French & Swiss Alps 2012

[patches]

I hate you right now

 

you hating and you haven't even seen me rolling yet

 

Great timing guys, looks like you should have some good summer weather for awhile

Enjoy

 

Oh yeah, 1st day on the slopes and beautiful weather... it musta been 24ish.

[Super_mil]

So,news from Patches is Peach has broken himself. 1 x broken arm (6 screws & 1 x plate). Green line at Chatel. Nose cased a double that he thought was table.

 

We head out tomorrow. Woo hoo.

[fabes]

So,news from Patches is Peach has broken himself. 1 x broken arm (6 screws & 1 x plate). Green line at Chatel. Nose cased a double that he thought was table.

 

We head out tomorrow. Woo hoo.

OUCH!!

[King_Crispy]

Healing brother.

Hope the pain goes away soon too

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

So,news from Patches is Peach has broken himself. 1 x broken arm (6 screws & 1 x plate). Green line at Chatel. Nose cased a double that he thought was table.

 

We head out tomorrow. Woo hoo.

 

Oh shoot. Not cool!

[ThePubSA]

So,news from Patches is Peach has broken himself. 1 x broken arm (6 screws & 1 x plate). Green line at Chatel. Nose cased a double that he thought was table.

 

We head out tomorrow. Woo hoo.

Fk man thats a shame ,was hoping these guys would get their fill.

Healing vibes peaches.....mutzig time

The rest play it safe

[Guest Omega Man]

So,news from Patches is Peach has broken himself. 1 x broken arm (6 screws & 1 x plate). Green line at Chatel. Nose cased a double that he thought was table.

 

We head out tomorrow. Woo hoo.

 

Oh nooo. Are you serious? BTW the jumps at Chatel all have little flags on the lips. Red = Gap or drop. Green = Table.

 

Guess it's a bit late for that now.

 

Tell him to stay and take pics and enjoy the scenery.

Edited August 14, 2012 by Omega Man

[Hog_]

I offered him my couch for the remainder of the trip. Plenty of sorrow-drowning beer in Munich.

[Madmac]

so... are you taking your bike with?

 

 

 

Well, this will be my first trip, so new experiences all round.

 

But Morzine (France) seems to be a popular place to stay. Access to plenty of lifts, and trails. That's where we're staying.

 

Here are some maps of the general area

 

http://www.morzine.com/IMAGES/PLAN/plan_rando_grand.jpg

 

http://www.alpinechoice.co.uk/images/trailmap2.jpg

 

http://www.summerinthealps.co.uk/images/Rhone-Alps%20Images/map.jpg

 

As for costs, it hasn't been too bad so far. Here's our estimated budget:

1. flights - R6000 (bargain on Emirates)
   
2. Accomodation - R3500 (for 2 weeks)
   
3. Lift Pass - R1500 (for 13 days)
   
4. Shuttles from Geneva Airport to Morzine and back again - R1500
   
5. Visa - R700
   
6. Daily Spending (food etc) - R4200 (that's based on R300/day just to be safe)
   

So that's just under R17 500 for 2 of riding in the Alps. If I go stingy o food (which i plan to do) that will come down by R1500 or so. Granted R17 500 is still quite a bit of money... but put it this way... it's cheaper, longer duration, and more fun than an Epic *puts on flame suit*

 

Hey Tea Lady, your trip sounds amazing and i'm absolutely jealous. I went to Zermatt lat year (Matterhorn mountain) and had the time of my life and think about it daily so hopefully i will have a good business year and plan for next year again.

I organised my trip with some friends and we worked through a British tour operator based in Zermatt. He is a licenced Swiss rail ticket issuer and organises some great rates on train fares (and might assist you too with cableway tickets) so perhaps send Jeff an email. I don't have his email address on hand but his website is otp.com. It might save you a buck or two.

 

One possible way to save your bike and luggage weight going there which my brother did on his trip last year. If there is a local bike hire place near to where you staying, ask if they prepared to sell you one of their bikes. Because they at the end of their summer season, they flog them off at decent prices. My brother bought a 2011 Specialized Camber Comp for CHF(swiss franc) 1,000 (Approx R 9,000). When he got back to SA, he serviced, cleaned it up and sold it for R 11,000. It's not the best spec bike but it was indestructable for the trail riding we were doing and i wish i done the same because my Cannondale took a pounding.

