I have only visited Morzine and the Portes du Soleil (PDS) area once, and that was on my Honeymoon in July 2015, though I can safely safe it will not be my last visit, as we are currently planning a skiing trip this Christmas, I actually hope it will be the first of many! As the 2015 biking season in Morzine comes to a close, now’s the time to start planning your 2016 trip, or risk the chance of being disappointed. The repeat guests with local knowledge will be tapping up the little agents and private lets well in advance, the first timers or irregular visitors will likely be reviewing prices from the major operators with their big hotels. If you’ve never been then you are most definately missing out, no matter what pushes your buttons, there is something for you in and around Morzine. But first, let’s talk bikes!
Views looking South West across Morzine
Hands down the best thing about Morzine is the atmosphere. Everybody there is brilliant, they are all there for the same reasons, to relax and enjoy the outdoor activities. You can literally strike up a conversation with anybody you find yourself sat next to in a bar or chair lift. During the summer season (June to August) the whole region becomes a cycling haven, mainly Mountain Bikes, but also a good splattering of road bikes. The Tour de France has visited Morzine on several occasions and there are rumours of it returning for 2016. This has helped give the region some kudos with the lycra divas. The drivers are very much used to the presence of bikes on the road, be they road bikes doing their thing or mountain bikes transitioning from one area to the next. They are also very tolerant so you don’t feel intimidated like you do on Britain’s roads.
Some guides on road cycling around Morzine can be downloaded here, but there are many sites offering ideas and advice, just Google it… http://www.rudechalets.com/summer-holidays/road-cycling/morzine-rc/. My wife and I are not slender machines that can cycle all day, our bodies are not designed for that, especially our asses, so we chose routes of a maximum 20 miles, after all, you can’t go anywhere around there without having to do a lot of climbing, so 22 (ish) miles is a good few hours out on the road. My wife is a graphic designer and she went and designed us a honeymoon cycle top to wear for the road phase of the honeymoon, I was slightly disturbed but impressed at her abilities, I have to admit I was a little embarrassed putting it on for the first time, but soon warmed to it. Though i’m not sure if she drew me of that guy that presents the weather on ITV!?
Our personalised cycling jerseys
Through our holiday company we were able to hire 2015 Specialized road bikes for two days, nice efficient machines that rode and shifted gear much better than my entry level Barracuda back at home. We intended to make the most of our time and cover two stunning routes that we could easily complete at a leisurely pace, to take in the sights. The first day took us from Morzine up a series of switchbacks underneath the Super Morzine lift and on to Avoriaz, a town that sits right at the top of the cliffs to the South of Morzine, mainly a skiing resort due to the ski in, ski out nature of the village, but has good access to the Super Morzine DH trails and Chatel Bike Park. The route up was pretty steep, I won’t lie, it wasn’t nose bleed steep, but it was a steady consistent spin in the granny ring. It was certainly all rideable which was better than I was expecting from a TDF Stage. We spent a bit of time in Avoriaz, checking out the stunning but eerie architecture. From here we enjoyed the descent to Lindarets, aka the Goat Village, where we stopped to query why people would sit and eat their lunch with goats leaning over their plates and flies bloody everywhere. After the briefest of stops to get some photos we carried on to Lac Montriond, this descent was a lot of fun, even though I was on a road bike, I was employing MTB cornering techniques and over taking cars when visibility allowed. When we arrived at the lake we briefly stopped to try and have a swim, however we found ourselves at the south shore, which we soon realised was not suitable for swimming, being very shallow, silty and having weed everywhere. We gave up and conceded defeat, but on our way down the lake we saw at the other end, all sorts of water sports with families frolicking in the water enjoying themselves. Bugger.
Posing on the Southern shore of Lac Montriond
On day two we took the route out of Morzine, North up the slog to Les Gets, straight through the town and down the other side, eventually turning right we then headed up Col de L’Encrenaz, a long climb that was really steep in places. We were treated to some beautiful craggy, mountainous views, I rode ahead and had to wait for sometime for the missus to catch up. Eventually we arrived at the top of the Col, a pub / restauarant and stunning views down the valley gave us time to reflect and relax and enjoy our packed lunches before heading South down the long descent to the River Dranse. We stopped a few times on the way down to come out of the tuck position and admire the views. We also slowed for a particularly sketchy section where they had resurfaced the road with bitumen and stone, not great with 15 stone on 23mm wide tyres at 30mph and a 10% descent! At the river we turned right and followed a slight climb back to Morzine. For both day’s riding we were provided with stunning weather, and although this can bring its own annoyance factors such as dehydration, sweating, flies etc, we felt truly blessed to be able to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Looking South, part way down the Col de L’Encrenaz descent.
