ROCHERS DE NAYE

Grade: Medium

At the far end of Lac Léman stands a statue of Freddie Mercury, a memorial to the late star who loved Montreux and advised friends to visit if they wanted ‘peace of soul’ – testament to the town’s laidback vibe and relaxing water–side location. Montreux is certainly more famed for its music than its mountain biking, with the annual jazz festival attracting up to 200,000 visitors and previous events having become the stuff of legend. (Deep Purple’s song, ‘Smoke on the Water’, was inspired by a fire that broke out during one festival, incidentally). However, there is a funicular railway that runs from the water’s edge up to the ‘Rochers de Naye’ – a viewpoint high above the lake which is accessed mainly by sightseers. This was news to me until last summer, when Scott’s Ben Walker and his wife Corinne, took me and Victor on a mystery tour up, down and around the mountains above Montreux.

I’ll tell you the story, and from my vague description and a map (or Google) you should be able to plan your own great day out:

‘Smoke on The Water’ was of course blaring out of the van speakers as we pulled into the car park opposite one of Montreux’s many music shops, much to the amusement of Ben and Corinne (but we still felt pretty cool). Our guides told us to get our act together and we quickly scrambled to get kitted up, get the bikes out and to fix the odd puncture etc… After a short but hurried ride through the streets, we took an escalator up, bikes and all; this I found quite a novelty in itself. Although we were following the Walker’s, the funicular railway wouldn’t be a problem to find for the uninitiated as it leaves from the train station, which is signposted all around town.

Ascending the mountain in a spiral at reasonable speed brings with it another novelty, of which Ben and Corinne made a point – a second Lake Geneva on the far side of the mountains behind Montreux. A complete splitting image of Lake Geneva and its many towns, in fact…I was fooled at least. We had to alight just below the summit of the Rochers de Naye due to an ‘accident on the track’ and were therefore left to push to the plateau, but it was definitely worth the effort. Astounding panoramic views of Lac Léman, the high Alps and into the Vallais wine region of Switzerland took my breath away and gave me a desire to search deeper into the country.

I was sold on this bike ride before having even set off, so it hardly came as a surprise that I was left smiling ear to ear after the first (precarious) drop down a ravine via a collection of sketchy switchbacks. Ben and Corinne live for this stuff and it’s easy to see why. We continued down a collection of pieced–together single tracks, 4×4 tracks and man made sections. The descent was epic and fortunately the happy couple assured me that the most they have managed is four runs in a day, making our one run seem less pathetic (although it was still inexcusable). A beer is needed no more than after a long day’s riding, and no less after a short one, so we settled down by the water’s edge, surveyed the crowd of rockers, coach trippers and inline skaters and reclined with a happy buzz. What an experience; great trail, great location, great guides.

Parking: Lake–side parking is available within 5 minutes of the funicular station.
Lift Cost: 16 Swiss Francs.
Opening Hours: One train per hour.
Opening Dates: Year round, dependant on weather and scheduled maintenance.
Lift Altitude: 2045 metres
Time from Morzine: 1.5 hrs

FIN

With any luck you will by now be beginning to understand mine and Victor’s sentiment. Morzine is certainly the UK’s number one mountain bike destination abroad and things are unlikely to change any time soon, and why should they? If you want an easy–going holiday, you’d like to ride bikes and have some beers with like–minded folk then you are going to continue visiting that town. But don’t for one second think that you’ve ridden everything and that you know the ins and outs of the mountains, because you don’t and neither do we.

We were gob–smacked by the never–ending views from the summit of the Rochers de Naye and so Victor and I scheduled some more time with our friendly guides Ben and Corinne, deeper into Switzerland and on some surprising hillsides. Exploring the mountains around Morzine was, and is, a great experience, but next time, for our final instalment, we shall be going further still…Right Out The Arse.