Mountain Biking

The Vallouise Valley:
Here in the Ecrins Massif Mountain Biking, or VTT as it is French, is very developed, but the Vallouise valley, where AlpBase.com is located, remains a favourite with Ecrins riders. From mid April onwards you can access over 1000km of trails with 58 marked circuits, from routes that only take 45 minutes, up to 2 day itineraries.

The variety of terrain is huge including high altitude trails, forest roads, and big gutsy descents, all far from the madding crowds. We have often done a whole day's riding without seeing a soul.



We mountain bike regularly as a family and Jerry especially knows most of the local MTB trails in the Vallouise area. Accordingly, we are always on hand to offer advice and trail topos. From most of our chalets and apartments you can ride straight out onto a waymarked trail.

Alpine riding can often be hard work, but here in the Ecrins Massif it doesn't matter what your level is, there are rides and terrain to suit everyone. To wet your appetite here are a couple we really like:

The Narreyroux Valley: 6km – 1hr. Grade: A good workout
This secluded alpine valley gives a beautiful introduction to the area. At the end take a dip in the spring at Mondes. Supposedly the spring never freezes, even in the depths of winter.



Le Grand Bois: 10km – 2hrs. Grade: Intermediate with serious sections if desired!
Fast downhill on purpose-made single track through a steep alpine forest. The route finishes at the Onde River. We often have a swim before a leisurely ride back though the apple orchards to Vallouise, only a few minutes from the trail end.



Brianconnais:
This area is less than 20 minutes drive from us and includes 5 distinct valleys – Romanche, Guisane, Claree, Mongenevre, and Briançon. There are hundreds of kilometers of riding here including the famous 14km descent off the Prorel (2,566m). Access for this one is easy - you just take the cable car!



Mountain Bike Hire, Guides days out and Lift Systems
If you want to fly the nearest airport is Turin. To bring your own bikes both Ryanair and EasyJet will make a minimal charge per bike. But if not two businesses in Vallouise (Tiki Bike and Yeti Aventures) specialize in mountain bike hire. At AlpBase.com we know and use the best mountain bike guides in the Vallouise area and can arrange everything from half days to a full week’s itinerary, whether it’s for a family, a club or school group or a tribe of downhill warriors! Just email us: jerry@alpbase.com

Chair lifts
The ski lifts at our local winter resorts of Puy-St-Vincent and Pelvoux, only 5 minutes drive from us, are both open in summer for mountain bikers. The lifts are open 6 days a week in the summer and there is also a dual slalom course at Pelvoux.



The main chair lifts of Chantemerle and Prorel (14Km descent) at Briançon are also both open during the summer. These big lift systems are a 20 minute drive from us.

Recommended mountain biking books for the area
The best guidebook for the area is “VTT Hautes-Alpes” (Author: Xavier Buffet; Pub. June 2005). It is a very good topo guidebook giving detail instructions and maps covering 59 rides in the Ecrins Massif. The book is available from local shops in the region or via Amazon.fr. Although only available in French the book is easy to use and pretty much self explanatory.
There is also a topo guide "58 Randos VTT au Pays des Ecrins" by Marc Reynaud, available locally for the Vallouise valley. This contains 58 of the best rides and trails in this part of the Ecrins. But don’t worry about choosing a route, if you stay with us we can recommend the best rides for you, tell you if any trails are not in condition and generally keep you updated with regular weather reports and lots of “local knowledge!”

Mountain Bike and Cyclocross Events close to AlpBase.com
There are heaps of big and small bike events every year in the Ecrins Massif from the beginning of June to mid September. Here are a few of the best:

La Serre Che Luc Alphand
Date: Early July each year.
Location: Serre Chevalier – Briançon
The area’s biggest cyclocross event involving over 1500 competitors
T: +33 492 24 98 98
W: http://www.cyclo-lucalphand.com/
E: contact@cyclo-lucalphand.com



VTT Ecrins
Date: Early September each year
Location: Les Vigneaux
A two day event with 15km and 30km cross country races in the Vallouise Valley. A special course is also provided for children. It is a fun event, usually with around 150 spectators and riders in total, and includes trade stands, bike demos and lots of typical French cuisine on offer!
Contact: Marc Reynaud
T: +33 4.92.23.05.07
W: www.yeti-aventures.com



La Prapic Classic
Date: Usually the third week in August each year
Location: Orcieres (a 30 minute drive south from AlpBase.com)
It’s an endurance fest for free ride MTB enthusiasts with a huge vertical interval (1000m. plus). In addition to adults (limited to only 20 competitors) there is also a competition for children between 11 and 14 yrs.
T: +33 492 55 89 89 or +33 892 68 33 13
E: offroad@canyon-events.fr
W: http://www.offroad-bike.fr

N.B. Don’t forget you can secure your bikes safely at any of our chalets or apartments

To book any of our chalets or apartments click here

Road Riding

AlpBase is surrounded by mountain cols, the most famous of which is the Col de Lautaret (2,057m) regularly used in the alpine section of the Tour de France, as well as local events such as the Giro d'Italia, and the Luc Alphand Sportif. Other killer cols around us include the Col de Granon (2,413m), one of the highest in France, and the very long Col d'Izoard (2,360m) – enough to satisfy the leanest and meanest!
Here are a few we like.

