I'm struggling with this somewhat, especially on the value front. Is this book a guidebook (ie something you take with you to help with directions) or a coffee table book (ie one with nice pictures to get you fired up for your trip)?

Last time I went to Morzine/Portes du Soleil I remember you could just go to the visitor centre and get a booklet of the marked out xc routes, which are numbered, have gradings and distances. We combined this with a IGN and had a great time.

£15.95 sounds like a lot for 12 routes, thats all, especially when, if you go for a week, you'll probably only do 6 rides.

It's a guide book. It has some nice pictures in it. The routes combine trails in ways that may not be initially obvious. To my mind, it adds to the available route information in the same way as UK guide books add to OS maps. Yes, plenty of people are entirely happy to figure out their own stuff, but that doesn't mean that there's no point to guidebooks.

As for VFM, there's all the DH stuff too of course (not all of which is the sole preserve of big bikes and armour). And in the context of the several hundred quid you've paid to go in the first place and the couple of thousand that most people out there seem to have spent on their bikes, a couple of quid for someone's well-researched loop that saves you wasting your time looks like respectable value to me.

I have to say that as someone who works out here... It is a good guide book - there's a lot of tracks that aren't signed, or on the free guides you can get out here. And another plus side of it including the downhill courses shows you that they are all probably more doable than you'd think. and a lot of fun as well.

Thanks for that Guy, you answered the question I was going to ask. This summer will be my fifth trip to Les Gets, and I would like to expand a bit on the usual great trails. I did the Passportes last year and had the best time ever, it made me realise just how many trails there are out there, so the book will help me plan better for this year, cos theres still loads to do. Can't wait, really love the place!