Where to go in the Alps

pat mcgucken

http://flyingpigsdh.com/
awesome riding, no lift queues no french people. They are also running stuff in the Algarve now aswell with shorter runs and not quite as full on terrain. The stuff up in Lousa is all do able, there are chicken runs round almost every thing and terrain ranges from wooded single track to full on DH courses and almost everything in between. I think the longest descent we did last time we were there was 18km, no pedalling or pushing needed. They also do an Algarve based holiday with a couple of days up in Lousa if you would like, its a 5hr drive up there from the Algarve but you can sleep while they drive, they travel up late afternoon so you even get to ride part of the day before you set off. If you don't want to ride with the crowds Portugal is seriously good.

pat mcgucken

sorry forgot to say that the lack of lift queues is down to the fact that all the routes are uplifted by trailer and 4x4 and all guided.

tlw1

shouldn't have looked at this thread........

Anyone done a mix of MTB & road bike - or is it two seperate lads holidays

Fully

I am off to Les Arcs in the first week of August. I'm staying in some fairly cheap digs in Bourg St Maurice. I was going to go with Trail Addiction, but decided that staying in the big town in the valley would be a better option for my non-biking missus. However, even though i didn't book with Trail Addiction they continued to be incredibly helpful with all of my questions, and i have friends that swear by them. If i was going with biking mates, i'd use them at the drop of a hat.

stevomcd

matthew h wrote:

shouldn't have looked at this thread........

Anyone done a mix of MTB & road bike - or is it two seperate lads holidays

We've had a few people come out and do a mix of the two. As well as having great singletrack on our doorstep, we also have the Col de Petit Saint Bernard and the Col de l'Iseran! :twisted:

dan45a

For anyone whos interested we visited Les arcs last july and had an amazing time. The amount of trails on offer are unbelievable, and the scale of the descents needs to be seen.

We were looking for Downhill and epic single track descents and that’s what we found. We had a guide (rob-Coolbus) for one day which was well worth it, and he showed us the most amazing unmarked routes, were we descending for over an hour at a time which was seriously hard work but one of the best things I've ever done.

There are about 3 marked downhill style runs plus loads of marked technical single track descents to keep you going for a week.

I rode my SX Trail II, and my mate used his Trek Session 88.

We stayed at the chill chalet in Bourg which is a great location.

We've been to Morzine and Les gets which are awesome but dare I say it Les Arcs was even better!!! (and not full of us brits) Go there!!

stevomcd

For anyone whos interested we visited Les arcs last july and had an amazing time. The amount of trails on offer are unbelievable, and the scale of the descents needs to be seen.

We've been to Morzine and Les gets which are awesome but dare I say it Les Arcs was even better!!! (and not full of us brits) Go there!!

Word! 8)

mtb-idle

I've been to Morzine and Les Gets twice self-catering/sef guiding (2005 and 2006) and Les Arcs in 2007 with Trailaddiction.

Booked to go back to Les Arcs with Trailaddiction again for the week commencing 19th July. Can't wait!

If you didn't get on with Morzine/Les Gets I can understand. It's a bit full-on. Les Arcs is much more relaxed and singletrack focused.

Trailaddiction will take you out on the first day and assess your riding skills/capapbility and then ensure you get the most out of the rest of your week.

poppit

Don't do France, too busy. Went to Hinterglemm, Austria 2 yrs ago and it was great, good XC plus one downhill course on site and Leogang park on the doorstep. Went to Kitzbuhel last yr, that was more XC but good fun, when we were there the tour of austria finished a stage outside the hotel and there was a special challenge race to the top of the mountain plus a world cup triathlon.

Going to Whistler this yr, can't wait.

malgovert

Jim - nice one fella, you'll have an awesome time in Morzine with your DH bikes, the man made stuff there is really good and for a safe bet first time alps trip, you cant really go wrong. Great atmosphere too - the first time you rock up and see dozens it not scores of other dh'ers all ripping it up at the same time...its a real buzz.

Got to say though, Im a convert to Les Arcs now myself, having been there a few times and now prefer it to Les Gets. Its true that its more singletrack biased but that doesnt mean less DH biased! If you ever go there with a DH bike, just make sure you are based near the lifts - the "singletrack" is such that if you pick the right route, you can keep shuttling the trails without pedalling at all. You need to have someone (eg a guide!) to show you where, though - its not marked out and tough to find.

Don't know what Stevomcd is on about claiming to be the only British qualified guide in the area. If you mean in Les Arcs, thats simply not true - there are several of other fully qualified guides out there and ones who have been around for a lot longer than Stevo! In fact one of my mates will be guiding there in the summer and I can tell you for sure that he is fully qualified. In fact that same mate told me that Stevo spent quite a bit of time trying to follow him around Les Arcs last year just to find out where the best secret trails were!
If Stevo means he is the only guide in Ste Foy, (which is in fact a totally seperate area to Les Arcs - its about 40 minutes drive away and not linked by lift at alll) then I stand corrected, and I do apologise!

Sorry for the thread hijack / rant but sometimes you just gotta let it all out! ;-)

hope you all have a great holiday fellas!

sara flowmtb

I think there's confusion over what it means to be a legal guide in France. Unfortunately for all of us working out here the French do not recognise the British MTB guiding qualifications. Whether their decision to do this is right or not is a different debate (and one that has been debated a lot on forums!) but the fact remains that to guide legally in France you need to either have the French MCF qualification; or the IML + the SMBLA and apply for equivalence.

The law has been rigorously applied in some areas, not so in others. Hence areas such as ours where companies like us have stopped including guided rides, and in other areas where some companies are still doing so.

I am presuming that Stevo has these qualifications and his equivalence application accepted, so like Gareth from Endless ride in Morzine, he can legally guide. Anyone with only the SMBLA / OTC qualification unfortunately cannot, and if they do so they risk arrest.

We may not like it but unfortunately to work legally over here for the moment we have no choice.

malgovert

Sara

Yes, there was a lot of fuss over in Morzine a few years back that resulted in the scenario that you describe. My point was that IMHO its a bit unprofessional to be claiming to be the ONLY qualified guide in the area when he has no idea (and has obviously been misinformed) about whatever other qualifications the other guides might have.

Its a sorry situation, but not that surprising really. Its been the same with Ski Instruction in France, for years.

bollox74

''I am presuming that Stevo has these qualifications and his equivalence application accepted, so like Gareth from Endless ride in Morzine, he can legally guide.'' [/quote]

I think what Stevo is saying is that he is the only British guide to have full French recognised qualifications in the area (this can effect insurance on guided rides), not that other guides are un-qualified, just not recognised qualification here in France.

As was said before it is a mine field here in France, even more so in the winter with teaching and guiding skiiing or boarding.

To be honest the french system need to broaden their horizons and recognise European qualifications, but untill they do it is the people suh as Stevo and Gareth who put in the work and pass their IML + the SMBLA who can claim to be ''fully French qualified''

stevomcd

I think what Stevo is saying is that he is the only British guide to have full French recognised qualifications in the area (this can effect insurance on guided rides), not that other guides are un-qualified, just not recognised qualification here in France.

That is exactly what I'm saying. Others working in the area are very open about what qualifications they do / don't hold. The comment about me following people around is making me smile though. Would be nice to have the time.