stories

During the hot dusty summer, we sent guidebook writer Kate Long off to Morzine to see what she could find. And before too long, together with partner Chris Lazenby and the help of the Ride On team of Richard and Craig, Kate had a mouthwatering, butt-tightening, and inspirational collection of XC and DH rides to fill a whole series of guidebooks.

Here's Kate's tale of white-knucke explorations around Morzine and Les Gets.

Having been to Les Gets in the Porte de Soleil area of France many summers previously, little did I know what Id let myself in for by taking on the job of collecting information on XC and DH trails in the area for Bike-Fax. On my first visit earlier in the season all had been quite quiet, but now in the middle of August, it had picked up to a crescendo of cycling loony families, fit females, cool dudes, body armour and helmet cams. Being a bit daunted by the threatening grey clouds and queues for lifts had no effect on my eagerness to get out there as, the area around Morzine and Les Gets has so many uncharted trails just waiting to be found.

After a few days of knuckle gripping down-hilling on my big bike (a little Santa Cruz Bullet), it was time to try linking up the sign posts on the XC tracks.  I was up for a good explore with the Giant Reign XC bike lent by the lovely Craig from Ride On, so got out the map and GPS and with my phone charged up (just in case) and headed out on a mission into the hills.  On the first XC day I was a bit of a chicken but still managed a good day out on a couple of circuits above Les Gets.  On the second day it was more of an adventure.

After rolling down to Morzine and getting the telecabine all the way to the top, I rode along the ridge to the right with amazing views all around reminding me how close to the Alps I was.  A little road junction a few hundred meters before a bizarre and all but empty wooden-built winter sports resort called Avorias had a little sign post for VTT (Velo Tout Terrain - the French version of initials for mountain biking) to the left. So off I went on a fast bit of descent heading towards Les Linderett in the Swiss direction. 

The trail wriggled, dropped and sped along until it popped out by a road on the other side of which, was to be my last VTT sign post for some time.  Following this sign dropped me down a small steep and technical trail with amazing rocks and sudden gullies until it sped into beautiful beach trees (woods that is!) on a fine piece of single track.  As I rolled along this, it gave me a wonderfully calm, happy, full and false sense of security before the real steepness began. Stopping for a moment for a quick sup from the camelback, it slowly dawned on me there had been no signs for some time now, the map didnt show this trail and the GPS had lost satellite connection so I was officiallylost.  Ah well, I thought, cant be as bad as all that and off I went on a subtly increasingly steep slope.

After a while of getting used to severe drop offs on the down-slope of the narrow single track, I casually stopped and looked down to the left.  Having been a climber for many years I immediately recognised what I was looking at. It was just like looking down from the middle of a sheer limestone wall!  Ah I thought, time for a re-think but there was no way out on the map unless I wanted to re-trace my tyre marks all the way back up. And that was hundreds of meters.  So began the steepest descent on an XC bike Ive ever had the pleasure of falling off on. Needless to say the trail became particularly sheer as it trickled down the side of the limestone arête in 360 degree switch backs. Any loss of balance wouldve thrown me with full momentum straight down the mountain, bumping into a few trees on the way. I just wished there was someone there to share it with. No one was going to believe Id got a bike down there, -oh yes- and it wouldve been satisfying to know someone could hold my head as I lay bleeding after any hundred meter fall.  Well there was no one else there so falling was not an option.

Thats what I was thinking just as I lost footing on some steep rock steps at the bottom of the arête.  Luckily I was carrying the bike at this point so didnt fall far. The relief had me laughing hysterically, especially when I noticed what it was that had caught my eye as I fell  There on the rock, along side the steps, was an iron chain riveted in to it to help people choosing to scramble up in the opposite direction.  Phew not such a whoos after all!

After that exiting crux , the trail slowly calmed down to a more reasonable level of difficulty and widened out ending up running along side a lovely little lake.  Saying Bonjour to others on this wide track made me smile as they would never guess where Id just been.  I found a final piece of single track down to Morzine to end the exploration and headed back up the other side of town for the easy way back to Les gets.  Needless to say, when I got there, I took great pleasure in collapsing back at The Boomerang Hotel for a celebratory lunch, me and the bike intact.

In terms of anything bikeable, the Porte de Soleil rocks (excuse the pun).  If youve been there before our new guide will show you around trails to help you explore a bit further field.

If youve not been there before and are mad for it, grab the guide then just get out there and ride your socks off youll have an adventure, whatever you end up doing.

Words: Kate Long

Pictures: Chris Lazenby

Click here to see Kate & Chris's guidebook for 'Morzine & Portes du Soleil'