[Closed] Morzine / Les Gets - out of season

Chatel, open for ages?

Are you sure about the lifts? I've been up the main one from Morzine (the one that also descends into Les Gets) 1st week in September. Albeit, that was a good few years now.... 😳

You could always just ride up....

I believe, and please check first - but they're pretty fast and loose with 'closing dates' in PDS. I know for certain that they've extended the season the last few years because the sun stayed around for ages - they even opened bike parks at Xmas due to the lack of snow.

I'd be fairly confident that some of the bigger lifts like Pleney and Les Gets 1 would still be open.

you wont get much in the way of drive uplifts. Get yer pedalling boots on 🙂

There are lifts open at weekends through the back of the season in Chatel and Champery, but you wont be able to reach them from Morzine. And youre only out for a week.

There are some great XC routes out there but you have to be prepared to put in the climbs (on road for ease) if you want them

some routes can be found if you search for some threads on here.

My understanding is once the lifts shut the mtb trails are officially closed, however all the footpath type trails are unchanged. Many road ride up options if you want or do some self shuttle with the car and take turns. IMO Les Gets better for that.

Lifts open in Chamonix till mid Sep, be prepared for some OMG steep though. About an hour away

Talking to my buddy who lives in Morzine today and he was telling me that Super Morzine / Zore has closed since the weekend !!! The locals are miffed and chalet owners are slightly annoyed by all accounts !

Yes adi on one of the other threads it was reported they where shutting early. I imagine visitor numbers are down and this is the responce.

Super morzine and zore always shut earlier than the rest. Reason being the Rallye Mont Blanc which is on this week. It uses the road up to avoriaz and apparently there have been incidents of rider vs rally car on the road with folk using the runs under the lift

morzine did seem alot quieter this year

^^^ French tourism down significantly partly security concerns and partly their economy which is really hurting with 10% unemployment (double UK) and youth unemployment at 25%. When in Les Arcs last March a local told us that without the Brits they'd really be hurting as visitor numbers where well down - French and particularly Russians.

morzine did seem alot quieter this year

I agree. We hadn't been there for 4 years, but went this year. It was significantly quieter than previous years.

I never regret going on holiday & riding - but given what I know now, we would have gone elsewhere. Could it be down to current affairs? Maybe but I would hazard a guess and say mainly due to the (official) stuff being not very good & a lot of other places offering better riding these days.

Nothing ever changes. Literally a handful of new tracks in years, most of which look like they have been build (badly) and never seen any work since. Some of the bike park stuff is hilariously crap, the 'XC' is dull & most of the off piste stuff is smashed to bits.

It's such a shame as they have the infrastructure to have what could be a world class setup spanning a network of mountains, yet the whole MTB thing still seems to be a massive inconvenience to them.

We won't be going back.

If the super Morzine is shut, there is a new rarely used by bikers new bubble lift straight to avoriaz from Les Prodains. Not sure when it shuts though.

Les Arcs was very quiet when I went this year, but it was my only trip so I don't know how normal that it - judging by the number of closed shops and how relaxed the chalet people were about moving their usual check-in-out days I suspect it's always pretty quiet in summer.

I sometimes wonder if the people who decide such things in PDS are trying to do too much, I guess they're trying to keep all the various little towns happy - they're trying to run how many lifts in summer throughout the whole resort? 50 or so? Lots of official trails, lots of routes between them, spread over a huge area notorious for changing weather conditions, Les Arcs charge a bit more for passes, has a lot less lifts, a lot less trails and they're maintained very well, right at the other end of the scale you've got Whistler Bike Park, I know they have 1 or 2 more now, but when I went they had 2 lifts, one above the other, they charged 4 times as much to use them and the trails were pretty much perfect all the time.

hey're trying to run how many lifts in summer throughout the whole resort? 50 or so?

Nowhere near

Les Gets = 3
Morzine = 3
Super Morzine/ Avoriaz = 4
Lindarets = 3
Chatel = 3
Morgins = 1
Champery/Crosets = 4

So 21 lifts

They can only use express lifts or bubbles with mtbs.

They're the only ones that run slowly enough at top stations to safely unload bikes. The only non express (non debrayable) is over Swiss side and is necessary in order to complete the pds loop. It had to run painfully slowly to be able to safely unload.

Almost all other debrayable lifts are open though, with the notable exception of the new brochaux

debrayable

Every day is a school day on STW 🙂

Everywhere is quieter this year, ski season included. European economies are still weak and Russia very badly (more of a ski impact or upmarlet summer resorts).

Hob Nob. PdS is actually pretty decent, probably got the most complete network of bike park trails and off-piste anywhere in Europe. Locations like Les Arcs, Chamonix or Verbier are known fo their off-piste, so natural walking paths with bike access. Chamonix has virtually no official man made trails really.

So 21 lifts

Nothing ever changes.

To the op, I think the 4th will be the last day for most lifts so get your riding in early. You can diy up lift by road but you'll need a friendly driver. Maybe do the samoens run then meet your partner there. There is also some stunning walking especially if you like it a bit technical

PdS is actually pretty decent, probably got the most complete network of bike park trails and off-piste anywhere in Europe. Locations like Les Arcs, Chamonix or Verbier are known fo their off-piste, so natural walking paths with bike access.

Yes, and it's amazing how bad a job they make of it. I understand it's not as simple as other areas with regional official offices wanting to do things their own way (or not at all) multiple land owners of slopes etc.

The three other places you mention all manage (IMO) to have considerably better riding than the PDS offers.

I could moan about a whole host of things, from chalet owners trying to get involved with the mayor to actually develop the region properly, to police sat at the bottom of trails arresting people for riding them, but I can't be bothered, we just won't bother going back, like a lot of people.

There was a decent article on the 'state' of the PDS not that long ago (when opened the lifts in December for bikers as they had no snow). Worth a read.

Thanks for all the advice. There's an in-resort end-of-season closing party this Sunday which confirms suspicions. I'll find somewhere later in the week to ride up (which normal for me anyhow) and will chuck the road bike in as well for good measure. Hope this post will highlight that MTBing beyond Mid-August in P-D-S requires some thought.

If you've got the road bike one option is to drive up with the mtb, ride down, then back up with the road bike to get the car. Sort of best of both worlds thing. Works better if there is a few of you but we've done it a couple of times.

Given how quiet it's been even in peak season I can't see much money in opening longer but it would be nice