# best area in the alps for big technical riding



## dft (Apr 9, 2004)

wanted to get opinions of the best place in the alps for big mountian technical/freeriding. 
my guess is the morzine area due to the amount and number of trails. i'll have a freeride bike (40 pounds) but can still do climbing no problem if need be. my ideal trails are big vertical descents, combined with steep,rocky, drops and jumps. (ie, stuff like whistler). i'm looking for a place that i can be based at for 2 weeks. i've ridden one day in charmonix and that was great but i hear morzine is probably better for pure riding. 

thanks


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## notaknob (Apr 6, 2004)

*Opinions - everyones got one*



dft said:


> wanted to get opinions of the best place in the alps for big mountian technical/freeriding.
> my guess is the morzine area due to the amount and number of trails. i'll have a freeride bike (40 pounds) but can still do climbing no problem if need be. my ideal trails are big vertical descents, combined with steep,rocky, drops and jumps. (ie, stuff like whistler). i'm looking for a place that i can be based at for 2 weeks. i've ridden one day in charmonix and that was great but i hear morzine is probably better for pure riding.
> 
> thanks


The best place in the alps is determined by one's opinion. I speak German so I'd say the best place is Saalbach-Hinterglem or Leogang for technical/freeriding.

Morzine is in the Les Portes du Soleil. You will not be disappointed by their downhill courses, free ride courses or the 15-20 lifts all on one pass. I'd recommend it as the best place in the alps for technical/freeriding.

Livigno, Italy is supposed to be good to. If I spoke better Italian, I'd say that it is the best place in the alps for technical/freeriding.


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## cxfahrer (Jun 20, 2008)

dft said:


> wanted to get opinions of the best place in the alps for big mountian technical/freeriding.
> ...


You mean like in this video?


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## Franz (Jan 30, 2004)

dft, I was in Les Gets just up the valley from Morzine this summer. Morzine is good for the sheer variety of trails as it's right in the middle of the PDS. Les Gets has a great red (Chavannes) and on the other side of the valley, a fun-but-nasty black run (Mont Chery) which we did after 2 days of p!ssing rain... sketchy.


The Pleney run in Morzine is awesome, fast & fun but enough of a technical challenge to be interesting. Also it's well worth going up the valley towards Avoriaz and working your way down through Chatel bike park and the French National DH Championship track - that was my favourite part of the whole area. Rocky and fast as hell.


Finally, if you ride the lifts all the way up to Pointe de Mossette on the Swiss border, there are some great trails to choose from on the way down. Oh, and a nice view, apparently.  

Hope this helps.


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## dft (Apr 9, 2004)

Franz said:


> dft, I was in Les Gets just up the valley from Morzine this summer. Morzine is good for the sheer variety of trails as it's right in the middle of the PDS. Les Gets has a great red (Chavannes) and on the other side of the valley, a fun-but-nasty black run (Mont Chery) which we did after 2 days of p!ssing rain... sketchy.
> 
> The Pleney run in Morzine is awesome, fast & fun but enough of a technical challenge to be interesting. Also it's well worth going up the valley towards Avoriaz and working your way down through Chatel bike park and the French National DH Championship track - that was my favourite part of the whole area. Rocky and fast as hell.
> 
> ...


thanks. do you know how much vertical drop you can get on some of the runs? i've heard there are some very technical trails you ca get to by doing alittle peddeling.


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## Franz (Jan 30, 2004)

Don't know exact numbers, but Mossette is at 7250ft and the first run I did took in a BIG drop off the summit. 

Look out for Les Lindarets as well, there are a lot of quieter trails to be found. All fast, tight & rocky. Don't be afraid to head off the bigger tracks into the scrub.

Seriously, I don't know what kind of trails you're used to and you're probably a better DHer than me, but the steepness and nastiness is not to be underestimated. If you're after sheer flow you might be disappointed - it's not hard to find brutally tech trails. The best thing to do is hook up with a company that does freeride tours, or blag a ride with a group of local shop rats.


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## dft (Apr 9, 2004)

Franz said:


> Don't know exact numbers, but Mossette is at 7250ft and the first run I did took in a BIG drop off the summit.
> 
> Look out for Les Lindarets as well, there are a lot of quieter trails to be found. All fast, tight & rocky. Don't be afraid to head off the bigger tracks into the scrub.
> 
> Seriously, I don't know what kind of trails you're used to and you're probably a better DHer than me, but the steepness and nastiness is not to be underestimated. If you're after sheer flow you might be disappointed - it's not hard to find brutally tech trails. The best thing to do is hook up with a company that does freeride tours, or blag a ride with a group of local shop rats.


thanks. i love steep/extremely technical. i like all the upper garbonzo stuff at whistler, but also flowy stuff. i found a place to stay that does a minimal amount, they give you maps, tell you where some of the out of way/more local stuff is and give you a GPS, then you are on your own, but at a cheap price.


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## MaxAug (Mar 17, 2009)

notaknob said:


> Livigno, Italy is supposed to be good to. If I spoke better Italian, I'd say that it is the best place in the alps for technical/freeriding.


I quote Notaknob,
Livigno is one of the most wonderful mtb spot, you can find marvellous singletrack and of course the Mottolino bike park:

http://www.turbolince.com/itinerari_mountain_bike_gps/livigno_mottolino_bike_park.html

Bye!


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## Nsynk (Sep 30, 2008)

got to ditto everyone else for the portes du soleil. Want a seriously challenging DH run super tech and steep and long. Google the world cup DH at Champery, many of the world cup riders struggled with it!!! I have never seen anything so steep. certainly on par or maybe even harder than anything I have ridden in Whistler, like schleyer or clown shoes.

To get there from the top of mossettes you take the grand conche black run to les crossets then take the crossets 2 lift from les crossets to the top of the champery cable car it is sign posted from there.

Also don't miss the bike park at Chatel some of the best trails in the PDS.

other suggestions include verbier, alpe du huez (home of the megavalanche), les deux alpes (mondial du vtt, moutain of hell), les arcs in france and pila (val di aosta) italy and for natural trails you can't beat Chamonix of course.


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## norris (Dec 28, 2005)

Verbier is way better than PDS, you will need a guide though as most of it is unmarked and hidden away.

The best big mountain, tech stuff with reasonable lift access I have ridden in the alps


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## notaknob (Apr 6, 2004)

But Verbier is in CH. That's a good thing!

Bonus: Le Pub Monte Fort for the win!


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## oopalley (Feb 23, 2007)

yeah, but so is a big chunk of the Portes du Soleil.... The border runs right through the middle.


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