If you’re as excited Morzine Summer 2022 as much as we are then this may just tip you over the edge! The snow is melting fast and the hard working trail heroes in Morzine and the wider Portes du Soleil area are getting down to business and cutting in more fresh trail gold for your riding pleasures! Here's a quick breakdown of some of the fresh Morzine trail building for summer 22.
The last two summer seasons have been a bit of a covid related disaster for most of us. With travel restriction after vaccine passport after red list after travel restriction after pcr test - no-one really knew what the hell was happening and the ever changing rules prevented many of us from getting to Morzine at all. Thankfully that's all behind us now! However, whilst we might have been stuck at home not being able to travel, the trail crews in Morzine and the Portes du Soleil didn't rest on their laurels and were able to put in some big shifts to get the trails running sweet for those that could make it over.
This year we are expecting big things and although the snow is only just on its way out, the amazing guys and girls of the trail crews are already hard at it and we can't wait to sample their handy work.
Here’s a little update of what we know so far……
Morzine Trail Building Update
Pleney is always unapologetically Pleney...... and we love it! No matter which way you head down the hill it's going to be fast, rough and steep…. What could be better?! The small trail crew on the Pleney normally start work a little later than some of the other dig teams so we’re yet to see anything fresh pop up on the hill this year, however last year saw them call in the big guns and put in a big shift on a full revamp of the red trail where they made some absolute whopper size berms and some mega new doubles to keep you on your toes. The trail now flows a million times better and is absolutely flat out! The bottom section of trail has been completely re-routed to avoid the steep pitch and difficult terrain where the trail joined the fire road. The old trail exit is now marked as a black trail.
Last summer also saw a new beginner pumptrack at the top of Le Pleney and the lesser-ridden blue track also saw a lot of improvements making it safer, flowier and more fun for everyone. The famous Pleney mainline got a revamp to see some relatively well known fast, rooty & natural sections added to the official trail, continuing its legacy of one of the most rough, fast paced downhill tracks in the area. The new official but not so new woods section is arguably now the most fun section of track as its multi line, super fast, hella rough and has an awesome sender back into the old trail. It’s no surprise the queue for Pleney lift often looks like a Downhill World Cup starting list, with the worlds best choosing to use it as their training ground.
Super Morzine Trail Updates
The guys and girls at Avoriaz MTB raise the bar every year and are arguably one of the most pro-active dig team in the entire Portes du Soleil. As soon as the park closes in the Autumn the crew are out with the machines and shovels regrading every trail making sure the surface of the tracks is hard and smooth ready for the winter freeze. This process means they're able to hit the ground running every spring when the snow melts and can spend more time on adding new features and trails
In recent times we have seen a huge improvement in the scale and quality of the trails on offer in the Super Morzine park. The big news is that the Widowmaker is now a stand alone jump with the main trail having been re-routed. Although this may disappoint some, the great news is that the new line around the infamous jump has got some smaller but none the less awesome new jumps to take on.
There is also the new(ish) super booster hip at the top of the hill to play on and Hattock has also seen some significant development coming into summer 2022 with the jump section being completely rebuilt to improve airtime as well as safety and flow.
The Seraussaux side of the Super Morzine park has also seen a lot of shovel action recently with the addition of two new trails called Goupil and Wallibi. These super fun and flowy trails can conveniently be hit on the way back from Avoriaz and spit you out right at the bottom of the Seraussaux lift. The pre-existing Seraussaux trails have also had a makeover from the trail crew and the trails now flow faster and hit harder with vastly improved berms and jumps.
Les Gets
Both sides of the Les Gets Bike Park have seen huuuuge improvements in the last couple of years and although the trails might have been quieter of late, the dig crews have been going hard. There have been some new faces in the dig team and they have been making their presence known with a new found enthusiasm for the bike season!
Once again the world's fastest racers will be visiting Mont Chery this summer but this time it will be for World Champs and we’re pretty sure this race is going to knock our socks off. Parts of the lower half of the race track should again be rideable this summer and the new jump line down to the gondola is a welcome addition to the hill.
The biggest noticeable improvements in Les Gets have taken place on the Chavannes and Nauchets side of the park where the trails now rival, or day I say it, even out do Super Morzine for flow and jump line fun. The Tomawak jump line has seen significant expansion and improvement and the trail is now Les Gets answer to A-line in Whistler with more jumps and huge berms than you can shake a stick at. What's more - the quality of these jumps and berms has significantly improved with proper lips and correctly spaced landings leading into berms that offer that full turn support that used to be missing from a lot of the Les Gets trails.
Previous title holder of the roughest trail in the PDS award, the red graded mainline that runs under the chairlift has also had a full sack back and crack and is almost unrecognisable in places. New jumps and turns on the upper half now lead into a totally new section through the woods on the lower half where you’ll find more jumps and turns.
The jump park and four cross track have also had a full refit and are already looking prime!\
The Nauchets trails have also seen a lot of love from the backside of a shovel lately and if you’ve not visited since pre-covid times you’ll notice a hell of a lot of change. All the old classics are still there but the berms have been massively up rated and there's also a new jump line through the woods with a series of nice little doubles and stepdowns.
Bike Park Champery Morgins
Champery is without a doubt the steepest hill in the PDS and with that in mind you’d probably think it would be the roughest too. Now don’t get us wrong, she’s not exactly what you’d call smooth, but the dig crew that cover Champery and Morgins work miracles on that hillside and the images we are seeing coming from them this spring are getting us pumped! It looks like they are putting in a real shift to improve the flow and subsequent safety of the track adding bigger berms to support you through those super steep high speed turns. Hold onto you're tyres...
Morgins is probably everyone's favourite day trip from Morzine. An epic commute through stunning alpine scenery shredding some epic descents along the way to be greeted by an insane bike park upon arrival in the sleepy Swiss village. Every year the trail boss’s in Morgins get the park to new levels and it just keeps getting better and better. Check out this video of one of our own, Ty Bowmaker, tearing the park a new one.
Bike Park Chatel
Chatel is the free rider's paradise, Huge jumps, head height berms and massive flow is what it's all about. So far this year we’ve seen the guys getting down to business on the Vink line carving some new shapes into the faces of the berms that'll be sure to clock some serious G-force as well as giving some of the classic free ride lines some love.
Pump Track
OK so this isn't technically in Morzine but it's only a short drive or ride down the valley to our lovely little neighbouring village of St Jean d’aulps. However if you have a jump bike or a short travel enduro bike then the new pump track is a lot of fun. It has three colour coded lines through the track from easy to advanced and is a great spot to spend an evening….. Rather than Bar Robinson…….again!!! (Side note - we also fully condone spending all evening in Bar Robinson)
Come and Say Hi
After two atrocious years of Corona Virus and not a lot of opportunity to visit us in Morzine, we would absolutely love to see you out enjoying the new and revamped trails of the PDS this summer. If this little hit of trail happiness has wet your whistle then why not head over to our accommodation page and check out some of our properties. We’ve been hard at work adding some fantastic new places to stay and we’ve got something to suit every group size and budget. All come with the bike facilities you’d expect from a stay with Bike Morzine and we’re here to make your stay as epic as you'd hoped for.
See you on the trails,
Bike Morzine
