E-bike liberty - Crossing the Alps: Chamonix - Briançon
7 days from 950 € per participant
Guaranteed departure from 5 people
FRLIB1401 
Maximum altitude 2459 m
Stamina level : 2 
Direct train from Paris Pros
- A crossing of the Alps by a diversity of tracks and roads not often used
- Comfortable and typical gites and hotels for each stage
- A permanent logistic assistance at the top! A vehicle and a driver who transports your luggage from one stage to another or allows you to shorten a stage
- A trip in freedom: you can decide to ride each at your own pace, leave as a couple or with friends, out of step with the rest of the group. We go cool, it's flexible, we manage!
- An emblematic route to discover the most beautiful massifs of the Alps while roaming
In a nutshell
Have you always dreamed of crossing the Alps, those emblematic mountains painted with immense landscapes? You feel adventurous but you don't have Poulidor's thighs or the desire to ride an extreme mountain bike? Then this trip will fulfill your expectations of escape, passes and alpine lakes!
We propose you a crossing of the Alps from Chamonix to Menton, divided in 2 weeks to do it either in full or in two times! Via the Beaufortain, the Vanoise and the Maurienne, this week of roaming will take you to Briançon, via wild places and away from the main roads. We will take you on small roads and mountain trails where you will discover enchanting places.
The best part of all this? We take care of everything! A logistician who transports you from Briançon to Les Houches and who follows you all along the trip to carry your luggage from lodge to lodge! And if needed, he will allow you to shorten a day if you need a rest.
So come on, you'll see: the immensity of the Alps is offered to you, in a cool version and at your own pace!
Day to day
Day 1 - Welcome in Briançon - transfer and departure!
Meeting and briefing with your logistician. After the transfer to go to the starting point in Les Houches (3h30 drive) and a small check on the equipment, we start this first day by following the Arve river on a forest track towards the Forclaz pass. Going down to Contamines-Montjoie, we follow the small river called Bon-Nant before leaving the main axis to go down on a stony track towards the Joly pass (1989m). Your first accommodation is waiting for you in this valley!
Distance : about 23km
Difference in altitude : +1250m / -800m approximately
Tracks : paved road, dirt track, stony track
Meals included : picnic, dinner
Accommodation included : hotel
Day 2 - Day in front of the Mont-Blanc
Starting from Les Contamines, we go up the trail to pass the Joly pass. The panorama on the whole Mont-Blanc massif and the Beaufortain is simply breathtaking! It's for landscapes like this that the Traversée des Alpes is amazing: each day brings its own set of landscapes, each more beautiful than the other!
After a looooong descent to reach Hauteluce and its famous bell tower, we will join Beaufort for an essential cheese break and then go back up to Arêches to join our cozy accommodation for the evening! Chill out in front of the mountains, what else?
Distance : 36km approximately
Difference in altitude : +950m / -1450m approximately
Tracks : paved road, stony track
Meals included : breakfast, picnic, dinner
Accommodation included : hotel
Day 3 - In the country of the fairies
We start the morning gently to go up to the lake of St-Guérin where a first photo break will be essential to fill the collection of pictures. From there, direction the mountain pastures and the Cormet d'Arêches via the Lac des Fées. In this mountain pasture is made the Beaufort, this famous cheese of Savoy! From the pass we switch to the Tarentaise, the name given to the whole Isère watershed. In front of us, panorama on the summit of Bellecôte and the glaciers of the Vanoise! This will be the view you will have from the evening accommodation!
Distance : 35km approximately
Difference in altitude : +1250m / -1550m approximately
Routes used : tarred road, forest track
Meals included : breakfast, picnic, dinner
Lodging included : hotel - lodge
Day 4 - In the heart of the Savoie
From Aime, we go up quietly on a wild road to avoid the traffic of the Isère. Yes, we promise you peace and quiet during this crossing of the Alps, so let's head for the small mountain hamlets, with their refreshing fountains and their unique viewpoints on the mountains! Descent to Moûtiers, which we will quickly cross to go into a cool valley along the Doron de Belleville. A "Doron" is a torrent in Savoy! Yes, no turtle here haha!
