tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40791574599439620262024-03-13T09:36:54.102+01:00ChainmarkCHAINMARK- Mountain biking blogspot for International Mountain Leader based out of ChamonixOli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.comBlogger112125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-62033707027113264002017-07-21T07:15:00.000+02:002017-07-21T07:15:01.137+02:00What guides do between work in the peak of July<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Summer is here, and after fantastic spring riding in Southern France and then all over Valais, Aosta and Haute Savoie with good friends it's been time to get back to summer guiding, taking hikers around the Tour du Mont Blanc circuit. There's much worse things to do, but with three weeks off the bike I was itching to get back on some trails.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With a carefully planned week between tours I was excited and made some plans to hit up some classic lines, and some new stuff too. It's mid July now, so in Chamonix valley you have to think carefully about where to go to miss the crowds, and to avoid going on the bike ban trails (July & August). Luckily it's still easy to find quiet trails in nearby resorts, or to simply drop round the back of a hill away from the frontside lifts. It went a little like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Day 1- La Thuile with Wayne of newly qualified French legal mountain bike guiding service <a href="http://www.chamonixmtb.com/" target="_blank">Chamonixmtb.com</a> . Enduro race venue at it's best, rough and raw.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Day 2- Blue bike park flow trails of les Contamines and St Gervais with a bonus Roman Road descent thrown in for good measure. Bike park laps with mates can actually be fun says trail snob.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Day 3- Bike ban friendly Le Tour trails. Drop into Switzerland, back into the Vallorcine commune singletrack for flat out loamy corners and rocky straights. The "boring" le Buet trail keeps us on our toes as normal and then two Grand Montets laps. Trails of the highest alpine quality, all during bike ban season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Day 4- Non bike day shocker. Botanical flower garden in Champex, Switzerland.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">Day 5- Ban ban friendly le Tour laps into Switzerland. The ease that it takes to get away from busy hiking paths and terribly built, but still busy bike park trails, is incredible. Drop around to Switzerland and you have more high quality trails that this area is renowned for. No time for photo's as we were grinning and having too much fun riding big sections at a time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Day 6- Pila dust fest getting big laps in. Deep deep dust for km's. The park is getting beaten up, we couldn't slap the berms as heard as Bryceland and 50to01 boys, but we still kept going for hours and hours. Of course we stopped for a cheap and filling lasagne and espresso lunch!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-31075565717771756792017-07-17T18:30:00.000+02:002017-07-17T18:30:14.596+02:00Diois & Barcelonnette<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Family trip to the flow zones of France</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Die, pronounced Dee, home to a delicious sweet smooth sparkling alcoholic drink called Clairette, is also home to some of the sweetest smoothest trails around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A few years ago some mates did a race organised by the Bivouac Enduro team and came back raving about it. More so the pairs racing format, but they said that the trails were great fun to ride with the company of a mate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Back in spring before my summer guiding season kicked off I met my parents there for our annual holiday together. The day I met my Dad he was turning a couple of years into his </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">60's. All winter he had told me stories that him and his 'crew' had got into out riding there bikes in the Shire's, Boarders and Mid Wales area's. With this preparation in mind I knew he'd love the potential that lay ahead of us:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After a few days in the Diois we moved onto Barcelonnette in the Ubaye region of the southern French Alps. Luckily Ash from Transprovence had given me a tip off about some super flowy Dad friendly trails. With that information, I dragged him up 1000 metres whilst my Mum went off to play tennis with the local pro & the ladies team. It's big round there, the trails are mega fun too and Barcelonette is a lovely little town with a strange link to Mexico. I'll be back for fajita's and beer sometime soon I hope.</span></div>
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-38697847925433476262017-06-15T22:24:00.004+02:002017-06-15T22:24:38.004+02:00Alta Via dei Monti Liguri<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Summit to Sea grande finale for the Provence Posers</span></h4>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">"The Alta Via dei Monti Liguri is a long-distance waymarked hiking trail in the Italian region of Liguria. In about 440 kilometres and 44 day hikes, it runs through the arc formed by Ligurian Alps and Ligurian Apennines from Ventimiglia to Ceparana"</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">How does high </span>mountain rocky singletrack cut out of the the hillside during World War II which descends into beautiful deciduous forests and ends with dry dusty fast trails above a seaside town sound? The final stage of Alta Via, 45km, 3000 metres of descent, 9 hours & 10 foccaccia's & close to 30 scoops of Gelato. Many thanks to Martial again for joining us and showing us the way.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.alpsmountainbike.com/index.html">http://www.alpsmountainbike.com/index.html</a> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">for booking a trip to do the whole thing in one holiday.</span></div>
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-60329404292385565942017-05-19T18:30:00.001+02:002017-05-19T18:36:05.492+02:00Provence Posing<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Early spring road trip with Team NL</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Dutchies had work to finish before they'd start the mammoth 14 hour drive from under the sea to herb filled mountainsides. Work for us guys in the Alps is more seasonal & temporary, as it is for some Easyjet pilots which meant that the native English speakers left for 'The South' a day earlier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Digne les Bains was the rendezvous location for Saturday night but this meant going so close to Gap and Lac Serre Poncon. The lure of a trail in the Haute Alpes (<span style="font-size: x-small;">the northern most department in the Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur Region</span>) was too much. 3 of us wild camped lake side with giddy excitement for what lay ahead. Rob & Ben knew each other from ski touring & paragliding, but had never ridden together, nor had Ben ever met team NL. Rob and I briefed him on the impending fun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the morning, a classic was called upon to give Ben his first taste of Southern singletrack. Mont Colombus, and a few hours later after spinning up we had arrived with views back up north into the rocky peaks, and views south, into the very large rolling hills. We shredded over 1000 vertical metres of pristine singletrack, brushing wild herbs de Provence lining the side of the perfect singletrack in loamy pine needle filled forests. Arriving back at the vehicles, handily parked at a local supermarket we stocked up on cheese, saucissons, snacks and beer. And this is basically how it continued for two weeks...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">From our trip to Digne last year we had began to get a good feeling for the area. The Terre Noire was terrifying, but it was calling us back with its unique surface and landscape. However we weren't about to let Team NL drop into those trails as there first alpine descents of their 2017 season so we chose a classic red graded XC VTT route. The climb was very French and tough, and the singletrack was as good as you'd except in Provence. A good warm up before we did our first of many bonus climbs to get more descending in. It was worth it as we found freshly cut and bedded in "enduro" delights back into the valley.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The following day it was time for Terre Noire. Tyres were checked, cheese was packed and baguettes were bought...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We could see on the forecasts that there was some rain coming in. A friend of mine in Finale reported slick trails, whilst stories of snow into the valley floor of Chamonix reached us. We just slept in longer on the campsite, did some bike tinkering, drank coffee and ate cake before visiting the local Decathlon superstore. It was the last week of April, and despite being south, we were still in the mountains where anything can happen. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The following day we were ready to go hoping for hero traction rather than skittery wet rocks and roots. There was a mixture...</span><br />