Day three was MTB day. We swapped the road bikes for entry level hardtail mountain bikes, Specialized Pitches, with basic sprung 100mm travel SR Suntour forks. I knew we needed to start steady, so we took the Pleney lift, with it’s big cable cars, up out of Morzine and followed the Blue ‘Family XC Trail’ over to Les Gets. All I can say is the ‘family’ trail was brutal! Braking bumps throughout meant it was a bone shaking ride all the way down to the bottom of the Chavannes lift in Les Gets. The trail crew clearly don’t spend as much time and effort maintaining these trails as they do the DH runs. If you are a novice or on an entry level bike, just take your time on this transition between towns, else you may come a cropper like my missus did, twice, within 5 minutes. She had a massive over the bars and it really shook her. We had to stop for a while and get a brew in Les Gets before continuing on with the day’s plans. The Chavannes lift is a traditional chair lift where your bikes hook onto the back of the lift in front of you, we stood and watched the riders loading their bikes on the for a couple of minutes. I didn’t want to be THAT guy who didn’t know what he was doing and have the lift stopped. It’s a long ride up the Chavannes, taking at least 10 minutes, but it gives you the opportunity to scope out some of the trails from above and it takes you straight to the trailhead of the majority of Les Get’s DH runs, including the PDS ‘Enduro’ trail that takes you back to Morzine. The plan was to ride the Enduro trail all the way back down into Morzine and grab some lunch. To clear up any doubt, I believe it is called the Enduro trail as it is up and down, like a British cross country (XC) trail. I had very little confidence in the Pitch on these trails and the wife was still a little shakey, so we didn’t really enjoy the ride as we had hoped. Although the Enduro trail didnt have technical features like jumps or drops, it was quite natural with roots and ruts to catch you out, and it was steep in places. We got ourselves down and chilled out in Morzine for a couple of hours, grabbing some lunch and then headed back to the chalet.
Looking accross the Morzine valley towards Avoriaz
The next morning was very special for me, as I handed back the Pitch and spent a bit of time with the bike Mechanic Phil to get the Specialized Demo 8 downhill bike set up for me. This would be my first time on a big rig and my first time on Alpine downhill trails. I was definitely nervous, all sorts of questions running through my head making me wary; could I ride this big heavy bike, were my skills up to scratch to deal with the gradients and technical aspects of the trails, What would the trails be like? How do they compare to the UK? How will I ride the trails blind, etc, etc. So much doubt and the words of my new wife resonating in my head; be careful, don’t do anything stupid. To make matters worse I had decided to clip into the pedals again, I felt being connected would put me more in control certainly if I was going to get some air time, but in the event of a crash it would likely make life a whole lot more difficult. I knew I needed to start simple so the Green run over at Les Gets had to be my start point.
Pleney and Les Gets Bike Park Trail Map.
Up the Pleney, down the family blue to Les Gets and up the Chavannes lift, this would become a regularly travelled route. From the top of the Chavannes it was a couple of hundred metres to the start if the Green, I rolled down and stopped to get my phone out and start my Strava app. It was OK, downhill all the way, only needed a few pedal strokes here and there in order to get back up to speed after a corner, or if you wanted a bit more speed than the modest gravity could offer you, it was certainly better maintained than the family trail! There were no technical features, unless you went looking for them. You could look slightly off the main beaten trail for roots or the odd kicker here and there to grab an inch or two of air. The top half was pretty compact, a nice gradient with a couple of small tables and berms, the last half of the trail was an access track, so nice and wide, but lots of loose rocks and drainage features that could catch you out. All in all it was a good introduction to what it was all about. The main thing of note was that if you expect to be able to take small kids out and safely ride a green trail around the UK, this is a different beast, so don’t assume the grading is the same as UK. This becomes more apparent when you get to the Blue trails. I spent the rest of the morning hitting the various Blue trails around Les Gets, some of which were a bit higher up the mountain than the Chevannes lift took you, you could either pedal / push up, or carefully choose a trail that took you to the bottom of the next lift along. Note that not all lifts run in the summer months, so if you see a lift on a map, don’t assume you can use it. The blues were not too taxing, nice smooth trails with plenty of table tops and big berms to have a play on, but everything rollable. I headed back to Morzine to get some lunch from the chalet and catch up with the wife. Having been down most of the Les Gets Blues, I decided to spend the afternoon on the Pleney runs just above Morzine.
