Champéry MTB Guide: World Cup Trails in Portes du Soleil

Champéry's black World Cup track drops 684 vertical metres off Croix-de-Culet — one of the steepest fixtures in downhill mountain biking. It is also the Swiss gateway to the Portes du Soleil network, reachable by train from Geneva without a car.

By the IMPT Travel desk · Published 2026-05-30

The black World Cup downhill out of Croix-de-Culet runs 2.3 kilometres and loses 684 vertical metres before it spits riders onto the Route de Planachaux at the edge of the village. It is steep enough that the Elite men needed about three and a half minutes to complete it at the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, and rough enough that most mortals will stop twice to shake out their forearms. That trail, more than anything else, is why Champéry exists on the global mountain-bike map.

Champéry sits at 1,050 metres in the Val d'Illiez, on the Swiss side of the Portes du Soleil — the cross-border lift network that links twelve resorts across Valais and Haute-Savoie. From the village, the Croix-de-Culet cable car climbs in a single span to 1,962 metres, dropping riders straight onto the ridge at Planachaux. The other four lifts of the Swiss sector fan out from there.

The signature descent: DH1 World Cup

The black World Cup track was unveiled in 2006, hosted its first UCI World Cup downhill in 2007, and entered folklore in 2011 when Danny Hart won the rainbow stripes in conditions that have since been called biblical. After a decade off the top circuit it was rebuilt in 2024 with help from the Swiss army and trail crew led by Ben Walker, then hosted the European Championships that summer and the World Championships in September 2025.

What riders meet on the ground is a relentless natural course of roots, off-camber turns, exposed granite slabs and forest chutes, broken by a handful of jumps and Velosolutions-shaped berms. There is no flow-trail relief. Chevreuil, the red alternative beside it, is the realistic option for strong intermediates who want the same fall-line without the World Cup consequences.

The wider trail network

The Bikepark Champéry – Les Crosets – Morgins counts eleven gravity descents in total, with a pump track in the village and shops for rentals and repairs at the lift base. The split across the Swiss sector breaks down roughly as one green, one blue, seven red and one black, distributed between the Champéry, Les Crosets and Morgins valleys.

• Crosets (red) — fast, flowy and photogenic, dropping past the Crosets chairlift with sweeping views of the Dents du Midi.
• Mossettes (red) — high-alpine and rocky off the Mossettes chairlift, the gateway run toward Avoriaz on the French side.
• Géant (green/blue) — the introductory descent in Morgins, the right call for newer gravity riders or anyone trialling a rental enduro bike.

From Les Crosets and Mossettes the Pass'Portes du Soleil ticket unlocks Châtel, Avoriaz, Morzine and Les Gets without a shuttle — close to 100 marked downhill trails in total, all linked by lift.

Lift system and season window

Four lifts serve the Swiss sector: the Croix-de-Culet cable car out of Champéry, the Crosets and Mossettes chairlifts above Les Crosets, and the Morgins gondola. Croix-de-Culet typically runs daily from around 20 June through late October, making it the longest-operating bike lift in the Portes du Soleil. The Crosets and Mossettes chairs open later — generally from the last week of June to the end of August, with weekend-only running into October. The full cross-border network is in service from late June to the end of August, with reduced operation into mid-September.

Getting there without a car

Champéry is one of the easier alpine bike destinations to reach by rail. From Geneva Airport, SBB intercity trains run along the Rhône valley to Aigle in about an hour. At Aigle, the AOMC narrow-gauge line operated by Transports Publics du Chablais climbs to Champéry in roughly 54 minutes, terminating at Champéry-Téléphérique — a platform that sits directly at the base of the Croix-de-Culet cable car. Bikes travel for a small supplement and racks are standard on AOMC rolling stock.

For visitors choosing between flying and the train, the rail route from major European hubs through Lausanne or Geneva is the lower-carbon option and removes the need for parking, transfers or a hire car at the village.

Shoulder vs peak season

July and the first half of August are the warmest and busiest weeks, with all lifts running and full bike-park staffing. Early September is the connoisseur's window: the Croix-de-Culet cable car is still daily, the high-alpine chairs are running weekends, the trails have a summer's worth of bedding-in, and the crowds have thinned. Pre-season weekends in May and mid-June are weather-dependent — riders should check live lift status before committing.

Where to stay

The village strings along a single main street between the AOMC terminus and the cable-car base, with traditional Valaisan chalets, a handful of small hotels and self-catering apartments. Staying within walking distance of Champéry-Téléphérique removes any need for a transfer to the lifts. Riders chasing the higher-altitude chairs sometimes base in Les Crosets at 1,670 metres, which puts the Crosets and Mossettes lifts on the doorstep but sacrifices the village amenities of Champéry itself.

Jackson Goldstone's winning GoPro POV from the 2025 UCI Downhill World Championships in Champéry — the same black track open to ticketed riders all summer.