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Our Easyjet pilot friend was leaving after week one, sometimes he has to work. This meant the comfort of camping with a VW caravelle was going too. As a final morning ride we chose to head back into the Terre Noire area looking for another zone that we had heard about. Upon reaching the zone we whooped and screamed our way along, and down more grey goodness...<br />
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After saying our goodbye's it was time for the remaining team of four to set of eastwards to Sospel. Over 3 hours later after a stunning drive through various types of southern terrain we reached our campsite. The south really is remote and deserted in many places compared to the busy northern Alps.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Climbing up to Ze Holy Trail the anticipation was high. On our last trip here this was the real stand out trail of the area. Upon reaching the trailhead we decided to go a little further to visit the old World War 2 remains scattered around the hillside from years gone past when the boarder was fought over. The size of the machine gun turrets were incredible to see.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We had our own (trivial) battles ahead down the tech and flow fest that is Ze Holy Trail. Unfortunately the trail had seen more wild boars than it had bikers and it was not a fast descent. Disappointingly we pushed back up to get onto a flow trail that would hopefully restore our spirits and luckily it did, that and the cold beer at the bottom.<br />
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Part 2</span></h2>
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Leaving Sospel, like the previous trip, with mixed feelings. There area has huge potential, but its so hard to know whats in condition without paying for the knowledge. Other areas seem to deliver better results.<br />
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Excitement levels were still high as the tour headed into the Ligurian mountains less than 1 hours drive from Sospel. It felt different arriving into Italy. The tree's, the colour of the soil, the sea view and the anticipation of PIZZA!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The next few days were spent exploring the delights of Dolceacqua finest trails and cafes. All the trails have seen a small ammount of shovel work. A jump here, a few drainage channels and small berms are found on most. Nothing to make them feel like a sculpted bike park, but enough to give great flow and technical challenges. We didn't find a single braking bump over the two weeks, even on the trails closest to Dolceacqua village centre. Its no Finale Liguria, no shuttles for us, all pedalling, every day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">During the two weeks I was away I heard of 3 separate groups visiting Finale. For the majority of the days on our 2 week trip we would not see any other mountain bikers. The most was in the Terre Noire day 2 when we saw 6 riders! Being able to enjoy quiet lunches with mates and shred wonderful singletrack with breath taking back drops is something you can't always get in Finale Liguria, the UK or Northern Alps.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Rumours over the years of this quiet place called Molini with no trail maps had finally caught our attention and part of the reason we came to this area of Italy. We found one gps trace on a French VTT site. One problem, it had 2000 metres of climbing. Feeling confident a well paced cappuccino fuelled climb started. Frequent stops due to the humid weather kept us reasonably fresh and we crossed over from the dry Mediterranean landscape into a deciduous leaf filled valley. Disappointingly, the hype reminded us of Sospel. The trail we descended into Molini had clearly been ridden a few years ago by bikers, but not recently. To make matters worse, on our second climb of the day we saw a well ridden trail cross our road ascent several times, and then it started to rain. The climb didn't seem to want to end. Soaked, we stuffed our faces with chocolate and put on our jackets. Luckily despite being thoroughly wet the descent was a real belter! It restored some hope for Molini, as did the €7 pizza that evening in Pigna. With more storms forecast for Molini & days running out we stayed nearer the coast to get some sunshine for our last couple of days.</span></div>
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For our Grande Finale of our two week trip we'd been told about linking up the final section Alti Via Ligurian Alps by <a href="http://www.alpsmountainbike.com/" target="_blank">Alpsmountainbike</a> owner Martial who we'd met on our campsite. 45km. 1500 metres of climbing. 3000 metres of descending. Summit to Sea.</div>
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Read about that in my next blog piece...</div>
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-4459393654984982342017-04-15T18:38:00.004+02:002017-04-16T15:56:48.209+02:00Verb-yeah!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZa9CNCnFL0WRnoWyx6h_Uk8IzePEzUZgM4-EqWqBnNE9U0oK8R26VTNE6nGoOd0RxXt6qyckNGHkHTEJfwnpkKZFiMABsBsIfIAr08S2sD555htccUvPZl0dazdalyXuMAD9OjD12L1di/s1600/photosSummer2017_20170410_011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZa9CNCnFL0WRnoWyx6h_Uk8IzePEzUZgM4-EqWqBnNE9U0oK8R26VTNE6nGoOd0RxXt6qyckNGHkHTEJfwnpkKZFiMABsBsIfIAr08S2sD555htccUvPZl0dazdalyXuMAD9OjD12L1di/s640/photosSummer2017_20170410_011.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Verbier is a very mixed place. There is great piste skiing & free-riding and access to world class ski touring, but more often its known for it's decadence. Huge picture perfect chalets with wealthy families and their beaufituful/handsome ski instructors fill the resort. And if not that, the seedier side of ski resorts, the bankers with their paid for woman. . .</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Talking of horrible, those exposed switchbacks half way down from the Chateau were bloody horrible, lucky the rest of the trail was very good fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Well of course, its Swiss Valais, the footpaths are "tip top" and the lift companies are bike friendly. There were still a lot of pistes open for skiing, but after 11am you can use the lower lift from Le Chable to Verbier to access the snow free trails that lead back into the valley floor. Time to explore:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wayne on a loose, steep and exposed chute</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Wayne taking in the view of the Grand Combin & other snow capped mountains</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me exiting a corner.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3C_26ejwiAof3ahJ-ohhLHWscpZqLiXGgUYzlaF3n-xDjyXmUtB7W-8dwmJCHs8xekRWWeFg_4Duu5GSN4z6KelDcJxso3rAJn4r4Fd5rpA0PQvQ3Cbj3KSocuCle00DCocpXsbPZDJz4/s1600/IMG_8875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3C_26ejwiAof3ahJ-ohhLHWscpZqLiXGgUYzlaF3n-xDjyXmUtB7W-8dwmJCHs8xekRWWeFg_4Duu5GSN4z6KelDcJxso3rAJn4r4Fd5rpA0PQvQ3Cbj3KSocuCle00DCocpXsbPZDJz4/s640/IMG_8875.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exposure between horribly tight switchbacks</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxrE80liLJN815w7qo7GQCnx3G1Oape0dDqoDOoB99O2ABfL-iIv18X_oE0iC8f-4xU02lM6gcbhRJj_8rTBiw7W3vRapjkX5o9tQuG2KfCXIcxIjIfHN5yv5PxHGevQxWqypOwXk-a8M/s1600/IMG_8884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxrE80liLJN815w7qo7GQCnx3G1Oape0dDqoDOoB99O2ABfL-iIv18X_oE0iC8f-4xU02lM6gcbhRJj_8rTBiw7W3vRapjkX5o9tQuG2KfCXIcxIjIfHN5yv5PxHGevQxWqypOwXk-a8M/s640/IMG_8884.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lorne letting it go after the horrendousness</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLu9IC-ba2hyCiWrvSf71d2crrrpylOHNDcS7YOTjqqTMrJ3IDjFCJ5qk0gHnC8Vb-qyeZ0DiBh__QYxsMBoMKCpiht7n6UP7HHf_Vdod_B7psEwdO88Xj6UwVYQIN61eQpZpKMQEr__o/s1600/IMG_8893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLu9IC-ba2hyCiWrvSf71d2crrrpylOHNDcS7YOTjqqTMrJ3IDjFCJ5qk0gHnC8Vb-qyeZ0DiBh__QYxsMBoMKCpiht7n6UP7HHf_Vdod_B7psEwdO88Xj6UwVYQIN61eQpZpKMQEr__o/s320/IMG_8893.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wayne on the edge of a fun meadow</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLsfZVIRcLx8aaclV5c3UBSn0Kwqbn6oQ3ufDJb6oXlo2NagFuXZNwryc0nx8havvpDE-f5_VZaNa8adg9bDvvJvL7d2Dur1TVXwMvYHQagz3Hz6X7UnQRQ3cs1juSfqnTKSAdNRslHRYY/s1600/photosSummer2017_20170410_040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLsfZVIRcLx8aaclV5c3UBSn0Kwqbn6oQ3ufDJb6oXlo2NagFuXZNwryc0nx8havvpDE-f5_VZaNa8adg9bDvvJvL7d2Dur1TVXwMvYHQagz3Hz6X7UnQRQ3cs1juSfqnTKSAdNRslHRYY/s640/photosSummer2017_20170410_040.