we are thinking of doing a few days in Chamonix mid-late June (after the lifts have opened but before the bike ban) and trying to figure a few things out:
Can you still take bikes on the new Le Tour lifts and are we likely to be restricted by snow up there at that time?
Is it easy to use the train to get around the valley - how often does it run and is there limited space for bikes?
It looks like there is some good riding in St Gervais, is it easy to get over there and back from Chamonix in a day? Do you need a different pass for that area?
cheers Tim
head to les houches or further down to servoz for some cracking trails. can always catch the train back up the valley to cham
thanks - since you mention the train "is it easy to use the train to get around the valley – how often does it run and is there limited space for bikes?
It looks like there is some good riding in St Gervais, is it easy to get over there and back from Chamonix in a day? Do you need a different pass for that area?"
Trains run every 30 mins-1 hour. There are limited spaces, but I never had a problem except on weekend mornings. If not the bus is pretty good as well.
Bikes can be taken on Le Tour cable car but only on certain gondolas (?) I was up there end of June last year and there was no snow apart from a few very small patches. Nothing to stop you riding. But, I think Le Tour needs a bit of work on the runs. It seems a bit neglected. Prefered Les Houches.
I drove to Saint Gervais due to time constraints, but the train does go there from Chamonix. I don't know about the passes as I just bought day passes at the various places , One thing to note was that there were weird timings on the cable cars. From memory, they only operated every hour or so. Just have to get your timing right.
Also, grab a map from the tourist office in Chamonix. Loads of routes on that are pretty well signposted. It covers most of the valley.
ok that's good info thanks - would you stay in Les Houches/Saint Gervaise then or is it easy to get over there and back in a day from Chamonix using the lifts/bus/train?
I've only stayed in Chamonix. From what I remember Les Houches is only 45 mins max by train and St Gervaise about an hour. You can also ride to Les Houches from Chamonix. So, both are easy to get to and from in a day. I usually spend a morning at one and then do back to Chamonix for family things in the afternoon.
Hi @timaaeee pretty much everything is in this: https://chamonixbikeblog.com/2021/how-to-ride-a-bike-in-chamonix-2-021/ even if it's a little out of date
But directly, yes the new Le Tour lift is very nice and fits bikes much better than the old one. And the best trails are still on the Vallorcine/Swiss side although there is a new bike ban compliant bike trail from Posettes which is handy (even if the walking trail is still better)
There might be snow up there still i mid June, some years there is, some years there isn't. Last year was very poor for snow, so far this year has been terrible below 1800m (I was riding the DH bike on lifts on xmas day) but exceptional above 2400m. You just have to see how the season evolves. Fortunately you can avoid the areas the snow stays up Le Tour
The train is easy to use, a new transport operator has taken over public transport in the valley for 2024 however the train is mostly unchanged from a MTB perspective, 1 an hour, up to 5 bikes (more if the conductor is fine, most but not all are) and free with a Carte d'Hote between Servoz and Vallorcine, free from Le Fayet (St Gervais is the town above Le Fayet) and Chamonix with the lift pass.
St Gervais has some great riding, but can be hard to navigate and find the best of it. So obviously I would highly recommend a guide. Particularly me. To get over there, best to take either the Prarion or Bellevue lift at Les Houches, bike down to St Gervais, ride the stuff there, then return on either the Tramway du Mont Blanc (included in the Les Houches area bike pass) or the train from Le Fayet. Frustratingly the mayor of St Gervais (Jean-Marc Peillex, google him, some eccentric views....) has decided he no longer likes MTB's, so has banned bikes from lots of the trails year round.
The Mont Blanc Unlimited pass covers St Gervais, Megeve and Les Contamines, but if buying day passes the day pass for the Portes du Mont Blanc (the above ski areas) then that's way cheaper than any of the Chamonix passes and covers the full area.
Finally, the train from Chamonix to Les Houches is about 25 minutes, you can pedal it in less, it's almost completely flat and can be done nearly completely on a cycle route.
Bim. Hope you have fun Tim
hi @Grump that's really useful thanks! do you have any more info on which trails are banned around St Gervais and how is this enforced in practice, can't you just plead ignorance and apologise if you get caught?
thanks
The ban covers a lot of the good trails, certainly a lot of the ones we use out of season, around St Gervais. Whether the ban is still in place by the summer remains to be seen as there are challenges on a few fronts, but the meeting with Peillex back in autumn went as well as expected so it seems his heels are dug in. The fine is probably the lowest order, I think €17, so not the most expensive run in with the gendarmerie but still an irritation!
Anyways, as easy to read it on singletrackmondefrance https://forum.velovert.com/topic/202916-interdiction-de-la-pratique-du-vtt-a-st-gervais-les-bains/
@Grump oh no I really fancied checking out St Gervais - I couldn't find any specifics on that link, are the marked trails on the map here still ok to ride https://ete.ski-saintgervais.com/fr/e9-plan-vtt? what about Megeve does that have a ban now also?
Trails into the thermal park st Gervais are fun
@jedi sounds good will give them a go if we can.
@Grump can you give any more detail - are the marked trails on the map here still ok to ride https://ete.ski-saintgervais.com/fr/e9-plan-vtt ? what about Megeve does that have a ban now also?
thanks!
Does this link work better for you @timaaeee ? https://affichage-legal.saintgervais.com/LEGALView/api/web/consultation/PDF/64aea07043f0da1b44931353
The trail marked from near Prarion down to St Gervais town is now not allowed, and the trails to the thermal park (pipeline is another name for the main trail) are also included in the ban. There should be no biking signs at the start of the trails although they haven't appeared yet. It'll be hard to enforce them without the signs!
Megeve does not currently have any of these restrictions, nor Les Contamines, so still plenty to ride.
More frustratingly, the construction of the new telecabine from Le Fayet gare to St Gervais/Bettex is possibly going to mean the St Gervais lift isn't going to run this summer 🙁
Regarding trains, I was riding up at Plan Praz in September (which is similar to June imo). We waited 30 minutes+ for a train back to the van at Argentiere, only for the conductor to refuse to allow us on board. Next train was an hour later. I personally will never rely on trains in Chamonix again.
@Grump yeah that link works thanks although I can't find the named runs/areas on a map? Is there another way over to Megeve if that lift is out of action or would we need to drive if we wanted to check it out?
@johnhe that sounds really frustrating did you have to ride back up the valley then and did you think Chamonix was worth it overall?