Then we went back up by small mountain roads to reach St Martin de Belleville, this charming mountain village nestled in a Vanoise valley and rest before the mountain stage of tomorrow.
Distance : 42km approximately
Difference in altitude : +1650m / -950m approximately
Routes taken : paved road
Meals included : breakfast, picnic, dinner
Accommodation included : hotel - gîte
Day 5 - Immersion in Vanoise
Today will be a wild day, in the heart of the Vanoise mountains! From St Martin, we will take a small mountain road that will turn into a mountain pasture track. After an hour, for those who are already hungry, you will have a charming refuge at almost 1700m of altitude to get your strength back in order to face serenely the difficulty of the day: a pass at 2370m in the Emcombres massif! The regular ascent will allow us to look at the Mont-Blanc in the distance, which we almost reached only a few days ago. The magic of roaming: to see how the kilometers pass under our wheels day after day! Then a long descent in the Maurienne, marked out by numerous and charming hamlets overhanging the valley of the Arc, this tumultuous torrent that we will cross the next day.
Distance : 36km approximately
Difference in altitude : +1150m / -1800m approximately
Tracks : stony track, dirt track, paved road
Meals included : breakfast, picnic, dinner
Accommodation included : hotel
Day 6 - Discovery of the Grandes Rousses
No, we're not talking about beer tasting today (although...!). But we guide you today to Valloire via a completely unusual itinerary, sometimes mineral, sometimes wooded. After crossing the Arc on a magnificent footbridge, we will go up via the track of an old quarry, now abandoned but secured. From the hamlet of Albanne the view will open up on the Fort du Télégraphe overlooking its eponymous pass. In the distance you will hear the motorcycles and cars going up the Galibier pass, and you will say to yourself: yeah, we're really good here, calm in the mountains far from the main roads!
Arrived at the hotel in Valloire, this short stage will allow you to recover in order to face the next day one of the most important stages of this Traversée. And there, you will be able to taste one of the delicious beers of the Brasserie du Galibier, on the terrace, quietly!
Distance : 18km approximately
Difference in altitude : +990m / -300m approx.
Routes taken : stony track, paved road
Meals included : breakfast, picnic, dinner
Accommodation included : hotel
Day 7 - Arrival in the Hautes-Alpes
Today is the queen stage, the famous one, the sublime one, the one for which this first week of Traversée des Alpes will make you say: wwhoouuuaaaaaahhhhhhh!!! (yep, that's all)
We advise you to start early in the morning in order to enjoy the view and the calm of the small section of road of the Col du Galibier taken at the beginning of the route! Afterwards, it will be a nice apotheosis, and you will know why we had programmed you to have a couple of days with your wife before! After leaving the Galibier road, we take the Rochilles track, named after a military camp that we will cross above. The track becomes a path (almost the only one of this trip) because this old military road has not been maintained for decades! But the detour is well worth it: you will pass in front of some of the most beautiful lakes of the Hautes-Alpes. You will sometimes have to carry your mountain bike to go down safely along the Clarée springs, then the Drayères refuge will be an excellent opportunity to take a recovery break!
After that, it's a quiet ride on the tracks along the torrent to Briançon. We go along the ramparts of the old fortified city and it's the arrival of this first week! Yes, like you, we think we can't wait to go to Menton!
Distance: 56km approximately
Difference in altitude: +1500m / -1200m
Routes used: road, stony track, single track
Meals included: breakfast, picnic
Meeting and leaving
Meeting points
-
Briançon in front of the Train Station
Meeting time: 6:30 am
Leaving time: in the afternoon
Rendezvous & dispersion - practical information
You are in cycling clothes for the meeting on D1
We do our best but we cannot guarantee the time of arrival at the station (traffic jam, unforeseen circumstances). We advise you to take changeable train tickets. If you come with your car, you can leave it at one of the meeting points during your stay.