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fun meadow endings.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhju7m2CoPieh8FcNpmYbvRaOmXB5V6ConynTSnNWW-23RYhLUzmUJqB4rurXRvi9k3YWSHzbm25oGfvG1l3AmlMgoKLls7tXbba_s7VuVh52xAsf8rOoxOdJ9ImEe_jdrJT6G_7xRZTgtS/s1600/IMG_8907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhju7m2CoPieh8FcNpmYbvRaOmXB5V6ConynTSnNWW-23RYhLUzmUJqB4rurXRvi9k3YWSHzbm25oGfvG1l3AmlMgoKLls7tXbba_s7VuVh52xAsf8rOoxOdJ9ImEe_jdrJT6G_7xRZTgtS/s640/IMG_8907.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still doing this. Anja on the North East face of Mont Colmet, Aosta, Italy two days after Verbier.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Many thanks to Lorne for some of the cracking photos : <a href="http://www.lornecameron.com/">http://www.lornecameron.com</a></span>Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-7246792211747965472017-04-11T18:31:00.001+02:002017-04-11T18:31:12.469+02:00Riding every month of the year<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Since April last year (2016) through to now in 2017 I have ridden my bike every month of the year. This is something that I have not done in about 6 or 7 years since moving out to the Alps on a more full time basis. It shouldn't actually happen. In previous "winter" periods I have packed away the bike and got the ski's out for at least a 4 month period. This theme seems to be changing, once the domain of southern French alps, even in the Northern Alps you can ride year round. Up here a huge emphasis is put on communities & businesses to make a big income during the winter. How will this change.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yes, there will be big snowy winters, but the frequency of them will decline. The Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in Switzerland have written many reports, here are links to two:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.slf.ch/dienstleistungen/news/gruene_weihnachten/index_EN" target="_blank">Less snow and a shorter ski season in the Alps</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.slf.ch/dienstleistungen/news/paper_rebetez/index_EN" target="_blank">Climate change is shortening the snow season due to earlier spring snowmelt</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It might sound nice to ride dry dusty trails in April wearing just shorts and a t-shirt, it is, and it's the future perhaps. What will summers bring? More long periods of rain storms, or more extreme heat... or both???</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here's some "winter" riding photo's: many thanks to <a href="http://lornecameron.com/" target="_blank">Lorne</a> for some crackers:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Steep skiing, please let it continue alongside riding singletrack...</span></div>
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-28234900533674577782017-02-27T22:18:00.003+01:002017-04-11T15:57:45.546+02:00That time in February when I forgot my gloves and didn't get cold hands...<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Seasons are changing in the mountains.</span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWbxLSRRhXn6lf-eyggD9YYUV1d8KbOyApKXeOhB9xVqT_kw1uCnZfDDPneYwgJUeIa4GpqE7nkcO9XZV5CyvFi4Uh0d89EUDCCNq3Hl9OB-G7vLBTQAz8bzKvjeGzBvdFSzhy15fwRFy/s1600/photosSummer2016_20161219_017-800x533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWbxLSRRhXn6lf-eyggD9YYUV1d8KbOyApKXeOhB9xVqT_kw1uCnZfDDPneYwgJUeIa4GpqE7nkcO9XZV5CyvFi4Uh0d89EUDCCNq3Hl9OB-G7vLBTQAz8bzKvjeGzBvdFSzhy15fwRFy/s640/photosSummer2016_20161219_017-800x533.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mid December 2016. Brevent, Chamonix. <a href="http://www.lornecameron.com/2017/the-longest-autumn/" target="_blank">lornecameron.com</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Its been the shortest "off season" that I have known. It's been growing shorter over the last few years but riding into the the new year was something I have not done since I lived in the UK. The skiing season is getting shorter and more temperamental. We shouldn't have been riding dry trails in Aosta Valley on the fitth day of the new year. We did, and we had a blast thanks to the generous hospitality of the locals. Read more about inter season on Lorner's blog here: <a href="http://www.lornecameron.com/2017/the-longest-autumn/">http://www.lornecameron.com/2017/the-longest-autumn/</a></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">January 5th 2017. Aosta. <a href="http://www.lornecameron.com/2017/the-longest-autumn/" target="_blank">lornecameron.com</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">January 16th 2017. Birthday powder with Anja.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">February 1st 2017. Evening touring above the Albert Premier refuge.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With skiing stoke low I went for a ride in Servoz. Now picture the scene, its the twenty something of February 2017, at 1000 metre altitude and I can't find my gloves in my riding pack. I suffer from cold hands at the slight hint of mild air. In winter you will find several pairs of thick gloves in my backpack, even in spring or autumn there could well be two pairs in my riding pack. However on this February day I was fine without gloves, that's how warm it was. Now that's not right. The trail was right though, "Wayne's right" trail was ripping and dry from to start to finish! Happy days, kind of. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I will ski again this year, lots even, if March's storms are cold enough.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">February 2017. Servoz.</td></tr>
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-84601566604271075802016-12-01T21:44:00.003+01:002016-12-04T19:59:04.960+01:00Not quite the end of the Alpine season<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Snow in the Lake District of England got me ready for winter in France, but then...</span></h4>
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<span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; text-align: start;"><i>Me, and the Beaufort Bitches enjoyed a great weekend up in the lakes with the our brothers up there. It really is like a mini alps up there. Some mega tech trails and some great fast flow accompanied with top notch banter and a poorly executed, but highly amusing Kendal Mountain Film Festival Bike Night 2016.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>BUT THEN </b></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I returned to Chamoinx, the good snow had all but gone and the trail riding conditions were, and still are, top notch. There is still snow out there for the keen, i.e those willing to hike in trainers with all their ski gear on their backs, or those wishing to drive a long way into Aosta Valley.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to www.lornecameron.com</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Local conditions in the Haute Savoie and neighbouring Valais have been top notch below 1800 metres. This means there is still a good few options, and with winter driving work not having kicked in to full time, lots of time to ride, keep fit and wait for the impending arrival of winter. Lorne of the </span><a href="http://www.lornecameron.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">ski blogging</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> world is still riding even. A recent visit to Dorenaz staying below the snow line resulted in easy access to a steep technical trail followed by a 1000 metre flow-tastic descent all the way down to the valley floor. Skiers are out their searching. Winter is long once it arrives properly. I'm going to keep biking for now and not telling lie's on social media about great powder snow. In Valais the good trails are easy to link together and this guarantee's a rewarding, low stress day in the outdoors. TIP TOP! MEGA BON!</span></div>
