.
P-Jay - how far out of town do you mean when you say "and once you get out of town and over to Switzerland you hardly see any bumps."

Avoriaz, Chatel are only a lift or three away. It's dead easy to cover pretty massive distances using the lifts. You can be in Switzerland in an hour I'd guess, that's an hour of lift up and trail riding down, only seems a short time anyway, but you know what they say about time when you're having fun.

I prepared to be corrected, but a lot of Morzine's bad rep about braking bumps, motorway trails and the like are all about two trails The Pleney and Chavannes (AKA Les Gets 1).
They do get over used and because the Alps are so steep, the Trails are tough and some people's level of skill mean they have to brake a lot and brake badly with the rear locked up they get torn up.

But there are trails everywhere you could go riding every day for weeks, avoid them if you liked and never feel cheated. Chavannes is a great track despite the bumps with a 4x Track at the end, a quite massive woodwork to giant bowl drop and Pleney is an awesome track with dozens of different route choices. The 10% (which isn't all that) and dozen of tabletops, berms roots, and a little wooden bridge you can jump at the end that's straight out of a Disney film ha ha.

Not to mention they both finish meters away from a bar.

dirtbiker100

Perfek.
I can easily believe about the braking bumps and them only being on the main two tracks. Did the fort william enduro dh and braking bumps developed ON the berms after 5 hours! thought those riders would know about braking earlier.

you've been a great help p-jay.

sooner i can confirm who's coming and what not the better!
got other questions but i think finding a map/trails will be best when i get there.
accomm will be sorted soon and so will travel. all working out nicely!

P-Jay

dirtbiker100 wrote:

Perfek.
I can easily believe about the braking bumps and them only being on the main two tracks. Did the fort william enduro dh and braking bumps developed ON the berms after 5 hours! thought those riders would know about braking earlier.

you've been a great help p-jay.

sooner i can confirm who's coming and what not the better!
got other questions but i think finding a map/trails will be best when i get there.
accomm will be sorted soon and so will travel. all working out nicely!

Cool, Google a company called Trail Alpine if you're looking for nice digs. More expensive than places like Alpine Elements, but they're worlds apart. Not the party capital of the area though, so if you fancy half a dozen mutzigs every night it's probably not the place.

sara flowmtb

Just so you know - we have been working hard with the Morzine Tourist Office to get some more trail maintenance done. We made a survey (which some of you may have responded to - so thanks!) and presented the results to the Tourist Office. Because of that they have commissioned a company to do a report on how to improve signage, maintenance and possibly build some more trails - most likely is an easier grade DH down the Pleney. They are also trying to work with all the other resorts to get this done across the PdS.

At the moment we can't confirm exactly what will be done next summer, just that something will be! We're really pleased about this and it should mean that the braking bumps start to lessen!

If anyone wants to know more just get in touch with us at flowmtb.

Sara

dirtbiker100

Got a few younger people in the group who'd be quite happy spending all night in a drinking establishment so don't want to be miles away. probably do self catering too i reckon.
anyone any ideas on self accomm for 10 people in morzine? know about morzinelets.com but gotta find more websites/chalets i think.

i'll be knackered after this hol ha ha.

miss notax

dave_hill wrote:

Verbier gets good write ups.

Try Bike Verbier, its run by a British couple with British guides, they should be able to help.

I can highly recommend Bike Verbier My boyfriend has ridden with them a few years in a row, and I was out there earlier this year and they are excellent. The riding is geared to what you want, the guides are brilliant, the food is delicious and I really couldn't fault it!

Everyone enjoyed it - whether they had ridden for years and really wanted to challenge themselves or (like me) pretty much a beginner.

Higs

dirtbiker100 wrote:

Higs - I can be swayed on the passportes, can you give more details as why you wouldn't?
it was too crowded and not fun trails?

That's pretty much it.

The 'crowds' are both a plus and a minus. There's a really good atmosphere. Loads of diverse people on bikes having a good time. Some of the villages put on stuff like feed stations etc. But... it does obviously mean that the lift queues are longer (there are one or two pinch points) and you get people holding you up on the trail. And unless you're a MTB god, yo uwill probably end up blocking people along the route.

