alps

morleyman200

looking at going to les gets or morzine or both next summer, and just started looking around. I know the riding has a lot of DH runs and also some XC riding, ill be enjoying both of them.

What sort of accommodation do you people go for? looking at chalets as there will be 4 of us. or holidays which are bike friendly? looking for something cheap as chips. whats the sort of deals you go with?

looking at lift passes? maps? are the trails mapped out well, what are they like in comparison to the UK?

thanks for your help
Tom

Majski

Have a read of some other topics, there's quite a lot of info been posted recently as it's summer season. Example: viewtopic.php?f=40070&t=12858082

also watch my vid from the other week (shameless plug) http://www.pinkbike.com/video/270857/

With regards to some of your specific points.

Accomodation - I always go self catered chalets these days. I have done catered before with Alpine Elements and the food was dire and the holiday cost a hell of a lot more. You can get and 'ok' chalet for £100 pp/pw quite easily in morzine. Have a rummage around http://www.morzinelets.com/ for some ideas of prices. I stayed in L'olympique penthouse this year which was pretty cheap and slept 4 easily in 1 double and 1 twin. There was also a fold out double sofa bed. The only issue was the 'secure bike storage' didn't lock and only fitted one bike in it so we had to lug the bikes up 4 flights of stairs each day and lock them on the balcony, not ideal. Though the location was superb, 1 mins walk from the pleney lift.

Lift passes - around 90 euros per week, 160 for 2 weeks if I remember right. Changes slightly each year but one pass covers the whole portes du soleil which is a massive area.

Trail maps availible in the Office D'tourism in morzine or here - http://en.portesdusoleil.com/portes-du- ... n-map.html

It's easy to find your way round with a bit of common sense, but going with someone who knows what they're doing will make your life much easier.

Lastly, it's mint.

morleyman200

thanks for getting back to me, great help, and your reply in that other post was highly informing, thanks.

looking at doing self catered chalets and there will be 4 of us, 2 of us have been to the alps before, but only to the chamonix and mont blanc area, looking for something new, and dont want to pay for all the guides etc.

Are the chalets alright with people bringing there bikes in there, when they say secure bike storage, is it not secure?
also im thinking of driving down from the UK whats the parking like? or did you fly?

Thanks tom

morleyman200

also for the best of both les gets and morzine, where would it be best to stay? morzine seems to have more to offer, what is it like to get to and from les gets?

Majski

I prefer to stay in Les Gets because I prefer the town. Morzine has 'more' but it's more of the same. I'll stick some pointers for you.

Shops
In terms of touristy junk they are both very similar. Morzine is bigger and therefore has more, but it's generally more of the same. The biggest advantage to staying in Morzine if you're going self catered is the bigger/better supermarket. Though I tend to drive over, stay in les gets and just pop to morzine when I need shopping.

Bars/Restraunts
Morzine is better for eating out than Les Gets IMO, and has more of a 'nightlife' in the traditional sense. Though some of my favourite bars are in Les Gets and they all tend to have more character and feel a little more personal. The Irish Bar in les gets is a fantastic micro-brewery that sells some really good beers. Les Gets is also quieter in the evening.

Riding
Morzine is the lowest point in the local area meaning you can generally always get back if the lifts are shut, this gives the place a great advantage over Les Gets. Also Les Gets is a bit out on the edge of the area so if you want to head further than morzine you've always got to get back for the last Pleney lift to get back to Les Gets. However, if you are 'just' planning on riding Morzine/Les gets then I think les gets has more waymarked trails than Morzine so there's no big difference. Really you should aim to head past morzine and over to Lindarettes / mossette / chatel for some of your trip or you'd be missing out sorely.

Bike Shops
Very similar, I like Les Gets because I know some of the shops but there are plenty and they're all pretty good.


Travelling Between
As I mentioned Morzine is lower than Les Gets. To get from Les Gets to Morzine you can either take the chavannes (chair) lift, drop into the red DH run and then turn off immediately right and follow the signs to morzine which is a fun little XC route (pretty much all downwards). Or you can just roll down the road from Les Gets meaning it's possible to finish riding in Les Gets, have a couple of beers and still get back to Morzine. It also means if you stay in les gets and want to head further afield you can roll down the road before the lifts open and hit the first lifts out of morzine to make the most of your day.

To get to Les Gets from Morzine you head up the Pleney lift, turn right out of the top, follow the fire road then follow signs for les gets. Fun bit of singletrack all the way down into town.

UH DH

If you are planning on going further afield, I'd really recommend Morzine. This year they started shutting the Pleney at 5pm, so to get back from Chatel or Switzerland, you'd need to be heading back around 3-3.30 to get back to Les Gets. Not ideal when the linking lifts finish at 4:45, giving you 15 minutes to 12km ride down to Morzine.