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-5379870915723500512016-11-23T17:41:00.002+01:002016-11-23T17:41:35.614+01:00End of the alpine season<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A bivouac trip, a Valais loam fest and a Loriaz descent in one go...</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">During my last week in the Chamonix valley the weather was really good, so between airport runs I ticked off some really fast and dry trail rides.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Starting with an overnight mission to a Bivouac hut on a remote old farm in the Passy Parc Regional on the boarder of the Aiguilles Rouges. It felt so far from civilisation, despite the chaos of Chamonix being just one valley away. The most incredible part of the trip, bar Ben nailing some mega tech sections, was the location of the farm being where the sun first hits the valley in the morning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had been wanting to re-visit this descent for a long time and never quite got round to it. With a new and keen riding buddy we got even higher than before for some extremely steep footpath riding before hitting the loamiest descent in the area. A trail only ridden by highly skilled Martigny riders, and us... The lines are superb. One of the most grin inducing trails of the year!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We only had the afternoon due to work commitments, but Loriaz has to be ridden at the end of every season (<span style="font-size: x-small;">like the start of every season</span>). With light running out we made good time up the climb. I took some photo's at the top and the boys disappeared. I chased them down as they slowed at a junction to allow me to catch, and boom, Rich engaged his turbo. We briefly </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">10 seconds? 20 max?</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">) </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">stopped where there was a viewpoint </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">before Rich was off again all the way to the bottom, shouting and hollering the whole way down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"If that was my last descent of the season that was an amazing <i>in-one</i> descent to finish on" I said to the boys as we caught our breath, shared tales of near misses, amazing line choices and stretched out our braking fingers.</span><br />
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Bye Bye to Alps for 2016 (?)</div>
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<br />Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-76279410675535199192016-10-21T06:55:00.000+02:002016-10-21T06:55:24.231+02:002000 rewards closer to home<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"My Swiss friends are riding in the dry today", said Mael as we stood outside a cafe in Chamonix underneath his umbrella.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A plan was made in my head. Let's use the Dorenaz lift to gain some height and hopefully find the driest trails in the area. Aosta Valley was full of snow, and the Haute Savoie was soaked through.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">3 hours after leaving the carpark we made it to the top of our climb, 100 metres or so above Col du Demecre. However there was snow. Maybe there had been some preciptiation in Valais after all?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The snow needed some serious care due to the exposure of the slope that the trail traversed across. Luckily it was that grippy type of snow and below you could see glorious Swiss high alpine singletrack disappearing off into the larch tree's and joining the trail me, Bas & Jarno had done in spring. The one with a horrendous scree field down climb section that rendered the entrance to the descent pointless. New entrance found:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Lower down the grass was damp which led to some creative line taking but it really wasn't that muddy, just on the greasy side. We were soon on the trail I had done with the Dutchies and then across to a trail I had done with another </span><a href="http://chainmark.blogspot.fr/2016/08/a-tale-of-downs-in-switzerland.html" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">Dutchy in August</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. In here we found lots of grip and corners begging for loose back wheel action. There are lots of fire road crossings which create great stopping points for re-grouping and talking about the speed, and the life or death moments that just took place.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2000 metres later, after about an hour of descending we made it to the village just down the road from Dorenaz. A short, flat pedal back to the car was the perfect wind down after a huge classically Valaisian descent. TIP TOP as they say!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Why did I bother going south last week? oh yeah, the snow and because I thought the there were better trails away from home.</span>Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-45745403373237275712016-10-17T19:48:00.004+02:002016-10-17T19:49:28.139+02:00Southern Road trip Autumn 2016<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Ups and downs...of trail snobbery</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Meeting Wouter at Nice airport was always going to cause issues. First off it's a long way from Chamonix, even going through Italy fuelled by cappuccino's, and secondly, Rob's van was already had three bikes and us two people. Somehow we managed and when Jamie arrived the following day we made as much use of his rental Fiat 500C as possible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sospel. Home of Trans Provence. When you drive into town and see the head of the Enduro World Series pulling up to a bar after a days riding you feel like you've hit gold already.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With high hopes we set off the following morning up a long fire-road, Bever Rally came down with their shuttle vehicle. Wow, what have we got instore up here? VTT internet site has loads of routes on this hillside, as does Trailforks, this should be Provence gold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I excitedly dropped in first, when was this trail last ridden? There's old enduro lines, but now it's full of debris. And that's how it continued for a day and half, bar the 400 metre brake less flow trail late one afternoon that delighted all of us till we got spiked to death by Mediterranean plants at the bottom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Ok, it was time to try something different. We saw the Trans Provence minibus heading up another hillside. There's a trail on Trailforks called Ze Holy Trail. Time to try it and see if it's seen more traffic. It certainly had and we found the trail of the area! The top required inch perfect precision between the rocks and steep chutes. Lower down the brakes were let go of as you could really trust the traction and braking distances. Smiles all round, about time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sospel. Home of Trans Provence, a guiding company. Pay and you shall be shown the trail's in conditions, pay and you shall be driven an hour around the corner and picked up afterwards. I intend to be back, better planned and vehicle equipped to try find more goodness like Sven Martin always takes photo's of.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>The weather was constantly changing it's mind</i>. Dolceacqua? Molini? Mention? Finally we settled on Finale Ligure in the hope of getting further enough east to beat the storms.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Classic Finale, we arrived to a bustling campsite, in mid October, and then went out to eat and drink like kings for €25 each! Things were looking up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The following day we set off on a big pedal for the Rollercoaster trail. I've never ridden a trail outside of the bike park full of braking bumps, constant braking bumps. We tried down the steeper side and found a real gem, the second best of the whole trip, which was mega flowy. What Finale does well, is utilise the terrain to be fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our second day was very much like the first. Some good trails away from the main horrendously beaten up lines, followed by frustration. Bar and aperitivi in the afternoon reminded us, the trail snobs, of how lucky we are.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">France Meteo was warning of Orange Vigilance (<span style="font-size: x-small;">their 2nd highest</span>) for the impending days of stormy weather so we packed up and called it quits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We found some goods, but we learnt some lessons too. The main being, we are massive trail snobs!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Crossing back from Italy into France through the Mont Blanc tunnel we left Aosta Valley with snow down to the valley floor. Winter is coming, biking time is running out for 2016.</span><br />
