Chamonix advice please...??

evade

Hey all,

A friend and I are planning a few days in Chamonix in July . We're both used to tech, rooty, fast, twisty forest UK trails, but neither of us have done alpine MTB stuff before (but we've both been to Cham loads 'boarding). So my questions are:

- do you need a guide, or do you just jump on the lifts with a trail map and go?
- should we get any instruction, or is alpine riding much of the same with longer runs and better views?
- if yes to either of the above, has anyone used a guide or instructor in Cham that they can recommend (we're not going on a packaged trip, we're just going to slum it with friends)?

Cheers
Evade

stevomcd

The guys at Mont Blanc Mountain BIking come highly recommended - www.mbmb.com I think.

Be aware though that there are pretty severe restrictions on the trails you can ride during July & August.

evade

Cheers Steve, but it looks like mrmb only provide the full package - accom; guiding; etc. Too expensive for us...

So I'm guessing that the restrictions in July/Aug are due to rock falls from the heat?? That being the case, would it be much better if we went in June? Do you think it would limit us if we're only going for three days?

Cheers mate.

stevomcd

Restrictions aren't for safety reasons - bikes are banned from many of the trails in the valley during peak season.

There is still some good riding to be done, but I don't know the area well enough in summer to make any recommendations. Phil at MBMB is pretty helpful, he might be able to advise. There's also a good (English) guide-book and you can download a trail map from the Chamonix website.