Ro-11 you have made the best comment ever on this feature. 10/10. Squeeze your bike into that bag and se where it takes you. You won't regret it.

We didn't "poach" the trails, we "poached" the lifts to access them. We even have lifts passes for the year that allow us to ride those lifts with any other mountain riding equipment under our arms.. just not bikes!. Dont get too upset over it. I know locals that have ridden these lifts with their bikes as they know the lift guy operating it that day they turned up! OK that might not be the ultimate justification for our "poaching", but it is important. Did you ever smile reading about snowboarders using splitboards to "poach" the "ski-only" resorts of Alta or Taos in the USA? Sometimes these things have to be aired, be it for entertainment, for merely sharing the experience or perhaps going along with the idea that creating discussion, argument or simply antagonism sometimes creates dialogue. The suffragettes didn't win the vote for women in the UK by keeping quiet about their activities. How about Critical Mass? Perhaps its time for us to stand up and say, hell, we have as much right to ride these natural trails as anyone has to use them, (and that yes we will do so responsibly). That said, our mission was to re-ride some remote trails that are damn hard to get to, we didnt set out to make a political statement, not that time at least.

Brilliant. This is great. The facts are 1. these trails are not closed to bikes, just the lifts. We "smuggled " ourselves on the lift to get to trails we have previously hiked up to to ride. 2. These three trails are almost deserted of people even in mid summer. let alone when we rode them after the summer tourist boom had finished and late in the day when everyone has gone home for tea. 3. Irresponsible letting people know where? Well I believe it's up to the rider to decide if they can attempt a trail.. did you get anywhere in skill level by not pushing yourself? You know if you're out of your depth, and these trails are a massive effort to get to.. if you get to them riding and pushing (as we did first time round), you are the kind of rider who has the ability to ride them, and know about sharing the trail with other users IF you find any! 4. I have been resident in the Chamonix valley for 12 years. I know the scene there. I Am part of it, not some visiting american coming to poach, shoot pics and move on. Do we all want to ride smooth, bike-specific predictable trails from here on (ie, bike parks), or do we want to explore the possibilites of what the natural trails still offer? I still have XC roots.

for the record, CHX is not the only place in France with bike restrictions. The worthy Portes du soleil (home of the 600-MTB-strong Passeporte du soleil event) recently closed many sections of natural trails to bikes (having opened bike specific ones nearby). Likewise many in the nearby Swiss Rhone valley (Martigny-Zermatt area) in Switzerland are strictly off limits to MTBs according to local bylaws. Chamonix is trying to limit the friction between bikes and walkers. However these trails are not closed to bikes, just the lifts as they get crowded at times (10 am - 3 pm) and are the main money maker for the valley lift company in summer. The trails in this feature don't cross natural reserves and the lifts are open to any other "extreme sport" practicers (parapenters, climbers alpinists.. anyone who wants to throw themselves off a peak in fact), so the lifts are not closed to bikers "for our own protection". You can ride/climb/hike up no problem (and we have previously) to ride any time of the year when there isnt too much snow. Hope that helps put it in context.

Well the guys in this feature are... a couple of French locals who work on the bike industry locally (and are involved in trail advocacy and communication with the authorities) and I'm a UK expat who has lived in the CHX valley for well over a decade, summer and winter, autumn and spring. I know how the MTB access thing works. I stop for walkers. I stop and pick up litter. I dont even skid. And I know what plans they have for Chamonix already, and what stupid closures they are already placing on trail access in summer. It's all about trail management I know, and bikes are at the bottom of the list in CHX. Last at the table I guess. Read a couple of my replies below to get a better feel for this feature and the details of our mission....

You got it JHW. This isnt a feature saying go and ride these trails.. more an entertaining ( I hope) story about us trying to grab an easy ride up to hit trails we already put in the leg work to reach previously. And yes, being an aware trail user is what its all about. I know this and you're right.. these trails will never be on the mainstream repertoire. IN fact the last took us ove ran hour of carrying to reach, AFTER we took the lift! Unfortunately CHX has a hidden agenda (they have specified it on their MTB website. so not so hidden) to close more and more natural trails to bikes as soon as they feel they have enough purpose built MTB trails built. As long term residents of the valley we have had to turn our attention to trails out of the valley in summer, or hit the "closed" trails late.. evening rides for example, when you wont meet a single other user. But that doesnt work for the bike tourist who is there on holiday.

Righto, here it is from the horses mouth so to speak.. I'll straighten this out. "Poaching" and "smuggling" make good hooks for features. Dont worry about the terms used its irrelevant. The truth is that having lived in Chamonix winter and summer for over 12 years I think I know the area and the authorities and the bike allowances pretty well. I've seen MTB grow in the valley. I've seen recent shut downs come into force too (on the other side of the valley in full summer). The fact is that we had ridden 2 of the 3 trails in this feature before, having hiked all the way up to them.. carrying bikes for over 2 hours to reach them. See above replies for more..

It's the mountains in September. It can do anything. Go prepared.