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-88860831911463694722016-10-16T20:26:00.004+02:002016-10-16T20:26:49.912+02:00Le Mole & Dirt Magazine trail in one day<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Shuttle crew day</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The day started early with 2.C temperatures, Autumn is here then?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With the trailer loaded we set off on the 1 hour drive half way up Le Mole hoping we would break out of the clouds. No luck, 5.C and 50 metre visibility greated us at the carpark.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We set off, cold legged, and with mixed feelings about what was ahead. Luckily after the first big effort we broke out and the views alone were worth the struggle!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It wasn't cold at the top, we even broke into a sweat on the way up and the views were still majestic in every direction, 360 degree's. Coming up we could feel how dry and hard packed the descent would be. We were all excited, and after a few photo's by Humpo, warp speed was engaged. The noise of tyres scrabbling for grip as you come into a corner is both scary and magically energising.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As we hit the tree line, we also entered the mist level and it got dark and slippery. Those of dressed in black to look " enduro " and cool disappeared. At one point even a right corner disappeared, but luckily to mine and Humpo's luck there was a safe run out. Lower down the grip came back, as did the higher speeds in the dark loamy forest. Positions changed down the descent as somebody over shot one corner, and several well worn cut corner's were be spotted, and taken by the second place rider. </span><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">The final part is sooooo fast and smooth we were giggling by the bottom!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Me and Wayne from Chamvan went back up to retrieve the van whilst the others went round to the supermarket to make monstrous lunch time baguettes before lap two;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Dirt Magazine ridgeline. A bit shorter, at only 1000 metres descent and boy does it go fast due to sustained steepness. Savoie flow-tech, made better by being able to drive almost to the top of it through les Brasses ski area.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">On reaching the top we were just out of the clouds, le Mole was looking majestic, and very high. Great to be looking back at it after descending 1500 metres off it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And bam! Hold on tight! The first bit is steep, really, now don't let go of those brakes because you think you've made it onto the smooth line...there are two big compressions near the bottom of the chute... After that go for it, hold on tight, but look as far ahead as possible to enjoy the flow tech challenge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">MANY THANKS to CHAMVAN for uplifting us.</span></div>
Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-12607649311965591192016-10-04T21:48:00.003+02:002016-10-04T21:48:32.986+02:00Somewhere you shouldn't ride, and somewhere you think you shouldn't ride...<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">French travels afar and much much closer to home</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I was in Corsica last week for a holiday. A holiday, but you live where you want to holiday? A friend had been guiding there for the whole of September so I went out to join him for a client free few days of island warmth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I flew into Ajaccio at 0730, my friend was on his last day guiding, so I took a walk from the beachside town up into the mountains. Think of Finale, just with a bit more French, so good bread to make lunch from & a warmer sea to swim in(though there is an ever real Italian influence all over Corse).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We did one of the best canyon's on the island. And the jumps and abseils into gorge lined pools was great fun. A new sport to add to the list of gear purchases.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After another night eating great local food and chestnut flavoured beer we set out on a pretty big hike. 1500m vertical with a lot of scrambling. We hardly stopped all day and we just beat the guide book time of 7 hours. Two fit guides! Those Corsicans are bloody mental and fast. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The terrain everywhere is really tough. There probably is some good biking somewhere on the island, but I wouldn't bother taking the mountain bike without being really sure. Sturdy hiking boots, canyoning gear and swimming shorts!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile back in Haute Savoie...<span style="font-weight: normal;">after ticking of some classic rides with mr Humpage and using the last lifts in le Tour we started to explore a little.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">I had an idea for a trail I'd walked which I felt would be fun to ride. So me, and two Frenchies left a car in the beautifu l (!)Sallanches Carrefour supermarche </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">carpark</span> <span style="font-weight: normal;">and drove the second half way up the hillside towards the Aravis mountain range. </span></span></span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"We can go past this chalet that I went to a wedding at", Mael said. Cool, coffee, and a rest after the very steep, but efficient 4x4 track climb up 550metres. What a place! Classic Savoyard farm/refuge with stunning views back over les Houches and the Mont Blanc Massif.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AND THE DESCENT, MEGA BON! Gentle fun and fast at the top, rooty in the middle, and then narrow singletrack to the valley floor. We finished riding back to the ugly supermarket, a place I never thought would be the finish of a fantastic trail. Savoie Surprises are still out there to be found...</span></div>
Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-82336656879472685632016-09-20T20:00:00.006+02:002016-09-20T20:13:37.515+02:00"Enduro was made for you"<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Riding with mates old and new</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On the afternoon I returned to Chamonix from my final trip guiding the Tour du Mont Blanc I met with an old friend from my Cardiff Uni days. He's visited me a few times over the years in various styles. And this trip for Dave was no different. As I crossed the Col de Balme on foot in wet conditions with clients, he crossed the Cormet de Roseland and Col des Saisses on his road bike with kit strapped to every free tube on the bike possible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My mate was planning to cycle from Geneva to Nice, via 2 days in Les Arcs mountain biking, and a day in la Thuile with me and a Chamonix friend, bivi-ing along the way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The lure of Aosta of course played high on our minds and we made plans to ride an Enduro World Series trail in La Thuile on mountain bikes, before leaving Dave to continue on his road bike towards the Mediterranean via some bloody horrendous Col's.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road climb with Monte Bianco poking through</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We were climbing and talking shit between the 3 of us like we'd all been hanging out throughout the summer. The road climb was rewarded with finding a bar open for cappuccino's at the Col.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Fueled up Italian style we hit a lovely long gentle off road climb up to the start of the descent. We paused for a bite of baguette over looking both the Cervinio (<span style="font-size: x-small;">Matterhorn in Aostan</span>) and Monte Bianco. A site rarely enjoyable in the Alps, but of course for an old mate, the views came out!<br />
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The worst part about the descent was not the EWS, but the recent 4 day rain storm that had hit the northern Alps. Too much front brake on the open descent and the front wheel would drift as much as the back. Luckily loose rock turned down into larch forest and classical Aosta flow through the forest back to the carpark.<br />
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"Enduro was made for you" Dave said to me. He's right, even in the old days of South Wales riding, we'd slog up big hills for big descents and big smiles. <br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And like every descent, time with an old friend was over all too quickly. We all headed off to different parts of France with big smiles and more tales to tell in years to come...</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And introducing the savoyard stem </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129;">saucisson:</span></span></i></div>
