There are rides that fade from memory within days. And then there are the ones that mark you – that shift something inside you and reset your sense of what’s possible on a bike. My journey through the French and Swiss Alps this summer was firmly in the second category. It was the kind of adventure that mountain bikers dream about and it was every bit as extraordinary as I’d hoped.
Morzine was my starting point, the natural choice. Sitting at the heart of the Portes du Soleil, it’s a place built for riders, with trails radiating in every direction and an energy that’s impossible not to feed off. From there, the mountains were waiting.
Riding Out of Morzine: Into the Heart of the Alps
Leaving Morzine and climbing into the surrounding peaks is one of those experiences that reminds you just how small you are in the mountains. The route through Les Lindarets – sometimes called the Village of Goats – and on to Châtel winds through high Alpine scenery that genuinely takes your breath away. And that’s before the altitude kicks in.
Crossing into Switzerland felt like a milestone. The landscape shifts subtly; quieter, more vast, more remote. The singletrack here is extraordinary: technical in places, wide-open in others, always with those huge mountain views stretching out to the horizon. Riding at over 2,000 metres above sea level is a different kind of mountain biking entirely. The effort is greater, the focus more intense and the sense of achievement at the top of every climb is unlike anything you’ll find on a trail back home.
The Bike Parks: Five Venues, Five Experiences
One of the great privileges of riding in the Portes du Soleil is the sheer variety on offer. During this adventure, I also rode blue and red trails across five bike parks – Les Gets, Morzine, Avoriaz, Châtel and Morgins in Switzerland – and each one brought something genuinely different to the trip.
Les Gets has a wonderful rhythm to it: flowing, fast and hugely satisfying. Avoriaz sits higher and feels more exposed, the trails more demanding, the panoramas more dramatic. Morzine’s own bike park offers variety in abundance, with something to suit every mood and ability. Châtel straddles the border beautifully, blending the best of both countries. And Morgins – quieter, more contemplative – served up some of the most rewarding riding of the entire journey.
Whether you’re drawn to technical red runs or prefer to find your flow on blues, this network delivers. It’s one of the most complete mountain biking destinations in the world and spending time across all five parks in a single adventure only reinforced that view.
When the Mountains Test You
I’d be painting an incomplete picture if I didn’t talk about the moments when this trip was hard. And it was hard. Not just physically – though the climbing, the altitude and the daily mileage took a serious toll on the legs – but mentally and emotionally too.
There were stretches where every muscle was protesting and the easiest thing in the world would have been to stop, turn around and call it a day. The mountains are not interested in excuses. They simply sit there, vast and indifferent, waiting to see what you’re made of.
And then you reach the top of a climb. You stop. You breathe. You look out across the Alps – ridge after ridge disappearing into the haze, trails threading through the landscape below – and the struggle dissolves completely. This is the gift the mountains give you, if you’re willing to earn it.
Through Morgins, Over Mossettes and Home to Morzine
The final push – from Morgins through towards Mossettes and back down into Morzine – felt like a homecoming. By this point, my body was running on determination as much as anything else, but the trails were generous and the views kept giving right to the end.
Rolling back into Morzine at the close of the adventure, I felt the particular satisfaction that only comes from a journey properly completed. Not a shortcut taken, not a climb ducked. Just the full thing, start to finish, through some of the most spectacular mountain biking terrain on the planet.
Why the Alps Belong on Your Mountain Bike Bucket List
I’ve been riding mountain bikes for years, long enough to know the difference between a good day on the trails and something that genuinely changes you. This was the latter. The French and Swiss Alps – Morzine, the Portes du Soleil, the Swiss mountains beyond – offer a combination of riding quality, scenery and scale that is simply unmatched.
If you’ve been putting off an Alps MTB trip, stop waiting. The mountains will challenge you in ways you don’t expect, reward you in ways you can’t predict and leave you already planning the next one before you’ve even unpacked your kit.
One bike. One adventure. The mountains, the trails, and the freedom to keep going.