The trails they use are mostly really good but there is better stuff there. It's handy to not have to think about where you're going (or sort out guiding etc) but they do have to use the trails which will cope with the traffic. I guess if you're there for a week it's a really good introduction to the area and you can then add in the good stuff.

It's a balance... I'm glad I did it but wouldn't do it again.

mcbazza

I'm reluctant to mention who we use, as they are so great there is a risk of people swamping them, taking all the great apartments, and leaving us with nothing!!

Despite that - Alpine Navigations, run by Richard and Katharine. I couldn't say a bad thing about them, or their properties, if I tried.
Mention that 'Barry' sent you. Richard should remember me, as I'm the chap that had to return mid-holiday for a funeral this year. You won't get any special treatment for mentioning me. But, it just shows Richard how highly we think of him, and how important word-of-mouth is!!

Higs

p.s. if you don't get sorted self-catering I can recommend either FlowMTB or EndlessRide.

I've not stayed with Flow in Morzine but have stayed with them for a Megavalanche week in Alpe d'Huez. Guy and Sara are excellent hosts and I know they know Morzine very well indeed.

I've used EndlessRide for short breaks in Marzine a couple of times in their Chalet George. You can chose to have half board there or just B&B so it's a bit like self-catering but you've got the benefits of a workshop under the chalet and people who know the area really well and can recommend stuff to ride.

dirtbiker100

Higs wrote:

dirtbiker100 wrote:

Higs - I can be swayed on the passportes, can you give more details as why you wouldn't?
it was too crowded and not fun trails?

That's pretty much it.

Think i've seen a helmet cam vid of someone doing a descent on the passportes. they were fairly handy and were having to overtake people all the time...
but then as you said - could be a good intro to the area...
decisions.
thanks for advice on accommodation. already chatting to sara from flow who posted earlier. need to have a think and look through the advice i've been given!
thanks ever so much. would have been happy with one reply in this thread!

Chalky76

dirtbiker - second everything pjay said - really isn't that bad and bumps confined to the main runs back into town. you can hop across to Switzerland and back in no time, you really can cover a lot of ground in a morning or afternoon session.

My main tip would be to hire a guide, at least for the first day or two. Our guy made a world of difference and we never really suffered congestion on the trails (and we went in July this year). He took us to lots of places where you didn't need to worry about people in front or behind you. Obviously it adds a cost but split between a few of you, in the scheme of things I reckon its well worth it.

dirtbiker100

Chalky76 wrote:

dirtbiker - second everything pjay said - really isn't that bad and bumps confined to the main runs back into town. you can hop across to Switzerland and back in no time, you really can cover a lot of ground in a morning or afternoon session.

My main tip would be to hire a guide, at least for the first day or two. Our guy made a world of difference and we never really suffered congestion on the trails (and we went in July this year). He took us to lots of places where you didn't need to worry about people in front or behind you. Obviously it adds a cost but split between a few of you, in the scheme of things I reckon its well worth it.

flowmtb's chalet apparently comes with route maps, gps etc and the advice of Sara and ? eek forgotten his name as to where the good trails are. So if you think its invaluable to have some knowledge - i might be booking with them sooner than later!

thanks chalky

Chalky76

db - we went with flow too and it was flow who got us our guide (his name is Jo and he was great)

Flow are well situated right in the town and the chalet they provided us with was spot on

Anyway, you'll have a great time, especially if you get a week or more as there is a good chance you'll lose a day or two if the rain comes in (and when it rains it rains properly over there)

P-Jay

Chalky76 wrote:

Anyway, you'll have a great time, especially if you get a week or more as there is a good chance you'll lose a day or two if the rain comes in (and when it rains it rains properly over there)

You're not wrong, ha ha.

Had a storm the night we arrived this year (typical we could have rushed to build the bikes and got a couple of runs in on the first glorious day but didn't bother). Rain came in so hard and so horizontal it came under the window in my room. Soaked my bed, straight through to the sitting room below and into the ground floor! Work out all right though, they whistled me up a little room to myself.

Two weeks this year, so any really bad days and I'm pitching up in Bar Robinson wearing my drinking strides.