Roche Parstire Supertrail
Description
The asphalt ascent from Beaufort via Arèches up to the Saint-Guerin reservoir can be done either under your own steam on a moderate incline or by bus (check bus times!). This adds up to 800 vertical meters, with a further 600 vertical meters to the ridge. This is done on gravel roads up to 130 meters below the ridge. The last section to the crossing is on a trail. Rideable with an e-mountainbike and a good dose of riding technique, but a small, final feat of strength without a motor. Once you reach the top of the ridge, you won't be able to stop spitting! The Roselend-Hochpleateau with the reservoir lies at our feet, Mont Blanc towers into the sky behind us and a singletrack trail winds seemingly endlessly over the ridge in front of us. What a unique scenery!
The trail offers an unparalleled flow spectacle with a permanent view of Mont Blanc. There are very few great mountain bike trails like this in the Alps! The trail leads down to a pass, where there is a short, steep ascent to Mont Parstire. Here you should definitely take another break, as the lake and Mont Blanc are even closer than before on the Col du Couvercle. After the summit, the character of the tour changes. The trail is a little more technical and finally leads through the forest to the Col du Pré. The focus is now on trail fun, the Mont Blanc panorama has disappeared. And the descent has a lot to offer. After a short climb after the Col du Pré, the trail flows through the forest - fast, agile, varied. After countless hairpin bends, you reach the road from Beaufort to Arèches, on which you previously climbed. You now roll downhill a little and then take the paths that lead along the road down to the center of Beaufort.
Conclusion: The route is one of the best mountain bike tours in the Alps. It is important to ride it in good weather because the scenic attractions make up a large part of its appeal.
Map & GPX-Track
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Details of the tour
32 km
1540 m
1540 m
1 day
Beaufort
Beaufort
2606
well suited
More information
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User comments (5)
About the author: Thomas Giger
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
A free shuttle to the reservoir (Lac de Saint Guernin) is available through August 31—unfortunately, not for us. So we had to pedal. We pushed our bikes up the last 150 meters of elevation gain along rutted cow trails. The view made all the effort worthwhile. Up and down the ridge. Then on to the Col du Pre (had to carry the bike for a bit because my heel was caught in the chains), but otherwise rideable without any problems. A beautiful descent through the forest, where there are several official MTB trails (red or black) leading to Beaufort. Great ride!
I rode part of the tour on my Mont Blanc circumnavigation on 17.07.2024. As I passed the Lac de Roselend, I turned off towards the dam and then from there via a tarred and gravel road to the Passage de la Charmette, where I joined the track. This is where the loose gravel climb ends and the trail begins. This requires some energy, but was almost completely rideable for me. The trail is a top-class meadow-ridge trail with great views of the Roche Parstire. From the summit, it's almost all downhill, except for a short pushing section. The trail is quite technical and rooty up to the Col du Pré, but can be ridden without any problems. From there, it is a first-class flow spectacle almost all the way down to Beaufort. This section with its views and trail was one of the highlights of my Mont Blanc tour and I can thoroughly recommend it. I ride a Scott Genius Ultimate and am usually in the head group uphill; downhill I'm always the last, by a long way.
Super tour! Asphalt ascent with pleasant gradient, from 1800m on gravel, from 2000m on trail. Trail is very rutted - pushing passage. At the top, ridge trail with sensational views and no major difficulties. After the Col de Pre, more challenging and varied through the forest.
Caution! If you can't carry your bike down very steep terrain with loose soil, you should rather choose another ascent than the Col du Couvercle. I had to turn around. Many hikers slid down on the seat of their pants. It's only a short stretch, but hardly doable alone on a bike, as there is an acute risk of slipping. It's definitely better with two people...
I rode the tour in fall 2022. The first section of the descent is (as correctly described in the text) very steep but rideable. What you do there on the seat of your pants is a mystery to me. However, it may be that it can be slippery on the ground in wet conditions, I was riding in dry conditions.