A HISTORY OF GUIDING IN MORZINE

Since the start of mountain biking in Morzine many British run holiday companies have offered guiding in the area as an integral part of their holidays. We did the same for many years and recently always employed SMBLA mountain bike leader qualified guides. We worked on the principal of European law which states that qualifications valid in one member state should be accepted as valid for the same profession/activity in any other member state.

Unfortunately last summer two of our guides were arrested by the local authorites. It was made clear that the French do not accept our qualifications as valid and that all mountain bike guides working in France should hold an appropriate French mountain biking qualification. This ruling applies in all areas of France and in all cycling disciplines, on and off road.

Because of this our 2008 holidays do not have an inclusive accompanied ride or guiding service.

ENDLESSRIDE 'IN HOUSE' GUIDING SERVICES

Endlessride now has the first British qualified mountain bike guide who is legally allowed to work in France. Gareth has been granted 'equivalance' for his combination of International Mountain Leader and SMBLA MBL qualifications. He holds a 'carte professionelle' issued by the local governing body and appropriate insurance.

Gareth will be guiding a couple of days each week. The route, type of ride and ability level will be set according to the requirements of the guests that we have with us at the time. Priority on one day will be given to guests who have never ridden in the area before.

Maximum cost 40 Euros pp per day (depends on group numbers). Max group size 8.

For more details of the program for your holiday week, speak to our bike staff on arrival in Morzine.

EXTERNAL GUIDING SERVICES

There are many local French guides who offer their services in the Portes du Soleil but we have chosen to recommend just three. They are all extremely competent bike riders and speak fluent English. They accompanied many of our guests in 2007 and come highly recommended.

They can offer you a great day of accompanied riding in the region tailoring their route to suit your needs or they can provide skills instruction to help you get the most out your riding in the mountains. You could even arrange a day to mix and match the two, a great day out with skills tips along the way.

We can book any of the guides for you and help you finalise the details of your guided day(s) once you are in Morzine. Our bike staff will discuss the options with you before your guided trip and let the guide know exactly what you want to do.

Details of the three guides can be found below.

Joseph Pauly - runs RideAbility, MTB guiding and coaching in Morzine.

Lionel Reymond - runs Synergie

Ulrika Holmerstrand
(Full details to follow)

GUIDE SHARING

We know that the cost of booking a French guide for the day can be quite prohibitive for individuals or small groups so we are offering a guide sharing scheme. Send us details of your riding ability and the sort of days riding you would like to have and we will try our best to match you up with like minded riders who are staying with us at the same time. We will aim for group sizes of between 5 – 8 riders. The final cost will depend on final numbers but will be somewhere between 30 - 45 Euros pp per day. We will keep a list of interested riders (click this link for details) and book a suitable guide once a minimum number of 5 riders is reached.

Just give us a call or drop us a line by e-mail with your requirements.

OUR IN HOUSE SERVICE AND SELF GUIDED RIDES

We will have two bike staff on hand in our chalets to help you plan your days out on the mountain. Our bike staff have worked with us now for many years and they know the area extremely well. They can point you in the direction of the best routes to suit your specific needs.

We have a good stock of waterproof maps that we will mark up for you at the start of each day. Couple that with a detailed route card and a GPS unit (if you need that back up) and you are on you way for a great day out. You can have a look at some routes here.

Finding your own way around is one thing but an accident or mechanical failure in a remote part of the area can be difficult to deal with. All of our guests are issued with emergency contact cards and we provide an on the mountain Emergency back up service. Just one call to us and we can help you call in the rescue services or send out one of the bike staff with spare parts or tools to get your bike back up and running again.

PASSPORTES DU SOLEIL

Summer 2008 details to follow soon.