Tête de Balme (Chamonix) | Ride MTB

Ride MTB
Choose your language:

Tête de Balme (Chamonix)

Tête de Balme

Trails, trails, trails! That's the motto of the route to the Tête de Balme starting in Chamonix. The tour is an enduro blast with an unbeatable combination of trails, panoramic views, lots of descents and few ascents. A must-do in Chamonix!

Description

If you start this tour in Chamonix, first take the train towards Martigny and ride it to Vallorcine. Then switch to the gondola lift and ride up to Posettes. From here you continue under your own steam. A gravel road leads up to the Col des Posettes and on to the Col de Balme. Now it's time for singletrack, although the first section is prohibited for bikes in July and August. The path is clear, but hikers can be spotted early on, and in high season it is best to push a few meters up to a plateau just below the chairlift mountain station. From here, you can ride freely again (after all, you are now on Swiss soil). A super trail now leads down to Alp Catogne and then down to the village of Cretton in an even more flowing manner. The final section to the valley floor is a little rough and interspersed with hairpin bends, but a good change from the previous flow orgy. Once at the bottom of the valley, follow the road and, after the national border, a bike route back to the valley station in Vallorcine.

Now it's time for the second part of the tour, the return trip to Chamonix. To do this, get back on the Posettes gondola, climb back up to the Col des Posettes, but then turn right onto the single trail, which climbs gently up to a hill. The panorama of the Mont Blanc group from here is stunning! And the trail is unparalleled fun, with only a few water barriers slowing down the flow at the start. The descent to Le Tour is challenging, rough, rocky and winding, but great fun for experienced mountain bikers. You reach Le Tour in trail mode and then tackle the long singletrail section back to Chamonix. Cross-country mode is now the order of the day. You follow the left flank of the valley up and down, pass Argentière, fight your way up a bit and finally reach the center of Chamonix in this style.

 To view the detailed tour description, the topo map, the altitude profile and to download the GPX track, you need a user account on Ride-mtb.com with a subscription. Log in now or become a subscriber.

Map & GPX-Track

The map is only available to Ride subscribers.
The Ride-Subscription is available at ride-mtb.com/abo

.

33 km

745 m

2300 m

1038 above sea level

2211 above sea level

1 day

Chamonix

Chamonix

2089

well suited

Thomas Giger
Jan
Feb
Mar
April
Mai
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Okt
Nov
Dez
Restaurants

Refuge du Col de Balme

Shuttles

Bikeschools

No bike schools are registered for this region. Registration as a partner takes place here.

Bikeshops

No bike shops are registered for this region. Registration as a partner takes place here.

Bikehotels

No bike hotels are registered for this region. You can register as a partner here.

Log in or register to post comments

Portrait Thomas Giger

About the author: Thomas Giger

Thomas Giger has been the editor of Ride MTB since 2002 and is a regular online and print author. Over the years, he has specialized in tourism topics and is particularly well known for his blog-style columns. He is also one of Ride MTB's active tour authors.

Thomas Giger has been the editor of Ride MTB since 2002 and has had a significant influence on the tour database. His focus is on single trail tours. There are few who know the trails in Switzerland as well as he does. However, his areas of expertise also include Aosta, the French Western Alps, and the whole of South Tyrol.

To the author profile

Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.