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I’m staying with a friend 30 miles from Verbier and want to spend a couple of days at Verbier (or surrounding area) and looking for advice/gpx files/etc.
I understand that the best riding is outside the Verbier bowl and its bikepark but where? A guide between two people would be too much to ask financially so we’re planning on a couple of maps and your kind help… hopefully with the number of gps tracking apps on phones these days some of you have got gpx files of some tasty routes? Hike-a-bike and climbing is no problem, but looking for more towards lift assisted trail/DH riding rather than a pure XC loop.
Have ridden footpath style trails around morzine – col de cou, morzinette, nantaux so feel ok with navigation in the alps.
I get the feeling that Verbier and Chamonix are places I’d want to go back to next year and want to get a decent taste of what’s on offer.
Other side questions – where to park the car for best access to trails at beginning and end of the day? I presume all necessary trails can be found off the same lift system so a 2-day pass could be bought for all riding in the area?
Thanks in advance for any help!
No-one have any thoughts on verbier?
There's a monster descent (The Ultimate) down from the landmark rock called Pierrer A'Voir up above the bowl - takes you down to Martigny form where you can get a train back - needs some planning though. Fun DH stuff in the bowl, but some of it's sneaky and not signed. Have you dropped Bike Verbier a line to see if they can help at all? Maybe they can't, but they are defo THE people to talk to about riding Verbier, and well worth hooking up with if they can fit you into one of their groups for a day. Incredible riding in the region. Mint DH track at nearby Dorenaz if that's any good.
Park at La Chable and get the lift up through Verbier and to the top. Can't assist with gpx files etc but I think a lot of the good routes should be easyish to find with a combination of maps/youtube/forums etc.
I'd forget about the Ultimate because of the drag back to Verbier. Ones I'd definitely try would be Jackass (west of Verbier and finishes with a short pedal along the valley floor back to La Chable past the Bike Verbier house) and the others you HAVE to do are Nuthouse and another I can't remember the name of but both are accessed by heading east away from the top lift station of the main lift and are a short pedal along the valley floor back to the lift station. Also some excellent trails from the top lift back to Verbier. Out of the top lift, take one of the downhill tracks into the trees and then theres loads of funky little rooty, super fun, super steep barely recognisable paths...
Envy you...
DBW - 'Vertigo'? Good suggestions. You're probably right about The Ultimate - it's a big commitment.
Jackass? Best done from the top of Pierre Avoir but make sure you can cope with some serious exposure. A couple of sections will seriously maim or kill you if you try them and get them wrong (not an exaggeration as there are a couple of vertical drops you would need to be drinking lots of Red Bull to have the necessary wings!) It's one of my favourite trails but I saw it melt the head of a friend the first time he rode it.
I'd drop Phil and Lucy an e mail to see if they could do a days guiding for you. Not sure if they could add you to a group if they have space but you could always ask in the off chance. 😀
Jackass? Best done from the top of Pierre Avoir but make sure you can cope with some serious exposure. A couple of sections will seriously maim or kill you if you try them and get them wrong (not an exaggeration as there are a couple of vertical drops you would need to be drinking lots of Red Bull to have the necessary wings!) It's one of my favourite trails but I saw it melt the head of a friend the first time he rode it.
I'd drop Phil and Lucy an e mail to see if they could do a days guiding for you. Not sure if they could add you to a group if they have space but you could always ask in the off chance. 😀
Vertigo, thats the one.... Cheers wl!
Not done Jackass right from the top - just from the top of the treeline and even from there it took some serious balls to get down. Just superb though. From steep tech stuff going into a flat out blat!
Vertigo and nuthouse would be my sugestions to you too.
I'd stay away from jackass that trail could quite easily kill you dead.
chute de bise to Jackass for the win.
back up for vertigo, vallon darbi
Good shout with Vallon D'ardy.
This is the tricky bit at 2mins 50 seconds in the video above. Makes a great photo:
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Ive been over the side on Valon D'arby. Ive also got a scar on my knee from Nuthouse and a scar on my nose from Erection Section
What about Toboggan? Quite a climb, but that stands out with the ones listed above. Awesome stuff, which finished with a swim in the old Gravel pit to cool off!
To echo previous comments, park at Le Chable and get the gondola up. Easier and quicker than driving into Verbier itself, and it's free to park (unlike Verbier).
Can't talk about the general 'trails' in Verbier, but I know the bike park quite well. This is great and I love it, but then I have a DH bike!
There is only one blue run and it is nice but it doesn't go all the way back to the bottom of the lift and you need to use the long fire road at the end. This can be avoided by switching half way down to a yellow run (Tire's Fire), but it is a grade or two harder.
The red called Tu Cuci is good and varied, and so is the yellow I have just mentioned. This has a few jumps etc. on it and some shore to play on. The red Wouaiy is hard and long so maybe an acquired taste if not used to Alpine bike parks.
However, like I said, this is a bike park, so the runs can be steep, rocky, and technical in parts, so I can't imagine doing them on anything less than an enduro type bike. But if you like Alpine bike parks, I think this is a good one.
Try: http://www.verbierbikepark.ch/
Toboggan would be a hellish climb (its bad enough even if Phil and Lucy drive you to the top of the road!). But it is superb.
And having a swim in the gravel pit afterwards after a girl rides around the gravel pit in a bikini top isn't a bad way to end a descent... Good times 😉
Hi All, me and a friend will be in Verbier between the 16th and 19th of August and are looking to join other riders for some single track / XC type rides. I've been before with a guide and it was epic, but we're on a budget this time around. Anyone in Verbier around those dates that knows the area and is happy for a pair of tag alongs?
@bradbird - If you have 4 days, want some more XC type riding and don't mind a drive I'd recommend spending a day in Zermatt (scenery is amazing and it's always fun to catch the mountain railway). For Verbier and from threads I've read on here there are good trails down from Savoleyer to La Toumaz which are easy enough to find. I know the resort really well from skiing but only ridden there once so certainly no expert.
😳a scar on my nose from Erection Section
Tracey has the power to make me smile.....
Xx
thanks @jambalaya, will check that out. I guess we'll just try find some fellow riders when we're there and ask where they're going.
Theres a really good DH run down to La Toumaz (sp?). Or even better, theres a superb super bonkers switchback trail that heads away from the little cafe underneath the La Toumaz lift. Can't remember what thats called either. Chicago? Pops out on a fire-road where you swing a right and head back to the lift station. Its flippin great from what I can remember...