The return to Briançon to get back to the meeting points will be done through Italy for practical and ecological reasons: shorter journey! However, if the group is ok it may be possible to spend an extra night in Menton to enjoy the French Riviera. Contact us for details (price, timing)
Access
Train and TGV: www.voyages-sncf.com
For the trains, think to check with the ticket office, that the train in question welcomes bikes.
Car: www.mappy.fr
Carpooling: www.blablacar.fr
Car parking
Free public parking in Briançon.
Technical and physical level
Technical level : *
For this E-bike trip, you should be used to riding on small mountain roads as well as on forest tracks. It is possible to ride a few kilometers on small mountain bike type trails. Possibility to do the most technical passages in portage for people less comfortable with technique.
Physical level : **
For this E-bike trip, you must be able to ride about 45 kilometers per day with an average difference in altitude of 1600m. You must therefore practice a hard activity, at least occasionally (once a week), at best regularly. It is possible to do the few technical passages by pushing.
Group
5 to 12 people
Supervision
No supervision on this trip. A logistician is there to transport your luggage from accommodation to accommodation. If needed, he can shorten your trip by transporting you directly to your accommodation for the evening.
Carrying
Saddle bag, handlebar bag, frame bag to carry some snacks, a windbreaker, gloves, a repair kit, a radio and your water bottle
In short, everything that is recommended to take during a day trip as at home.
Your luggage for the trip, your big bag is transported from stage to stage by our assistance vehicle. You enjoy the good cycling, we take care of the rest.
Price
The price includes
- The organization, the return trip by minibus
- The transfers of luggage in minibus with private driver
- The accommodation in half-board
- GPX tracks compatible with GPS and phones
- The AZIMUT welcome pack
The price does not include
- A&R transportation to the meeting point
- The personal equipment
- The lunch to let the choice of the meal.
- Personal expenses
- Your personal insurance
- Everything that is not included in the "price includes" section.
Payment
Deposit 30% at registration + insurance if you subscribe, the balance must be paid 30 days before departure. A reminder e-mail will be sent to you 35 days before departure.
Insurance
It is highly recommended to be well insured in case of cancellation. Insurance for search and repatriation is mandatory. During registration, we suggest that you take out insurance through Europ Assistance with several options covering the proposed activities and the risks incurred (attention, insurance valid only for European citizens).
Bicycle Logistician tip
Nothing obligatory, but it is customary for the group members to make a tip envelope for the logistician at the end of the trip
Transportation during the trip
With your E-bike. Your luggage will be moved by the Azimut minibus and will be waiting for you at each stage of your trip.
For the return trip: You arrive in the afternoon in Menton. Possibility of leaving with the minibus to Briançon, or it can drop you off at Menton station in the evening.
If the whole group is in favor, it will be possible for you to spend an evening in Menton. The minibus will bring you back to Briançon the next morning.
Accommodation and meals
Half board in friendly gites or hotels. Double room to share, sometimes multiple rooms like dormitory. Depending on the composition of the group, you may be with someone of the opposite sex.
- Take a sheet, towels not provided depending on the stage
- Breakfasts and dinners are taken at the gite/hotel.
-Picnics at noon are composed of quality products, cold cuts, bread, cheese, a bar of chocolate, fruit or dried fruit, seeds. They will be prepared by each accommodation.
- Snacks: The details are important, especially during the effort. We have chosen to provide tasty and high quality cereal bars from the brand Mulebar. Mulebar, these are organic, vegan, easily digestible and nutritionally impeccable products. All the bars are made with noble foods without preservatives, dyes or additives harmful to your health.
- For some stays, it is possible to book a single or double room with extra charge depending on availability.
Accommodation before and after the E-bike trip
As soon as you register, we will send you the names and contact information of accommodations, so that you can spend a night before or after your trip. These accommodations are located near the meeting points and you will often benefit from a preferential rate.
Telephone & WIFI
In case of emergency or delay, you can contact our logistician whose number will be given to you before departure or Azimut at 04 92 23 07 24
Pass on these contacts to your family and friends before you leave
Free WIFI in most of the accommodations
Cell phone and 4G coverage is random depending on the place
Material - Equipment
Remember to take brightly colored clothes, it's more funky on the pictures!
