I've ridden there once with White Room, so had the benefit of a van uplift to ride the long ridge north towards Moutiers. But what's it like for 3 days using lifts and free shuttles?
Accommodation is cheap in the summer, and there might be a handy campsite near Brides Les Bain (or Bozel) if the shuttle runs frequently enough.
Is it easy to put together a few days, riding their Enduro trails mostly, without having to worry about getting stuck at the bottom of the valleys? Is there enough there for a few days (I notice they also claim to have the Alps highest via ferrata, so that's another option for a day).
Cheers
Yep
We went there a few years ago as a change from Tignes. Stayed at the valley camping (BlesB?) for a few nights and then moved to a chalet further up the mountain for a few nights.
Bus and trailer shuttle from the valley floor was good.
Les Cretes was great ( might be the ridge you refer to) the Enduro from there to BlesB was amazing.
The blue forest trail was awesome.
Think this is the valley Enduro trail ...
https://flic.kr/p/2gRjFon
Thanks, useful to know.
Tignes - I heard it's a good place for kids to ride? I'll be staying in Bourg with a mate and his 12 year old (who's only really learning, probably Blue and easy Red bike park stuff at home). Seems like a good option if it is, only 30 mins drive up from BSM.
OK -so that ridge was the one north from Roc de Fer. Fair old climb up there, even with the van to help.
Would you recommend Meribel Village or Les Allues, for quickest access to the lifts?
I go every year for a few days, the ridges are to die for. Those on the left looking down the valley are the best, the ones that drop further away from Brides are the best. That alones enough for me to go but some of the bikepark bits are fun too. I stay in Brides so there's no stress getting bus back up the hill.
OK -so that ridge was the one north from Roc de Fer.
Yep, looks like the same thing
Fair old climb up there, even with the van to help.
Meh. Did it with the wife and kids from the Tougnettes 2 lift. If a lazy arsed 11 year old can do it...
Sometimes just went as far as Allues ( chalet) and sometimes to BlesB . Awesome.
Note that E9 which drops down from the ridge earlier is ( was) shite in comparison.
@agentdagnamit did you do the Tarentaise Tour with WhiteRoomMTB? I’m booked on that trip in July, having previously enjoyed their Classic Singletrack week a few years ago. Just wondering what I can expect…
Apologies for the thread highjack!
Amets - we did a week with them outside of lift season, so did a bit more back country type stuff I guess. Sometimes up to an hour drive, climb to start then long descents on shared paths.
I'd do the same week again.
I've stayed in the Drop Inn in Courchevel/La Praz a couple of times - easy lifts up, trails from the top, over to Meribel, and over again. I love the place.
Thanks for the help. I'm now thinking that staying in Brides makes the most sense. We're camping ideally and that also means we can end each day with a full descent to the valley.
Yes we stayed at Brides le Bains. Great free bus service for bikes up to Maribel where you can access the lift network. Great ridge routes all the way down on both sides. The only downside we found was that the lift network wasnt very coordinated with the Courcheval and VT valleys. This was a few years ago so hopefully they have got that sorted now
It's excellent and well worth the visit. E7 trail (red enduro trail) was a highlight. Lowlight was E6 (black enduro trail). It seems that some trails are just marked for the sake of numbers and bragging rights for resorts, when they are just gravel roads going up!
Looks like E6 is an emtb trail, aka climbing a ski piste. Thanks for the tip off,we'll give that one a miss. I saw one if those trails being built near Morgins a couple of years ago, looked horrendous in either direction on any sort of bike.
E7 is the route we did with White Room and was excellent. Made a great afternoon after riding down to Bozel from La Plagne that morning.
Thanks for the help. I’m now thinking that staying in Brides makes the most sense. We’re camping ideally and that also means we can end each day with a full descent to the valley.
Yep. I was going to say exactly that. The bus stop is very near the campsite and had a much bigger capacity than the tignes shuttles so no worries about getting a split group or not getting on the bus. Then you can bike all day and do the valley trail again right at the end, with no worries about missing the last bus back up
E7 is the route we did with White Room and was excellent. Made a great afternoon after riding down to Bozel from La Plagne that morning.
Aha, I interesting to know. I was thinking that didn't sound good value for a days guiding. Sounds much better value knowing that there was a morning ride preceeding it.
The climb to the start of E7 took an hour at least, without lift assistance.