Mountain Cols and Road Routes in the Ecrins Massif:
1. La Bérarde, 1738m
For those going up the Romanche valley there is a very scenic ride into the Massif des Ecrins from near le Bourg d'Oisans. Well worth a look. There are 26km of road, mostly widened since 1997, superb views and the odd tunnel. It is quite steep between Bourg d'Arud and St Christophe.

2. L'Alpe d'Huez, 1860m
Often used by the Tour de France as a stage finish. It rises SE of Grenoble off the Lautaret road. There are 21 numbered hairpins and much of the 14km climb is as steep as 10%.

3. Col de Sarennes, 1996m
The classic Alpe d’Huez climb is part of the western approach to this pass. You can either do the full Alpe d’Huez climb from Le Bourg d’Oisans (719m) or come from down the Col de la Croix de Fer/Col du Glandon road and take off at the southern side of the lower dam – Barrage du Verney (820) – and climb via Villard-Reculas and Huez to the pass. All the approaches are steep, but the easiest is the one from Barrage du Verney, where the road is almost flat for some kilometers between Villard-Reculas and Huez. This is probably also the most beautiful way to go to the pass. There are several rough water drainage passages (cobblestone depressions in the road) on both sides of the pass. There are plenty of cyclists in this region because of the magnetism that Alpe d’Huez has on cyclists worldwide.

4. Col Du Lautaret, 2058m
This ultra classic climb starts in Briançon (1204m) and is almost flat for many kilometers, but after Le Monêtier-les-Bains (1477m) it is a more pronounced climb to the pass. There is often head-wind up this side to the pass. If you continue on past the Col you reach La Grave with the spectacular mountain peaks of the Ecrins massif, including the highest, La Meije and many others, looming high overhead. The main problem with this pass is the heavy traffic as it is a main through route into Italy. There is water in Le Monêtier-les-Bains, which is a good place to fill up at.

6. Col Du Galibier, 2642m
For this col you can again start in Briançon. The climb starts properly in St. Michel de-Maurienne (712m) and passes by Col du Télégraphe (1566m) where it is downhill to Valloire (1430m). From Valloire it is fairly steep all the way up to the pass. It is however never steeper than 12%. This pass is only rivaled in popularity by the Passo dello Stelvio/Stilfser Joch in Italy. No high mountain pass has gained such a prominent place in the history of the Tour de France as the Galibier. It is difficult to find a cyclist interested in mountain cycling that has not been here already. The popular cyclist event La Marmotte also lets ordinary cyclists compete over this (and other) mountain passes each year. It is quite beautiful (around the higher area) and quite hard as it is a long ascent from any direction. Water can be found for example at Valloire on the north side and at Col du Lautaret on the south side. There is much traffic down in the Maurienne valley and also up to the Col du Lautaret on the south side.

7. Col Du Granon, 2413m
The climb starts just a few kilometers outside Briançon in the direction of Col de Lautaret at Chantemerle (1356m). There is no sign and there are two possible roads to follow up to Villard-Laté (one steep straight short-cut and the regular road). But if you go up you are likely on the right road. From Villard-Laté to the pass it is always quite steep, though never extreme. Maximum is around 14%. The road actually continues down to a place called Granon, on the other side of Briançon, but it is an unpaved rough road. Bring water with you as there is none on this climb. The road is very exposed to the sun. There is a military area around the top region and some signs announcing this.

8. Col D’Izoard, 2360m
From the south the road takes off up the pass near Château-Queyras (1345m). From Arvieux (1563m) it is sometimes quite steep on the south side with climbs up to 14%. From the north side the climb starts right in the center of Briançon. The surface is perfect on the north side, but not nearly as good on the south, so it makes sense going from the south over this pass and all the nice views are on this side, like the famous Casse Deserte landscape. The south side is dramatically different from the north side of this pass and clearly separates the Southern French Alps from the Northern Alps. Here you can experience both worlds on the same climb. The Casse Deserte – the strange, colorful and stony landscape on the higher reaches of the south side - is a major tourist attraction. This landscape goes all the way up to the pass itself.

9. Col De Vars, 2109m
From Guillestre to the north the road up to Col de Vars should be possible to find, though Guillestre is a confusingly widespread town. It is never very steep and has an almost flat stretch in the middle among the tiny tourist villages higher up. The much more preferable south side is slightly harder, but also shorter and never above 11%. It is just slightly uphill all the time from Barcelonette (1136m). After Les Geizolles (1309m), where one could alternatively go right over the Col de Larche into Italy. This is a beautiful pass, mainly because of the quiet and charming south side. There is a bar at the pass.



Best times to come: The spring/summer months between April and September are ideal. Early in April the weather can be very pleasant (shorts and tee-shirt in the valleys), but some of the high mountain passes may still be closed. July/August is always the most popular, but we ride on most of the popular col routes right up until the snow starts falling around mid November.