Cross-Country Weeks

Dates & Prices Summer 2010:

26th June - 3rd July - £429
4th - 11th September - £459

(See prices page for up-to-date availability)

For many riders, a trip to the Alps means the chance to ride epic descents with chairlifts to do the hard work on the way up. For others, the Alps means epic climbs and remote trails. The Tarentaise area has loads to offer those who want to lock-out their suspension and get out into some remote terrain. If you're part of a group of keen climbers, we can fit you in during almost any week of the season, with your own dedicated guide (did I just say that!?) but we're also running some dedicated XC weeks, see above for dates and prices. A typical itinerary for an XC week would be:

Saturday - Travel to Sainte Foy and build bikes

Sunday - Warm-up/acclimatisation day. We'll ride some of our sweet local singletrack, right from the chalet door. We'll make some use of vehicle uplift, but we'll do a fair bit of pedalling as well - around 600-800m of vertical ascent (and about 3,000m of descent!). More info here: Sainte Foy Mountain Biking

Monday - Sweaty-side Tour. A pedal-powered version of our classic Sunny-Side Tour. Start right from the chalet door and climb up into the forest above Sainte Foy. Descend on technical singletrack down to the beautiful twin villages of La Masure and Le Miroir. From here, climb on a 50/50 mix of road and off-road trails to eventually reach the Italian border at the Col du Petit Saint Bernard. Descend on sweet singletrack all the way to Bourg Saint Maurice. A total of around 1,500m of climbing and around 2,300m of descending.

Tuesday - The Col.In. Our version of the classic Isere descent. An early-morning shuttle to the Col de l'Iseran is swiftly followed by a 1,000m singletrack descent down to Val d'Isere. A tough road climb is then followed by a tougher climb on technical singletrack high above the Tignes lake. A superb high-level traverse then drops us below the village of Le Monal in its stunning setting opposite the Mont Pourri glaciers. We climb to the village then carry on a little higher for a technical descent followed by an easy roll back to the chalet with the option of an extra 500m of singletrack descending for those with any energy left. Total of around 1,200m of climbing and 3,000m of descending.

Wednesday - Our day off. Take a map and go for another monster ride, take a break from the bike to do some climbing, canyoning, white-water rafting or parapenting, or just chill out on the balcony with a beer and rest your aching body.

Thursday - The Falcon's Nest. Start right from the chalet door and climb into the forest above Sainte Foy. Descend on great singletrack down into the Vallon de Mercuel. Climb on trails which start off as tarmac road, but quickly become dirt tracks then technical singletrack to eventually reach a superb viewpoint high above the Tarentaise Valley. From here, an amazing combination of singletrack trails leads all the way to the valley floor. Pedalling back to the chalet is optional...

Friday - Mont Jovet. We take the van down the valley to Aime and drive up towards the ski area of La Plagne. A long, long off-road climb will take us to the Col de Mont Jovet and, if we choose, all the way to the summit. From the top, a choice of superb singletrack trails leads all the way back to the valley floor. Total climbing 1,000m, total descending 2,000m.