Spectators cheer on rando riders in the three valleys VTT...

Like a year without Christmas or Easter, the Justride calendar is not complete without a bit of chairlift-assisted alpine action. After outings to the mighty Morzine and last year's switchback-laden journey to Chamonix, this year we tried something just a little different.

Courchevel sits at one end of the enormous three valleys region of France, linking La Tania, Merribel and Val Thorens. For snow shredders it offers up one of the largest pisted areas in Europe, with a wide variety of terrain and a modern lift system. We were keen to see what it could offer bikers in the summer. And while it doesn't offer the dedicated downhill courses and freeride parks of Morzine/Les Gets, the official 16 marked descents and 13 XC routes would be a good starting point for riding. It's a big old mountain with mechanical uplift, so it had to be either good or great.

We timed our trip to coincide with the three valleys VTT challenge, based on the hugely popular “PassPortes Du Soleil,” which celebrates the opening of the summer season by inviting bikers to the mountain.

Day 1
On Saturday we were offered up a 20 kilometer enduro (and I use the description loosely), starting from the highest accessible point—the top of the “Saliure” lift at 2,700 meters. From there, the only way is down and the course did exactly that, plummeting all the way to the valley floor some 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) below and gravity-assisted 99 percent of the time.

We weren't sure how the riders would treat the timed run, but the big rig bikes and full body armor of many showed that, in reality, it was a 20 kilometer downhill race. Fortunately, there were plenty of others in “trail” gear so we didn't feel out of place.

As it was our first full day, we decided to take it easy and regrouped shortly after our individual starts. The first 1,000 meters (vertical) was an intense sensual hit. With eyes wide open and arms pumping, we sought the best line through the multitude of high-speed, loose gravel turns while tires roared and frames pinged under the barrage of rock missiles. The whiff of burning rotors completed the intoxicating concoction.

"The action was thick and fast as the course weaved its way relentlessly down. Flicking the bike between roots and rocks, we were in heaven..."

The lower half of the course headed for the woods and served up some of the sweetest singletrack we have ever ridden. The action was thick and fast as the course weaved its way relentlessly down. Flicking the bike between roots and rocks, wall riding the natural gulleys and flying a couple of large drops, we were in heaven. It was a truly awesome journey with each section a little more fun than the last, until some 50 minutes after we'd started, we crossed the finish line.

Slugging back drinks and nibbles laid out banquet style, we were amazed that a few riders had done 28-minute runs. We were not pushing and had even stopped to help some Frenchie mend his bike so knew we could do better. So, fueled up, we hopped into the bubble lift for the 55 minute trip back to the top to do it all again. With increased confidence we hit everything a little harder, but with loads of riding days left we were not going to go balls out. This time we posted a more respectable time, just under 40 minutes.

Catching the lift up again we were all really buzzing as we made our way down another 1,000 meter descent back to the resort. The best event ever? Well, probably, yes, but tomorrow we had the 70 kilometer rando tour to look forward to.

Day 2
The rando tour is a 70-kilometer enduro loop around the three valleys, with the option of starting at any of the five different resort centers en-route. It also uses five chair lifts to take some of the sting out of what would otherwise be an enormous undertaking. We could tell from the route information that this would not be the previous day's downhill blast so more or less in XC mode, made our way to our designated start at Courchevel.

With over 300 meters already descended we dropped again and the surface changed from a firm, rock base to loose soft soil. We entered another awesome gulley run before a technical climb and then a short fire road brought us to the first checkpoint.