Alps Mountain Biking Bliss at The White Room
A review of The White Room, Sainte Foy, France – July 2nd to July 9th 2011
The guys I ride with around the Manchester/NW area had for the last few years entered the PPDS which takes place late June each year. I’d always been keen to ride in the Alps since I started mountain biking properly but the strands of other adventures had always got in the way. That was until 2011. Steve, the internet overlord and general organiser for our disparate group piped up saying he was thinking about an Alps trip and after a few hasty conversation with the missus we decided we were also in. Steve e-mailed a few chalet providers and decided on ‘The White Room’ in Sainte Foy. A few things helped us make the choice. They were prepared to do a 2/3 day stay for 12 people (arrive Saturday & depart Wednesday), they guide every day bar Wednesday, the chalet is full board with free booze. What more could you want. Oh and the price was a very reasonable £495 for the full week (less for the part week.)
The Whiteroom.
This in essence is Stevo and Iona, they run a chalet called Tintin in Sainte Foy, a small resort up the mountain from Bourg St Maurice. During the winter Stevo & Iona run the regular chalet format but it’s during the summer months the MTBing takes over.
Tin Tin Chalet at The White Room (courtesy of Snowslave)
During the summer Stevo and Iona guide riders around their patch of mountain biking heaven taking in everything from epic alpine hike-a-bikes to DH only weeks and everything in between. I get the impression the Classic Singletrack weeks are probably the best unless you’re really obsessive about your particular branch of biking. Where The Whiteroom really stands out is the guiding. For your money you’re getting either Stevo or Iona, sometimes both, guiding you all day every day, bar the rest day on Wednesday. This means no messing about with maps, no worrying about getting the uplift on time, no thinking about where to go for lunch, just unadulterated riding for as long as you can hang on.
Chalet TinTin.
It’s a beautiful late 1800’s traditional wooden chalet. The conversion to house more guests has been done well, although it has left a few quirky sleeping arrangements. There’s a double room over the kitchen/living area, so make sure the party animal gets this room. There’s also a couple of bunks in the downstairs corridor. In addition they use a flat in a building behind the chalet to house some guests which is very modern, complete with it’s own dungeon! There’s loads of exposed beams and wood, as you would expect, and many of the rooms are en-suite but not all. The main living eating space is big enough for 12, at least, with a nice balcony over looking the valley. I never got tired of the view to the mountains in the Villaroger Nature Reserve opposite.
Sunset view from the Tin Tin Chalet balcony
There’s also a little workshop room housing a work stand and tools for when things start to go wrong. Stevo (one of our guides) was incredibly helpful to everyone who had mechanicals. The food was excellent, breakfast was a two course affair with cereal/toast/fruit/yoghurt followed by a cooked course. Lunch was cheese and ham sandwiches prepared by our own fair hands and a bag of goodies supplied at the beginning of your stay. Be careful not to eat all your goodies in the first few days! There were plenty of options for lunch out if you fancied but just like during the winter, it ain’t cheap! When we arrived back from each ride there was a cake waiting for us, a different slab of loveliness each day! All to see us round to dinner later in the evening. We had a great chef called Mars who provided us with really good home cooked food. Delicious roasted potatoes in goose fat and pork belly were two of my favourite. My only comment would be that it was a little light on vegetables but the quality of the cooking was quite exceptional.
Your average day.
There’s nothing average about the riding in Sainte Foy. We usually met at about 9.00 – 9.30am for either the first uplift or the Whiteroom minibus to go somewhere. Their bike trailers are excellent, keeping each bike well protected from the others. We’d hit the trails and go till lunchtime. This was often a later lunch so keep yourself well fed as you go along. A lunch stop gave you time to rehydrate and eat. The temperatures were hot so I got through two 3L bladders most days.
Our Uplift. No pedalling!
Post lunch riding was no calmer. Go go go until you stop for the day. On the first day alone we put 5000 metres of decent under our belt – that’s like descending Snowdon three times! Often we’d finish the day in a bar for a beer or two which was welcome. Then back to the chalet for a bit of maintenance of you and your bike! Dinner was usually at about 8-9pm.
What was everyone riding.
A real mix of bikes were taken out on this trip. Everything from short travel trail bikes to 160mm coil shock sofa’s. Your average long travel trail bike, ie 5 inches, will do the job just fine. It has to be said that a short travel trail bike will suffice but won’t be as much fun. However ride what you’ve got and don’t let your bike stop you from booking the trip and having fun. Check out my How to Alpify your Bike post if you want a few more tips.
Overview of our Itinerary
Here’s Stevo’s write up of our trip but from my rough remembrance it went like this:
Day 1
Les Arcs chairlift up and singletrack/DH options down. Very exciting trip up to Les Arcs on the funicular, that’s train to you and me! A few chairlifts and your pretty much at the top of the mountain. Getting the bikes on the chair lifts was easy enough although if you’re not used to heaving your bike around it can be a little tricky. It seems every chair lift has a slightly different way of getting the bike on. Some more bike friendly than others. The riding is Les Arcs was pretty fun. The DH track was much like a trail centre on steroids. Bike berms, bigger jumps and some interesting obligatory slow speed drop-offs. Not everyone’s cup of tea. Personally I loved it and could see how you could go really mad just doing laps on a track like that. We also squeezed in some ace singletrack down from the top lift to the base of the mountain. Epic switchbacks going on forever. Not something we ever do at home!
Day 2
Uplift in Sainte Foy itself taking in some amazing singletrack like you’ve never seen. Steep, technical and exciting.
Day 3
Beautiful Day 3 Singletrack
Uplift in Sainte Foy and some driving around by Whiteroom. ‘Vini Vidi Vici’ was by far the best trail of the day, perhaps even the trip. Smooth flowing singletrack that just egg’s you on to go faster and faster. Lots of people saying it felt like a computer game.
Day 4
Rest Day – boy did we need it. Read books, slept lots and enjoyed a nice meal in the resort itself at ‘Le Maison’ – Oh and I proposed to my now lovely fiancé.
Day 5
Uplift in Sainte Foy – laps on the start of ‘Thin red line’ with ‘whisky & rye’ on the end. A few alternate finishes thrown in. All round a lot of riding on some amazing trails.
Day 6
Alpine hike-a-bike – properly brilliant and quite epic. This is perhaps the most familiar style of riding we did during our stay. We drove up to a resort then cycled and walked our way to the top of a very big hill (this is the bit you’ll all be familiar with!). This bit less so….after a brief break we cruised down some of the most beautiful, smooth and flowing singletrack I’ve ever ridden. It also seemed to go on forever. The riding was less intense and the trails less technical but the views spectacular.
Summary
One of the real advantages of staying at the Whiteroom is Stevo & Iona’s flexibility. Your group not really loving the singletrack, well they can take you to the DH course at a resort instead. Fancy something more XC, they have just the place in mind. They may do most of the transport of you+bike or you may find yourself paying for uplifts everyday. Budget an extra £100 for lift tickets for the week so there’s no surprises for your wallet. They also know their area really well so will take you and the weather into consideration, All told it’s a great package.
Pro’s
- Lovely quiet chalet, great food thanks to Mars and Amy (2011.)
- Exceptional riding guides in the form of the Stevo & Iona.
- World class singletrack at your door with easy access to good resort options as well.
Con’s
- Go go go!!! It felt a little full on right from the off.
- The transfer from Geneva is a long one.
- Perhaps too much cheese & ham for lunch!
BOTTOM LINE – Would I book with the Whiteroom again – you bet I would!
Most of the Team
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