The Alpine Epic PART 2!
by escapegoat ~ July 2, 2009
MONDAY………………
So, we all survived the Passportes in one piece….. JUST. Thus it was time for a relaxing day off to let the arms, legs and fingers(!) recover. Most people chilled out around the chalet and spent a little time cleaning their bikes and stuff, and Deborah organised a trip to the local lake for a picnic swim and a little wine.
However, of course, there were a few idiots who couldn’t relax on their day off…….. 
EXHIBIT 1…….
Somehow 4 of us found ourselves ready to tackle the local gorge in inflatable kayaks…… mainly due to John (an experienced kayak-er) suggesting it would be a great plan…..!
The kayaks were actually pretty maneuverable and stable, and it was a nice change to be on the river, at least on the little rapids…..
And then we got to the exciting bit- the Gorge De Giffre. I knew this gorge well from above from riding alongside it, but had never been through the Gorge- the last time we had rafted the water-levels had been too high. This time was different! Once we got to the entrance to the Gorge the non-kayakers were a little concerned- there was a good 20 foot drop over 3 rapids down into the Gorge. A group of rafters went past, and all the guests had been hiding in the middle of the raft- whereas we were going to have to kayak this on our own!
Firstly our guide showed us how to tackle the rapids, and the preferable point of entry- the order was to paddle hard whatever! Of course we all dobbed in John to go first- as he was the experienced Kayaker the rest of us decided we would reconsider attempting the rapids if he drowned on the first attempt…… Luckily he made it!
So of course, once John made it in one piece, we all had to have a go! Luckily no-one drowned!
Then we got to paddle through the Gorge, which was incredibly narrow, and a pretty amazing experience……
And it just kept on getting narrower…..
But eventually we made it out the other side. It was then time for a quick swim in the water, and a bit more larking about surfing the kayaks on standing waves, and the occasional capsize. All in all it was a really worthwhile experience, and much more fun than rafting.
TUESDAY…….
The next day we were back on the bikes. The weather was good, so we headed off on the Flaine Loop. We got dropped up at 1600m, and had a final tough climb to get to 1900m before gradually climbing on some technical singletrack towards Flaine.
Along the way Deborah picked up a local Chien, who then decided to stay with us for the next 20km of riding!
After a quick stop for lunch we dropped down to the Flaine Lake
It is a stunning spot, with a very tricky climb from the lake….
After that we had more fun singletrack to explore, and finally dropped down into Les Carrolz. The group split there, with the crazy ones heading back up the mountain for a 40 minute climb to allow a final descent down to Morrillon, with the others heading around on the road for a 20km ’spin’ back to Samoens, and BEER!
WEDNESDAY……
A few of the guys decided to have a rest day and explore the Samoens market and go for a hike. The rest of us headed back to Morzine for a few more rides. The weather was awesome, and we managed a good few quick DH runs in. Everyone was getting more and more confident and so we even got a few shots on the jumps and stuff…..
Some were almost getting TOO confident…..
And then of course, just as we were about to start heading back to our valley, the heavens opened, and we got caught in a huge thunderstorm, accompanied by hail. Luckily it was only a short ride back out of Les Gets to head down into our Valley, but other the amount of rain we had, we all agreed to roll down the road. But it was still a great day, with 47km covered…..
More photos can be found HERE!!
The Passportes 2009
by escapegoat ~ July 2, 2009
Well, it was a pretty full-on day! But we survived!!! 70Km, 6500m descending, and very sore arms…!
For those that don’t know, the “Passportes Du Soleil” is an event that is organised to celebrate the opening of the lifts in the Portes Du Soleil region to bikers every year. The event covers about 80km, 5 towns, 4 valleys, two countries and about 12 lifts. There is 6500m of vertical descending, and only about 500m of climbing over the whole course. And in each town there is food and refreshments, including beer to enjoy along the way!
The day started off early with the bus and trailer loaded and ready to go by 8:30am, and then it was a short drive around to Morzine. After picking up our number plates and other goodies, we encountered the only real queue of the day, as we waited about 25 mins for our first up-lift of the day. Once we got to the top it was an easy ride along the ridge towards Avoriaz, and then a fun warm-up descent into Les Lindarets. We didn’t stop for long here, but instead jumped on the next chairlift to head into the Chatel Valley.
As would become a running joke, there were “Two Options” for riding here- most took the scenic blue trail called Panorama, which had amazing views of the area, and finished off with a fun run down a steep sloop with jumps and berms aplenty. Geoff, Russ and I chose to tackle the red DH run, but wimped out on the large road-gap. It was a great run, tough, steep and fast, although peppered with braking ruts from people using too much braking 
We then continued down towards Chatel, which was about 10km along a gradually descending firetrack, although we did also come across a couple of hills in this section. The views were awesome, and it wasn’t long before we popped out into the stunning town of Chatel. As people were getting hungry we decided to have a quick re-fuel, and helped ourselves to some local cheeses and meats, and some fruits. After a few glasses of coke we also decided it was only appropriate for us to enter into the swing of things and grab a beer too- they where on offer, and of course it would have been rude to refuse them- after all we only had 45k left to go!