 

Food and beer is damn expensive, be prepared to pay CHF9 for a beer and a McDonalds burger meal was around CHF14. Zermatt is a tourism town so it might have been a bit more but atleast you get the idea.

 

Please post an update on your trip when you get back. I am interested to hear as it would be nice to try some new areas in Switzerland. If you have any questions, drop me a message.

 

Cheers,

Madmac

[Guest Omega Man]

@ Madmac

 

They are there right now. They are based in France. In Morzine. The same place myself and mates stayed at this year and last year. One can do day trips into Switzerland using the lift system and a bit of hike a bike.

 

We did little hits over the border to Morgins and Crosets. The riding over there is just bonkers. It's more sort of AM and DH orientated but there's riding for all tastes and talent levels.

 

If you've ridden in the Alps you'll understand just how amazing the setup is there. In terms of pricing it's actually really cheap on the French side. My 2 week trip this year cost 20k all in and I bought a 2k fox kit and hope fancy brake rotors included so you can do it for quite a bit less than 20k for a 2 week trip.

 

We flew Emirates cos they have a 30kg checked and 7kg carry on luggage limit. That was enough except for the very fashion concious guys amongst us who insisted on taking 15 t shirts and 5 pairs of shoes along.

 

We have already started planning for next year (it looks like it's going to become an annual thing) At this point it looks like we will spend a week in Morzine and then head off to Pila in Italy.

Edited August 14, 2012 by Omega Man

[patches]

Here are a few pics so far

 

http://img.tapatalk.com/5a29f658-7c0a-4c60.jpg

 

Lac du Montriond (aka "The Lake"). A great place to go swim and cool off after a long day of riding.

 

http://img.tapatalk.com/5a29f658-7cb0-5e50.jpg

 

The finish line jump from the Chatel Mountain Style (with my bike in the gap to give some perspective). Absolutely insane.

 

http://img.tapatalk.com/5a29f658-7d4b-1122.jpg

 

Peach's arm, with love from Chatel

 

http://img.tapatalk.com/5a29f658-7da1-3118.jpg

 

Middle section of the Mountain Style course

 

http://img.tapatalk.com/5a29f658-7dec-0843.jpg

 

View from Avoriaz ridge, just before dropping into Linderets

 

http://img.tapatalk.com/5a29f658-7e30-b27a.jpg

 

Peach's bars after Chatel. Sad bike

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Damn sad looking bike... And that's one helluva break!

[nigelhicks]

damn thats MASSIVE - shame Peach that sucks... what the hell did you do to bend your bars that much??? Did you try Chatels Mountain-style drops??? If so - RESPECT!

 

Heal up soon dude

[Guest Omega Man]

Damn that sucks. Ah well At least you've got some cool war stories. Was at JHB Airport this arvo and the plane i wanted to be on (Emirates to Dubai) was parked right next to the plane i was actually about to get on. (SAA to Zim)

 

Amazing what a difference 50m can make.

 

Have you guys ridden or heard of any new tracks? I know it's your first time out there but maybe you've spotted a digger on the hill somewhere or heard someone talking about a track they had ridden. There were supposed to be 2 new DH tracks on pleney this year but as far as I could tell all they did was put signs up on tracks that had been illegal last year.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Omega Man

[Super_mil]

We got a tour with a German guy & a Pom on some unmarked trails on the Pleney hill. The steepest trails I have been on in my life (to date). The good thing is that there were no braking bumps

 

Bad news is that Patches took a spill and broke his collar bone. No op required, but he'll be in a brace for a couple of weeks. Get well soon Patches & thanks for showing us around. Much appreciated.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

damn thats MASSIVE - shame Peach that sucks... what the hell did you do to bend your bars that much??? Did you try Chatels Mountain-style drops??? If so - RESPECT!

 

Heal up soon dude

 

He thought a gap jump was a table... Endo into face of the landing. Oweeee...