I started with the Blue runs under the Pleney, again hoping to progress with the grading. Boy was I glad I started in Les Gets, the blues up the Pleney were much more technical; longer, steeper and much more rooty! It was physically demanding, my legs were burning and my back was straining from trying to move the bike around. Generally I had no problem riding these trails, the bike was sure enough over the rough stuff and the masses of travel smoothed it all out. To be honest, I would have been happy riding these trails on my own ‘All Mountain’ bike. I was gaining confidence and ready to step up to some bigger features and more technical trails.
Sat on the hired Demo 8 in the middle of Morzine.
The next day I decided to head over to the Super Morzine lift, easily done as the lift passes cover you for the whole PDS area. You need to ride the Super Morzine and then the Zore lifts to get to the trailhead to the South of Morzine, the Zore allows you to look over the majority of the trails as you head up. Berms and table tops littered the area, lone riders and long trains were heading down the trails, jumping and styling it up on the tables. I was looking forward to this. There were a selection of Blue runs and a couple of reds tucked away, I decided to stick to the Blue’s for now and try and progress and build confidence getting some air, something I was pretty fearful of before now. The tails started off very bike parky at the top, hard compacted stone, lots of big berms, small drops, little doubles and progressively bigger tables. As you get a bit further down the hill they head into the trees and you have quite a bit of choice, some remain hard packed and jumpy, others became more natural with wet roots and a bit of mud to contend with. The trail crew were out with temporary closures but would open the trails back up when they went for their lunch. They were doing a great job, making a noticeable difference to the trails as they progressed on. These trails take you to the bottom of the Zore lift. I did this circuit a few times, trying the different runs and combinations before stopping for some lunch around midday. I decided on a burger in the pub/restaurant that was sat between the two lifts. It was a nice day so I could sit outside and keep my eye on the bike. the afternoon consisted of more of the same but with a little more pace and a fraction more air on the tables. It got to about 3pm and my hands were about knackered from death gripping the bars all day, so I decided to head back to the chalet. There are a couple of options to get down to Morzine, you could take the Black trail, which I heard was insane, the switchback laden roadway or sit on the Super Morzine lift and travel with ease. I chose the easy way down!
Day 2 on the Demo was to be split in two parts for the morning I had booked a coaching session with the guys at RideAbility (http://www.ride-ability.com/). Getting air was something that I had little confidence in, I was happy to attack the jumps but ended up either dragging my back wheel or allowing the bike to shoot out in front of me effectively squashing the jumps. I thought this would be the perfect time to get some 1-2-1 coaching to try and conquer my fear and improve my skills. I met Jean-Marie at the bottom of the Pleney lift and after a brief chat about what I wanted to achieve from the session we headed over to the Super Morzine area to work on the trails I had been sessioning the day before. I learnt that JM had grown up racing BMX, so had the perfect background for teaching jumps, his English was perfect and he set me at ease as we chatted on the ride up the lift. He first of all followed me down one of the runs to see what I was like then we stopped by a medium sized table to work on improving my jumping. He broke the lesson down for me, explaining what I needed to do and when and then set me at task to put it into practise. He video’d me as I sessioned this one table and each time we analysed what I had done to try and improve for the next time. Before I knew it the two hours was up, I certainly felt more confidence and I was armed with the knowledge of what I needed to do, I just had to put it into practise over the coming days. JM didn’t fancy riding the lift back down to Morzine, so instead led me down via some gnarly steep, wet and rooty off piste sections. I really wish I had Strava’d it so I could go back and find it again, it was insane!
There is definitely fresh air beneath my wheels! Thanks Jean-Marie.