It was then it was onto the Chatel bubble, and a nice fun open trail followed which zigzagged through open meadows, with some awesome views. Then it was up a short road climb before we dropped into Switzerland at Morgins. The group saw why the event was called the Passportes when we freewheeled through passport control and customs- we had nothing to declare, so took the green line!!
A short lift out of Morgins got us to one of the highlights of the Passportes route, as the next section was a stunning traverse along high alpine terrain, with even more incredible views. The trail was singletrack which had just been cut into the mountain side at an altitude of about 2000m with views to the valley below at 600m!
Next, there was a long descent into Champery. Whilst most stuck to the firetrack/road descent, Russ, Steve and I decided to try the other option- ‘Variante DH assez difficile’ – this trail needed to be seen to be believed and was very different to the other DH options on the route! It was perfectly rideable, but was extremely steep and muddy, zig-zagging down a near vertical cliff, with only trees to catch you! Every so often we would pop out into an open area, and you would see how far you could fall if you came off the singletrack. Of course the photos don’t do it justice!
Then, as I came around one corner I found Russ looking stunned 15 feet below the track in a river- apparently another rider had stopped on a narrow creek crossing and left Russ nowhere to go, so he toppled down the cliff! It took a good 5 minutes to pass his bike up and find a way for him to climb back onto the trail. Luckily he was OK, but there was a fairly big ding in his frame.
Once he was rescued, we continued onto Champery to catch the 200 person cable car back up the hill, and back into France. This then left us with another highlight of the route to tackle, the GR 5 trail high above Les Lindarets. It’s a busy hiking trail too, but there are often more than 5 tracks to choose from, so hikers and bikers never seem to get in each others way. If only Australian hikers were so understanding!
Again, the views and trails were amazing……
Then it was the final chairlift and descent back to Morzine. The group finally rolled back into town at about 6pm having completed just over 70km of riding. Arms and fingers were very sore, and everyone was looking forward to a relaxing rest day on Monday!!!
We are already looking forward to next year!!!!
The rest of the photos from the day can be found HERE!!!
The Alpine Epic begins!!!
by escapegoat ~ June 28, 2009
Well, we made it to the Alps all in one piece, and only one bag was lost in transit, and luckily that wasn’t a bike, so no major dramas there!!!
It’s fair to say the chalet we are staying in is awesome. It’s an old farm building that is a few centuries old, but has been done up beautifully. There’s also loads of room, with a studio out in a separate building, an apartment for 6, and plenty of room in the main building too. Plus the food is incredible….!
So, the first day was a leisurely introduction to the Samoens area, but somehow I still managed to clock up 46K!! Once everyone had got their bikes sorted and thrown down a great breakfast it was time to spin up the Valley towards the Fer Cheval and “The End of the World”! This area is a stunning glacial valley, and even though it was summer there was still a bit of unmelted snow, and there were countless waterfalls to look at.
Lucky we were blessed with great weather, but clearly there had been a lot of rain and wash-off previously, which had even washed away one of the bridges. But rather than going back the same way, we chose to undertake an impromptu river-crossing. And then lunch!!
After that it was time have a crack at a little single-track…. But unfortunately it suddenly became clear that every small child within 100km of the area suddenly decided it was time to also try walking and singing with teachers along the trails.. opps!!! But at least we pushed them out of the way at the waterfall!!
Anyway, after a fun cruise back to town, a few of us headed off for an extra 15k loop, whilst the rest hit the pub and coffee shop in town. Then it was back to the Chalet for a well earned glass of champagne and a 3 course meal!
Friday started off looking OK, but the forecast was not too flash. We decided to pop over into Les Gets, but were careful not to get too carried away. However we did get a chance to try a few downhill runs, and enjoy a few chairlifts to help with the climbs….
But then, as fate would have it, the heavens opened as we were having a bite to eat in Les Gets….. which was a wonderful excuse for half the group to shoot off and grab a coffee!
The lightening caused the closure of the lift we needed, but luckily it opened an hour later, and we were able to enjoy an awesome 1000m descent back down to Samoens.
The forecast was also poor for Saturday, but we decided to give it a go, and luckily the forecast was wrong- low dark clouds were all around, but we never got rained on once and the trails were fairly dry. We started off dropping into Les Gets, then headed off around Mont Chery, on what we like to call the ‘Dangerous trail’, although this did scare a few of the guys!!
The trail starts off pretty mellow, then right at the end turns into a challenging rollercoaster of a trail dug into into a steep cliff, which regularly gets washed away- it’s a great bit of trail.
Then it was off to Morzine to check out the bike show for the Passportes. The day was finished again with a 1000m descent along more secret singletrack… all in all a 52km day.
Then it was back to the chalet (after the manduatory stop at the bar in town for a pint of ‘edelwisse’!) and time to prepare for the Passportes tomorrow…..!