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Christ-Roi Loop

Mountain Biking Trail

Moderate
7.1 mi
2,111 ft
Mostly smooth, flowy singletrack trails rolling through deep forests.

There’s no two ways about it: Chamonix’s singletrack trails are, on the whole, _gnarly_. Generally, you can expect an endless sea of rocks, roots, and chunder. But what if you don’t mind a steep climb up but would prefer some smooth, flowy singletrack instead of the stereotypical gnar? Well, check out this loop incorporating trails in the La Flatiere and Christ-Roi area!

The grind from the valley floor to the top of this route is plenty demanding. Thankfully, tackling most of the climb on the pavement helps the grind to go by a bit quicker. Once you reach the higher elevations, you’ll be so stunned by the scenery and the deep forest that you’ll forget all about the pain you’re in!

This route crisscrosses the mountainside, following delightfully narrow singletrack trails that time forgot. Rolling through the deep, dark forest, these narrow strips of loam will let you swoop and flow along on your two-wheeled rig.

While overall these trails are much tamer than most of the singletrack you’ll find in Chamonix, the difficulty of this ride is somewhere on the line between “moderate" and "difficult.” Some uphill rock gardens are quite technical, and a few of the switchbacks are quite sharp. However, the difficulty rating has been rounded down just a touch due to the challenge of the other trails in the region.

After crossing the paved road, the main descent down the mountain follows a few sections of sweet singletrack, but mostly descends a wild doubletrack grade. One or two sections feature steep, technical bits, but they’re easy to navigate by Chamonix standards. Be sure to take a break at the Christ-Roi statue during your descent—the view of Mont Blanc and the valley below is just stunning!

For a more engaging descent while still hitting the sweet sections of loamy track up high, opt to turn left on the paved road and climb back up the mountainside to access the Merlet Trail—a fantastic enduro-style rip down the mountainside. To complete this route combination, at the junction with the paved road during the descent, you’ll then merge onto the [Merlet Loop]( route and complete that route as mapped. Written by Greg Heil
Created By
Strava Routes

Route and Elevation

Segments

NameDistanceElev. Diff.Avg. Grade
To Adventure Park1.28 mi0 ft0.0%
Full Flatière climb from the bridge2.61 mi1,322 ft9.5%
Les houches / Le Bettey2.43 mi1,171 ft9.0%
Montée de Coupeau : Gare - Place du breton2.05 mi958 ft8.8%
les houches station to merlet turnoff1.70 mi853 ft8.9%
Flatiere2.23 mi1,106 ft9.4%
samoteux crapules2.50 mi1,250 ft9.5%
Dré dans l'pentu before ride3.16 mi1,670 ft10.0%
end of the road, Flatiere2.45 mi1,266 ft9.8%
To Sajohe Chalet0.60 mi282 ft8.8%
coupeau climb1.59 mi801 ft9.5%
Bettey climb2.23 mi1,106 ft9.3%
Chemin Du Senet Climb (accurate GPS definition)0.73 mi381 ft9.8%
Chemin Du Senet Climb0.86 mi397 ft8.6%
Chemin Du Plan De La Cry Climb0.75 mi420 ft10.5%
merlet turn off to flatière0.90 mi502 ft9.8%
Flattière (Depuis croisement Merlet)0.83 mi449 ft10.2%
Balcon Merlet/Flatière0.70 mi-486 ft-13.0%
Flatière/route de merlet0.21 mi-190 ft-16.8%
Christ-Roi aux Eaux Rousses0.50 mi-548 ft-20.8%