Technical equipment & Safety
- E-bike type all-suspended with auto or flat pedals, as you prefer. We strongly advise against road bikes with thin tires because the road conditions can be unpredictable and detours through trails and paths will be impossible.
- Battery capacity of minimum 500Wh ideally 625Wh.
- We recommend 28-30-32 teeth on the chainring and 42 or 50 teeth on the cassette.
- Waterproof handlebar, frame and saddle bags. The Ortlieb models are perfect for use in all conditions.
- Water bottles
- Helmet and goggles are mandatory
- Bike gloves (MTB or road type) + warm gloves for high altitude descents
- Front & rear lights for the tunnels
- Bike shoes with clips or flat soles depending on your pedals
- A repair kit, including, a pair of brake pads (adapted to the right brake model), a derailleur hanger in addition, a quick link adapted to your chain, pumps, self-adhesive patches, tubes with the right size... and all that would be specific to your bike.
Clothing
This list of equipment includes a series of tips on equipment but does not require you to have the latest equipment. In case you want to re-equip yourself or complete your equipment, take advantage of our advice to have the right equipment, light, warm and comfortable. Good equipment contributes to the success of a stay!
For the head
- Sunglasses because it is important to protect your eyes. Photochromic glasses adapt to the luminosity and vary from index 1 to 3 or 2 to 4 to optimize visibility between light and shadow. Very practical.
- Cap for evenings that can be cool.
For the body
- Technical underwear: long-sleeved top and tights to provide warmth under the pants. Tip: Merino wool has the advantage of being very breathable and antibacterial, so it retains less odor than synthetic materials. Think about it if you need to re-equip yourself.
- Short sleeve cycling jersey
- Long sleeve cycling jacket or fleece
- Synthetic down jacket with a hood to slip under the Gore Tex and provide extra warmth during breaks
- Jacket and pants with waterproof and breathable membrane like Gore Tex or Soft Shell, light and compressible to reduce the space in the backpack.
- Mountain bike shorts. They are ideal for this type of "travel" practice.
- Tights to wear under the shorts in case of cool weather. Bike socks and leg warmers are a great way to quickly switch to climbing or descending mode. They provide the warmth you need for morning starts or long rides in the shade.
- Light gloves (fleece or Soft Shell)
- Swimsuit, it takes up so little space in your luggage that it would be a shame not to have it in case of need! Avoid shorts, as they are not accepted in the pools and baths.
For the feet
- Bike socks. Merino wool has the advantage of being very breathable and antibacterial, so it retains less odor than synthetic materials. Think about it if you need to re-equip yourself.
- Slippers or Crocs recommended for the evening. Dare the charentaises, they are so comfortable! www.charentaises.fr
Toiletries & first aid kit
- Toilet bag with personal kit
- We advise you to use the Iffremont website to build your first aid kit
Luggage & miscellaneous
- 1L water bottle, thermos or Camelback
- Sunscreen (index 50)
- A 90L duffle bag, to be left at the accommodation or in the minibus. Avoid rigid suitcases
- Swiss Army Knife
- Headlamp
- A roll of duck tape for the vagaries of travel
Our partner brands
Our guides are equipped with these brands and you will be able to see and test the equipment on our trips
SCOTT
We are members of the "Entreprises du Voyage" and the APST.
Do not forget
- Leave our contact details with your friends and family
- Take your identity papers (passport and visa up to date for trips requiring it)
- Take your policy number and the contact information of your insurance company if you have not taken out insurance with Azimut
- Take your Vitale card and we also recommend the European Health Insurance Card - free of charge and on request: www.ameli.fr
- Check that you have the required equipment
- Take batteries / chargers for your camera / avalanche transceiver
- Go cool, relaxed, it will go well! The landscapes and the memories you will bring back will be numerous!
- Before leaving, water the plants, take out the garbage, turn off the water and the gas, tell your spouse (other than by text message) that you are going to have a good time... because you need it! Everything you forget in this last recommendation will come back to the surface when you return.
We are waiting for you! Have a good trip with AZIMUT!