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-35676374777734533862016-08-09T21:11:00.001+02:002016-08-09T21:11:11.358+02:00A tale of downs in Switzerland<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Did we stumble across the best view in the Alps? Introducing Stella Helvetica:</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Several people had been talking about a funicular train above the jazz town of Montreux on the shore's of Lac Leman, that despite being expensive, had some good trails back in to town. The lure of swimming in the lake had us, and with <a href="http://chainmark.blogspot.fr/2016/05/bay.html">Bex</a> and other Valais trails nearby there would easily be a good few days worth of riding before the next storm came through the alps.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Me and the lone Dutchy headed to Lac Leman, padded up and rode to the central Montreux station next to men in suits, blacked out Mercs and Asian tourists. After being quoted 60CHF for a day pass we said no. Our intel of a cheaper pass was wrong.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So instead we climbed 1000 metres up 20% stretches of road past English speaking all boys, and all girls boarding schools over looking the huge lake. The views made up for the unexpected climb. We'd brought all our food from France to save money so that at least made us feel smug at the Col. Little did we know what was instore.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The trail started by going through bike friendly gate's, a good sign surely? No, the trail was awkward the whole way down. It never got going.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Disappointed we got back to our lake side parking. I'd put two beers in the water to keep cool, even these were luke warm...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The following day we set of early know we had a big climb ahead, we took many breaks to make the 1800 metres upwards more do-able. The views were stunning all the way up so this kept us energised.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Cabane and it’s lure of cold drinks was nearly in drinking distance. One last hike-a-bike section, dig deep I thought, lunch will be good and long up here, long enough to dry sweat ridden kit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">10 Swiss Francs later me and Wouts were close to heaven. The modern refuge (Cabane in Suisse) was a treat in itself, let alone the view north, south, east and west!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From our grassy picnic knoll we looked left into the whole Mont Blanc Massif, and to our right stretched out patchwork Rhone Valley agriculture up to the shore of Lac Leman.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was eventually time to descend. We felt fairly re-freshed, but luckily the first section was really mellow and perfect for getting going again. From here we left the Cabane behind us and traversed with just enough downhill gradient that you didn’t need to pedal for about 1 km, all directly under cliff faces. The trail then changed to a ribbon switching left and right, a traverse here n’ there, left and right again, watch out for the cow poo! Two farmers were putting out an electric fence, around their up high alpine shack we went and through marvellous corners in a field well in need of some cow grazing. A wooden fence forced us to stop before our next section of treats lay ahead. Needles, dry dirt and roots itching to be pushed to the limits of their tyre giving grip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We whooped down, crossing fire-roads, section after section of goodness. The final section became rocky with holes that required speed to skip over the top of the big gaps, through a neatly mowed garden and more rock gaps lay ahead. Speed, despite 1800 metres of climbing in our legs, and nearly 1800 metres of descending in our braking fingers, needed to be kept. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just like the smiles that lasted into the bar perfectly positioned at the end of the trail, through the chope’s (Valais-ian for pint), the ride home to the campsite, and for days after!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">STELLA HELVETICA</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The tour of this Swiss valley was not over and for the final day we crossed back into Vaud, and Bex for some train laps with some Chamoniards. It was so dry, the flowy bits of trail were mega fast and grippy, which should have helped in the numerous chutes littered in the woods, but man, are they steep! Great fun on trail bikes lap after lap!</span></div>
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-61235575587822828592016-08-06T17:44:00.001+02:002016-08-06T17:44:30.716+02:00Getting back on it in Aosta<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Dry trails, and even dryer bread. 1600metre+ descent days back to back</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Up to the last week in July I had only ridden my bike about 4 times. My International Mountain Leader work had taken me around the Massif du Mont Blanc and along the edge of the Fiz. I hadn't missed my bike at all and I knew I was going to have an overload at the end of the month.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Beaufort guides from last year were re-grouping for reconnaissance, and general banter missions. And where were we going? Italy of course and the wonderful Aosta Valley to escape the hoards of Chamonix.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">*Day -1- Dorenaz adventuring with the Dutchies</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">*Day 0- Le Tour laps into Switzerland with the Dutchies before bottles of Duvel with the crew.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Day 1- La Thuile</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hardcore!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The venue for the recent Enduro World Series race was unbelievable. The tracks were destroyed and tiring. The odd time I managed to stick out a fast line it felt great, but with lines all over the place and plenty of gnar (large rock gardens, large root gardens) it was tough! Of course being Brit's (plus a token Netherlander) we wanted to get our money's worth and we rode 90% of the bike park. By the last run, I couldn't pedal uphill, I had to push a short sharp uphill in the middle of the descent, even though I had my hands on the bars pushing the bike, it was still a rest from the constant feature's the trail was littered with. Huge respect to the EWS racers!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Day 2- La Salle</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Re-visiting <a href="http://chainmark.blogspot.fr/2016/06/aosta-venturing.html">this route </a> I did a month or two ago. It was super hot and some of the boys struggled with the up and down nature of the ride before the big technical descent. However one of the lads had recently walked in the area with his visiting girlfriend and found a fantastic final variation, a trail full of deep dusty loam that rarely see's more than a few hikers and mule's.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Day 3- Becca France</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After last year's <a href="http://chainmark.blogspot.fr/2015/09/the-best-of-3-countries-including-best.html">mission up here</a> with Rob I wanted to see how it felt if we drove as far up the hillside as possible to cut the climbing to just 600 metres. How do you think? Superb! </span><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">With energy to enjoy the descent from the high alpine down through loamy forests and finally onto the mega rock flow trail we were all buzzing at the bottom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We were trying to keep costs low for the week staying on campsites, but we had to check out the local pizzeria that night. Huge salads were followed by great sized pizza's that satisfied even the most Italian sceptical eater, "the pizza's are cheap, that's all". Still the bakery round the corner didn't hold much hope for the following day. How can Italians do such great food, but not bread?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Day 4- Shuttle day north of Aosta town</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Even though we'd cheated yesterday, with the temperature's hovering around 30.c we decided to check out some trails and take it in turn to be the shuttle driver.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All the trails were superb bar one which turned out to be a fast wooded fireroad. But you can't win them all, even in Aosta Valley. This area is full of great shuttle-able trails of good length, all with classic Aosta flow interspersed with technical challenges and of course great views.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Day 5- Chatilgne</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With a bit of strategic car driving we managed to cut the climb to just 1000 metres. However whilst the car's were being dropped the two other lads were left in a small village with only one tiny shop. They had no choice but to buy the driest bread of the the whole trip for about €6. With crumbs all over the grass at our lunch spot 800 metres up the climb we slung the bikes over our shoulders for the last section of hike-a-bike to the ridgeline summit high above Aosta town. It was dry, hot and as we dropped in the dust kicked up along the ridge. As we entered the tree's the orange singletrack twisted through knee high lush grass with perfect fun angled corners. Lower down it became rocky before kicking us out above Aosta where our next search began, gelato!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Day 6- Grand St. Bernard - Sembrancher (Verbier)- 2200 metres down</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We left Italy and headed over the boarder into Switzerland with a grand finale in store.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What I thought would be a long gentle approach to Col de Mille was in part steep bike carrying, part lovely traversing singletrack and steady fireroad climbs finished with a hike a bike just when the legs thought you were almost there. Having left Italy and cheap food behind we didn't visit the Swiss refuge at Col de Mille (read my next blog post coming soon about the best 5CHF coke's I've ever had) and instead ate the last of our moisture-less bread and prepared for 2200 metres of descending as the storm approached from the Massif.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"That was the best ridgeline I've ever ridden" said one of the boys. Fun and classic Verbier magazine cover-shot trail riding. Into the tree's we sped hoping small roots and trying to rail the steep banked corners as fast the Canyon team would. Tried, but we all loved it none the less. Another trail with everything!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We got back to Chamonix before the rain started. Exhausted and hungry. We all slept well before we all began our next adventure's. One driving back to England, One riding back to Beaufort, and two with their eye's on more Swiss delights.</span></div>
