I had had this tour on my to-do list for a loooong time and on 05.09.2023 it was finally time. As I already had the Col de Mille in my legs from Bruson, I decided to get on the bus in Orsières and save myself the ascent to La Fouly/Ferret. From there, the ascent is fairly moderate on a wide gravel path up to the mountain inn "La Peule", before the path turns into a singletrail. This single trail is the width of a twin baby carriage throughout and is so well leveled that my father would have no trouble negotiating it with his rollator. It was fine with me, as the trail was 100% rideable despite a few ramps. The view on the Gross Col Ferret is truly unique, the panorama is unparalleled, no power lines, no lifts, no reception. Unsurprisingly, there were lots of bikers and hikers heading in both directions on this dream day. But as soon as you turn off in the direction of Petit Col Ferret, you are suddenly alone and have to get off your bike every now and then, as the path is exposed from time to time. The subsequent DH is a mix of flow trails, cow tracks and washed-out trails, all in all okay but no highlight. From La Fouly there are some nice trails as described, but also a lot of altitude loss. As I hadn't earned the meters in altitude myself, this wasn't too tragic. As luck would have it, back in Orsières the bus to Champex au Lac was waiting for me, so to speak, and as I had to get back to Martigny anyway I took the opportunity. From Champex I more or less "freestyled" my way back to Martigny, and the trails down were the absolute highlight of the tour. At the end of the day, I had 2,800 m uphill and 4,700 m downhill to my name, as well as the certainty that I had once again squeezed everything out of this not-so-long autumn day.
I ride a Scott Genius Ultimate and am usually in the lead group uphill; downhill, I'm always the last one by a long way.

The ascent on the road is very moderate, but there is a lot going on. There is also a signposted MTB route, which we took from time to time instead of riding on the road. It's a bit tough there without a road bike, but at the end you'll be glad of all the energy you have left for the sometimes steep ascent. The scenery is really beautiful, but there were a lot of hikers on the road today (I think the Tour de mont blanc goes that way). Only on the way back were we virtually alone again. Unfortunately, the descent is repeatedly interrupted in the upper part by unrideable sections (landslide, fence). For the most part, it is a classic meadow trail and you have to maneuver between canyons. The descent further down surprised us in a positive way. Lots of roots, probably not quite as much fun when wet. If you arrive by car, I would park in Praz de Fort. After that, the descent is no longer interesting. If I had the choice again, I would possibly combine this tour with the Lacs de Fenetre.

Tour 'ridden' on 1.7.21: up to Grand Col Ferret various (unproblematic) snowfields to cross. From Petit Col Ferret almost down to 2200 still practically closed snow cover with some 'crisp' crossings!

Valais 3 days

From the Grand Col Ferret, cross the slope to the descent. There are currently a few tricky snow fields to cross in this passage. There are also snowfields on the following descent, but they were a lot of fun. The descent is exciting and located in a very beautiful valley!