Tour du Mont Blanc: Chamonix to Champex
An easy tour through Chamonix valley, followed by two hard and long climbs to Lax des Champex.
Moderate Mountain Biking
- Distance
- 46 km
- Ascent
- 2.4 km
- Descent
- 1.9 km
An epic loop ride with a stunning high alpine singletrack traverse as a reward
Mountain Biking Severe
It's no wonder the locals rave about Posettes as one of their favorite mountain bike trails in the Chamonix Valley. This stunning singletrack trail traverses along an alpine ridge above treeline, providing stunning views of the Chamonix Valley and the Mont Blanc Massif. The scenery from this ridge is simply otherworldly—even the best photos can't do it justice. You'll just have to experience it for yourself!
If the lifts are running, you can catch a ride up to the top of Posettes, but if not—or if you have a motor attached to your bicycle—you can ride it the hard way by pedaling all the way to the top. The route mapped here runs all the way from downtown Chamonix to the top of Posettes, and back down.
The grind to the top is long and arduous. It's uphill the entire way from Chamonix, but the climb only gets progressively steeper as you continue along. The grade kicks up as you pass through Argentiere, and then when you reach Le Tour and begin climbing the gravel road under the lift, it only gets steeper and steeper.
The reward is reaching that sweet, sweet section of delightful singletrack!
From the col, the first stretch of Les Posettes climbs a non-technical stretch of singletrack before the descending begins in earnest. The first stretch of downhill descending is on a mellow grade, but this is also the rockiest, most technical section of the entire ride. Some of the rock gardens here deserve a "severe" difficulty rating. They contrast sharply with the rest of the singletrack, which is quite smooth.
After passing through the big rock gardens, you'll take a left turn to descend toward Le Tour. The grade gets much steeper after this turn, as you drop down a series of steep, tight switchbacks. The trail is much smoother, but the steep grade will keep you on your toes all the way to the car park far below.
As you near Le Tour, you can connect together a few short trails to drop down to Argentiere.
Once through Argentiere, the route as mapped here jumps on the classic Petit Balcon Sud trail. Utilize the remaining elevation to rip through some more delicious technical singletrack, before terminating back in Chamonix.
Severe
Widely variable, narrow trail tread with steeper grades and unavoidable obstacles of 15in/38cm tall or less. Obstacles may include unavoidable bridges 24in/61cm wide or less, large rocks, gravel, difficult root sections, and more. Ideal for advanced-level riders.
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