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-12405266152490171972016-06-28T14:08:00.003+02:002016-06-28T14:08:42.887+02:00Enduro du Beaufortain<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Slop fest in one of the quietest corners of the Rhone Alps</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With no guiding work in Beaufort this summer a plan was made for the some of the previous years guides to meet up for an early season blast on some of favourite trails.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For the Beaufortain Enduro the lift in Areches was open for the whole weekend and there were two bus uplift options to help gain some height to the downhill stages (not timed).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">June had been a pretty poor month for weather with storms rolling in and out and only a few dry days. I decided to put a bigger tyre on the front of my bike to try and gain some more grip in the impending mud of the Beaufortain forests. It did help a little, but really it was a slip and slide approach to riding for the whole weekend. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For those of us that knew the lines it made life a little easier, but sometimes due to wet roots you couldn't get to where you wanted to and you had hope you could slow down and make the next corner. Everyone was still grinning, and despite there being 300 riders, it never felt busy anywhere.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our last trail on the Sunday was a new triple black rated trail that was new to us all. We were excited to check it out. The top was freshly cut and like a pump track, the bottom, well the bottom was so steep it took several hours to get down with body's strewn all over the place. In the dry the mega steep roll-ins would be ok as you could get grip for the exit's, on this day it was surfing and knowing when to get off the bike. Great fun still.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Everything was really well organised for the whole weekend with a constant flow of uplift buses, plenty of snacks at the lunch stop and a nice evening meal and dj set on Saturday night. I would highly recommend the event!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Luckily the sun came out for course marking and marshalling at the enduro2 mountain bike race:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-56501949277724323292016-06-04T07:49:00.001+02:002016-06-04T07:49:13.704+02:00Aosta-venturing<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Everything a good day should have:</span></h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to Mael for most of the photo's</td></tr>
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Not too early a start</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Bread (French)</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Coffee (Italian)</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Road climb to gain some height efficiently</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Trail riding in a super scenic valley</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Hike a bike</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Lunch stop with a view</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Snow crossing</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>River crossing</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>A high altitude hamlet</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Alpine flowers bursting with colour</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Near death, non riding related</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>A Virgin Mary statue</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>A puncture with jizzing tyre sealant (not a good day for 27.5 PLUS tyres)</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Incredibly tight switchbacks</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Pine needle smooth singletrack (One of the best sections I've ever ridden this year!)</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>A snake on the trail</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Sitting in a beautiful old town square by an old church</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Gelato</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>More coffee</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>More tasty snacks</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Cold beer</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Supermarket shop for local goodies</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>A German lady expressing her desire for queuing efficiency at the Mont Blanc Tunnel</i></span></li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you spot team green?</td></tr>
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-62153498370916073402016-05-25T19:51:00.001+02:002017-04-02T19:11:29.704+02:00Bay<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Boarder shred fest in the steeps</span></h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit close for comforts, the story of the day for not just Shane, all of us!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Normaly my posts mention International boarders and the trails that take me between these lines. Today was slightly different. Everyone knows that the Swiss Canton of Valais is full of great trails, and until today I thought that it's neighbouring Canton of Vaud was full of bad drivers, Freddie Mercury statues (Montreux), vineyards and a whole heap of money!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">However right on the boarder of Valais/Vaud is Bex. That's pronounced 'bay' in French, not Becks like Posh n Becks for you vrai Anglais.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It doesn't matter what Canton your in, in Switzerland public transport is top notch, and seeing as this place is near a ski town, the all-day travel card for mountain bikers is not actually too expensive at 28chf (€25). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A little research revealed a whole host of trails, but luckily Timmy was on hand to guide us today which was really nice for me to not have to think about navigation. Timmy is Fabian Barel's long lost brother... When he tell's you to, "open your eyes" on a certain section of trail it means either get off and walk, or hold your breath and hope the berm at the bottom catches you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">First up was the old Maxi Avalanche course from the ski town Villars which was a mix of superb fun singletrack with fireroad climbs. These ruined the flow of the trail, but for a mass start race like the Maxi Avalanche would be great for testing fitness, allowing overtaking and stretching the field out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After lunch back at the van, for the second lap off the train we checked out the Gryon trails. Fast, rooty, flat out corners had us all grinning, but little did we know what was in store. Remember, it's still early season, most trails haven't seen much traffic yet and are still covered in last autumns leaves. Also remember that even though it was 25.C, it did rain a few days ago so under the leaves is a slippery layer of mud.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We dropped in to some of the longest sustained chute sections I have ever ridden, with greasy corners with almost non existent catch berms. Hold your breath and hope as you surf down, weight back, heels almost dragging into the ground trying to get as much grip as possible. Luckily after we all got through this there was some great flowy, old school DH style trail and then the loop back through the vineyard back to the train stop.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AND REPEAT for another lap, fast roots, slip, slide, slip some more and then flow!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wayne in survival mode in the steep woods</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Vaud's not all that bad!