UKC

Thinking of going to the Alps in August for mountaineering and takings the MTBs as back up in case of poor weather / conditions. We have hardtails and are happy doing hardish reds in places like Coed y Brenin and Afan. So cross country single track with some ups and downs is fine, as is downhill as long as it isn't proper black standard as we'd be walking that! Whereabouts would be some good places to go? Flexible on location so anything from tge Ecrins to the Oberland but would need to be fairly close to mountaineering areas (unless the weather completely craps out...). Thanks

In reply to Misha: Chamonix has some great Trails in the Aiguille Rouges - nothing too tough and the climbing's ok around there too I've heard.

I did a bit of biking in Chamonix a while back, nothing too hard but didn't do the proper downhill runs eg off the Flegere - what are they like?

In reply to Misha: Slightly further away from your major mountaineering areas but les gets, morzine, chatel and les deux alpes are far superior to Chamonix when it comes to biking.

In reply to Misha: there's some great biking to be had in the ecrin area.

In reply to Misha:
theres a whole load of brill x country and downhill in the Portes du Soleil area. I'm a bit biased but Chatel makes a great place to base yourself - I got hooked on x country there last summer. You can use the lifts if you like or pedal like mad too. Also lots of single and multi pitch sports climbing around too with hardly anyone there climbing it. PM me if you want more specific info.

In reply to Misha: I suggest the Hautes-Alpes which includes the Ecrins area - but a base in the main valley of the Durance will give you more scope and variety than being up in the Ailefroide valley. So anywhere from Briancon down to Guillestre or Embrun. The Champsaur behind Gap is also worth exploring.

Bit more information for the Haute-Alpes

http://www.alpineaccomodation.com/#/cycling-mtb/4532428542