I grabbed some lunch in town with the wife and headed back up the Super Morzine for the afternoon to work on my jumping. Again, the 3pm watershed came and my hands and fingers were getting stiff, so I decided to head back to the chalet. I was surprised but pleased that I had managed two days riding Alpine DH trails without a crash or significant off. I didn’t want to push my luck by fighting through tired hands, afterall I had another couple of days on the Demo and I wanted to start upping the difficulty level.
The third and final day on the Demo 8 came and I knew I needed to progress, so the aim of today was to get some red runs in. The wife had finally got over the psychological fear from her crashes earlier in the week and insisted on coming out with me. We managed to get her a short travel full sus 29er (Specialized Camber) on hire for the day, she didn’t want anything bigger, and we headed over to Les Gets. First of all I took her to do the green run, which she loved, much more confident with a little better quality forks and an extra 20mm on the front compared to the Pitch, also the bigger wheels and rear suspension added to the stability factor for her. She did a couple of Green runs whilst I split off and did a couple of Blues, always meeting up back at the bottom of the lift. As her confidence grew I tried to push her a little more, so I rode with her on some of the easier Blues, she was really growing into it now, she was slow and steady but her confidence was increasing with each run down. I decided I needed to get onto a Red so I let her carry on with the Blues whilst I went for the Red running the full length of the Chavannes lift (La Roue Libre). It started out nice and steady, a couple of big berms followed by some decent sized tables that I got no way near carrying. It then crossed an access road before getting quite a bit steeper and rougher. Initially is was good fun, berm after berm, with the odd table in between, but when you cut over to the other side of the trees it just turns into braking bump hell! It was well over due a visit from the trail pixies, death grip resumed and by the time I managed to get to the bottom I could hardly feel my arms. I was just glad for it to be over to be honest, but had enjoyed the challenge. I had let of the brakes as much as I could and tried to carry as much speed through the features as I could.
The wife on her hired Specialized Camber 29er, armoured up to the eyeballs.
The lunchtime pangs were hitting us so we took the road back to Morzine (it beats having to pedal). We headed back up the Pleney for the afternoon’s riding. I guided her down Blue 23 which is described as the Family trail, but really isn’t suitable for your average family. I think it’s safe to say my wife isn’t a fan of roots, especially wet ones, I mean who really is? Anyway, finally at the bottom she wanted a rest, but I wanted more so I headed back up without her. I had heard from others that the Pleney Red trail was really blown out and that the Black was actually easier and safer than the Red currently was, so in a moment of madness I thought screw it, lets do the Black. Now its worthy of note that I didn’t tell the wife I was doing the Black, but I lived to tell the tale. I had scoped out some areas of the Black which had crossed paths with the Blue trail and they looked steeeeeep, so I was a little nervous. The start of the black is pretty rough so that soon shook me to alertness. Letting faster riders pass by me I mad my way down, in and out of the trees, down big drops and tight technical features. It was hard on the hands and arms, especially after this morning’s jaunt down the red. I stopped a couple of times when fatigue was setting in, just to make sure I was able to deal with what lay ahead. There was a steep chute where the black crossed the blue, I went straight into it, quite measured but attacking all the same. I opted to drag my back wheel to help control the speed as I hung off the back of the bike. The bike wouldn’t slow, but I controlled the speed as best I could, if I let the brakes off I could really feel the acceleration, such was the nature of the gradient. A left hand berm levelled the trail off a bit and made it easier to control the bike. I eventually got down to the bottom safely and grinning with the excitement, but it had done me in, I was exhausted. I saw no point in pushing myself harder to try and prove a point and probably crash. I still had another week of my honeymoon and I wanted to enjoy it rather than being laid up with an injury. So we headed back and handed the bikes in. The wife had thoroughly enjoyed herself, and today went a long way to rebuilding her confidence in mountain biking, she just needs to build her skills to be able to progress onwards. So there came the end of the biking phase of our honeymoon, but we still had lots more awesomeness to come.
So, to sum up my time riding in Morzine, no matter what your two wheeled passion, there is something there for you. If you are specifically about MTBs, there are endless trails, to suit all abilities and they are progressive too. I have returned more skilled and confident and ready to take it to the UK trails. I really can’t recommend it more. Get on it, now!
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