Summer

Lake Montriond

Lac Montriond Fireworks – Fete Du Lac. This event happens each summer on the 1st Saturday in August.

Fete du Lac

This year it was the 37th year of the fireworks which is a free event hosted by Montriond community to celebrate the Lake. Lac Montriond is one of 23 sites in the Geoparc Chablis which is part of Unesco. Studies have shown that Lac Montriond was formed in the 1550’s when a huge landslide happened off the side of the Nantaux. It was privately owned until the commune of Montriond bought the site in 1992 and have since invested in the site to make the Lake a beautiful place for everyone to enjoy in both summer and winter. Both ends of the Lake have great restaurants and there is path all the way around the lake, the end nearest Montriond villiage has an area for bathing and a small pool for children to swim in this is covered on the multipass. Other acitivites at the lake include kayaking and horse riding. There is also a beautiful waterfall the Cascade d’Ardent that you can walk to and it is well worth the effort.

Lac Montriond Fireworks – Feux Du Lac

Lac Montriond Fireworks

On the evening of the 1st saturday of August this spectacular firework display takes place. Many people go to the Lake with picnics and barbecues in the afternoon and enjoy the surroundings before the Fireworks begin at about 21:30 when it is dark. Before Lac Montriond Firworks or the Feux Du Lac begin there is other entertainment like Parapenters, firejugglers, fire eaters, clowns and other street performers. The Fireworks last for around 1 hr and there is a different theme each year. After the fireworks there is a band and a bar so you can stay and enjoy.

If you are staying with us at the time of the Lac Montriond fireworks then we are happy to organise transport to the event which is not to be missed. Please ask us about this at the time of booking 

The Tourist office in Morzine have put together a Mountain bike survey for anyone who has biked in Morzine for one or more days. It allows you to give your opinion on what they can improve and develop in the area. At the end of the summer they will take the Morzine mountain bike survey and look at what economic effects mountain biking has on Morzine as a town, ie the shops, bars, restaurants etc.. and what your opinion is of the infrastructure that is in place now for mountain bikers, plus what your thoughts are on what improvements can be made.  You can find it here on our Facebook Page please feel free to share the post and spread the word the more people who fill it in the better. Don’t forget to like our page too while you are there ;-).

Or simply scan the image below with your mobile phone.

mtb survey

Morzine Mountain bike Survey

This is your chance to have your say about the trails and facilities for mountain bikers in Morzine and help the tourist office improve and develop this town better to cope with the needs of those of us who ride bikes. More bike washes? better maintained trails? more trails? what sort of trails? In the past 7 summers we have seen many changes, lots more trails, new lifts, better signage of the trails and this year it is more noticeable that there are maintenance teams on the mountain repairing and trying keep the trails in shape throughout the summer.

We want Morzine to keep improving and it is great that the tourist office are now realising that with your feedback they can make Morzine bigger and better.

So put the kettle on and fill in the survey only takes 5 minutes to have your say plus you can win entry to the PassPortes Du Soleil event and a free day pass for summer 2015.

Here at Riders Refuge, we have been enjoying some great sporting and musical events all just a stone’s throw from our Morzine chalets. Bastille Day is the national holiday that commemorates the start of the French revolution with the storming of the Bastille on July 14th 1789. This year Bastille fell on a Monday which resulted in a long weekend of festivities in Morzine.

First of the events on offer was The French Lumberjack Championships which started in earnest on Sunday. So what is the Lumberjack Championship, we hear you ask? Dubbed the ‘original extreme sport’, for the uninitiated, ‘timber sport’ is essentially speed wood-chopping with contestants using a variety of axes and saws as well as their pure strength to get through tree trunks in record speed. On Sunday, Morzine town square hosted demonstrations of the 6 challenges participants were expected to tackle in Monday’s tournament. The tournament itself was quite a spectacle and a definite crowd pleaser – the chain saw discipline was certainly noisy but impressive non-the-less!

Crowds gathered on Sunday night for the highly anticipated World Cup Final match between Argentina and Germany. The match was broadcast live in Morzine’s main square on the big screen erected for the Simple Minds Concert. Despite France’s exit in the quarter finals, there was a buzzing atmosphere and a live DJ rounded off the night’s celebrations.

The highlight of the French holiday weekend was without a doubt the free Simple Minds Concert in Morzine town square. Whether you are a child of the 80s, you were a twinkle in your parent’s eyes when Alive and Kicking was released, or a little older than you can to admit; you would have found yourself entertained by the set played on Monday evening. Lead singer Jim Kerr took the crowd through a number of hits culminating in the classic ‘Don’t you forget about me’. In the encore, he then finally relented by playing Alive and Kicking. At the end of the concert, a great display of Bastille fireworks were launched above the Pleney and then a DJ continued to play from the main stage until the early hours.

Blue skies in Morzine

Whilst the Bastille celebrations may be over, the good news here in Morzine is that the sun is definitely out and our guests are now enjoying blue skies and dry trails. There are many more events to come in the local area this summer, including UB40 in Les Gets and the Mont Blanc Rally. Our girls riding week also takes place from 16th-23rd August with limited places available in Chalet Eterle, our central catered chalet in Morzine. There is optional coaching and guiding on offer so you can tailor your holiday to you. For more information contact our friendly team today.

Morzine lifts are open! Summer has certainly arrived here in Morzine with some beautiful June sunshine, flowers in bloom and the Pleney lift now open much to the excitement of the MTB community.

The new, improved Pleney lift opened for skiers and snowboarders last December and now mountain bikers finally have their turn! The telecabine welcomed its first riders last Saturday 14th June, a relief for those who had been pushing their way to the top these last few weeks. Each cabin accommodates 2 riders and their bikes with acres of space or a maximum of 3 bikes. This is an uplift of 900 bikes per hour which is almost three times more than the previous lift’s capacity of 250! (more…)

We now have secured entries for Sunday 29th June for the 11th edition of the PassPortes du Soleil.

 About the PPDS Event

Le PassPortes Du Soleil 2014 is a mountain bike event like no other it will take place over 3 days from Friday 27^th June. This year, Les Gets is playing host to the PDS event that spans across 2 countries and covers 80km’s of marked trails using 20 ski lifts. Some of the trails are only accessible by lift for this weekend and the lifts will be opening for longer than normal from 7:30 – 18:00 to allow you to complete the tour in one day. There are two Mavic assistant points to provide you with help for any mechanical issues you may have and motorbikes travel the circuit throughout the day to provide assistance en route. The PassPortes caters for all abilities of mountain biker and if you don’t want to take part in the classic 80km route, there is an intermediate route of 50km as well as a beginner route of 30km. For those of you taking part in the full 80km you will be rewarded with 6500m of decent. (more…)