</span>Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-23053216189730841152016-05-22T22:39:00.001+02:002016-05-22T22:39:07.365+02:00It was about time<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Exploring Aosta for the first time in 2016</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Thats kind of a lie, we had a few experimental, yeah, experimental is a good word to describe the ski tour's that took place in Aosta Valley this winter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It was about time to get back there on two wheels and try out some new trails. Me and Wayne, my boss, didn't have any work so we journey'd over to search for more Aosta goodness. The first objective of the day was achieved quite easily, cappuccino, at which time we also found our gelato stop for post ride refreshment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So it began as most Aosta rides seem to with a big climb on a quiet road that slowly makes it's way upwards through tiny hamlets, usually a mix of beautiful alpine houses and run down old sheds. Wayne was telling me how it was a burden to sit in an Aosta Valley Freeride minibus for 45 minutes-a-time when doing shuttle days. Didn't sound too bad to me... Lunch stop one was followed by snack stop 2, 3, 4 and 5 and then after a good few hours lunch stop two arrived, the trail head.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Aosta town was a long long way down in the valley floor and there was a lot of loose spruce needle between us and the car. It turned out there was a few rocks too, a couple of picturesque hamlets and a lot of grinning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">€2 for two scoops of delicous gelato and we were set for the journey home through the tunnel.</span><br />
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-86652001036495333322016-05-14T11:05:00.001+02:002016-05-14T11:05:06.249+02:00Meanwhile back in the Haute Savoie<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A breakdown of early season riding conditions in the steeps</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> and deeps of the Northern French Alps</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At the beginning of May there was still snow on the Peit Blacon Nord between le Planet and le Tour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Me and my Chamvan boss Wayne also found above Servoz and Chalet Ayeres that there was too much snow to be able to drop in from the normal trail head. Once we were on the trail it super dry, leafy and fresh! You couldn’t carry too much speed into corners as there wasn’t the grip for late braking manoeuvres.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting through the snow</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was then lucky enough to spend the whole weekend riding at Saleve. On Saturday morning whilst my friend did some extra University studies in Geneva I took the opportunity to check out some new trails. What I found was deep leaf cover over cruisey trails, but with some nasty climbs out of them. One might be worth a repeat with some enduro boys as it finishes in Esserts-Saleve...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the afternoon I took my first ever ride along the top of the Saleve range with my friend for some nice field and track riding with views of both Geneva and Lac Annecy! We got all the way to the Grand Piton about 10km from the top lift station. We cruised back and headed into Geneva town for burgers and expensive, but good Swiss beer!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I got a last minute invite to join Andy and some other Cham riders for a ride at Saleve on Sunday. I’ve ridden many times at Saleve with Andy so I couldn’t say no. Especially as Laura had even more Uni projects to work on. Geneve Jardins Botanique will have to wait.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All the classic trails were riding really well! But there has definitely been a big increase in traffic since this time last year. With this in mind we headed over and up to Petit Saleve to show the boys the fast trails there. It didn’t disappoint and we zoomed down on great singletrack with huge grins that made the climb well worth it.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geneva and Lac Leman not hiding unlike the unknown rider on the loaned Canyon...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And finally this week, before work and rain (<span style="font-size: x-small;">snow at 2000m!</span>) got in the way I had a big day up to Le Mole with Frenchie Mael, who is super fit from riding with his colleagues from Swiss bike shop Cross Roads. We zoomed up the road, and then destroyed the awkwardly steep and loose fire road climb to break out above the conifer tree’s.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was cloudy over the big mountains, but we still broke out into a good sweat on our way to the summit and our cheese/cornichon baguettes. The Swiss don’t stop for lunch apparently, they just keep going all day on fruit& nuts!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The top of the descent in the open high alpine singletrack was really hard packed which made all the little corners that bit sketchier as you couldn’t push too hard for fear of loosing all grip. Once into the woods the trail swooped its way down for what felt like a long long way. At many points the trail follows the contours so I would see Mael directly in front of me, but actually there was a cheeky blind corner between me and him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The trail ends, and I remembered it from last year, on a section that is mighty fast and barely downhill, just pump and follow the undulations ready for big grins at the bottom!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View back into the high mountains</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saleve in background</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">BONUS MEANWHILE:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Meanwhile back in Herefordshire</i> my parents are out checking the spring conditions on my Dad’s favourite local trails.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mum getting her drift on<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;"> </span></td></tr>
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-57164369107052103932016-05-05T20:59:00.002+02:002016-05-05T21:01:52.760+02:00Lean, mean and green<h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I’d just come off the top of Europe, Mont Blanc with a 2000 metre powder skiing descent, but Wouter was still after final plan ideas for meeting him, my Dutch guiding buddy somewhere in Provence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">GAP was of course at the top of the list, being the most northernly town in the Provence Region, and having some very tasty dry and dusty trails! <a href="https://chainmark.blogspot.fr/2015/10/the-road-trip-that-made-finale-ligure.html" target="_blank">Read here</a> about last years southern trip that put Finale Ligure to shame.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Even though there is more than 6 days worth of riding in the Gapencais, we wanted to taste something else and I’d seen a nice instagram photo from the VTopo Crew riding on this weird “terre noire” (black earth) stuff earlier in the year that looked very inticing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The first day down south, my first major bike riding day of 2016 and I thought we’d get everyone going on some trails that I knew from previous trips over by the stunning Lac Serre Poncon. Sitting having lunch in t-shirt and shorts at the end of April was a great feeling for us Northern Europeans. The feeling after that days descending was an even greater one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And this, this is how the trip continued for 6 days. Coffee to begin with on the campsite, big climbs, good chat, lots of bread & cheese and then epic descending in beautiful surroundings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We were joined halfway through the week by some Chamoniards and we all headed down to Digne Les Bains in search of this terre noire tastiness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Oh boy what a treat it was for all of us, even the climb in was challenging but fun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We had lunch just above the first section of terre noire before carrying on down through the forest on sublime singletrack for a couple of hundred metres until we broke out into the bright southern daylight. We all came to a stop, looked out, looked around at each other, looked out again and then, looking back at each other, broke out in fits of shrieks and laughter. It looked super special!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It also looked a bit narrow! You had to concentrate along the ridgeline sections to keep your speed into the steep uphill rises and then into the downhill's. We managed to link together a few great sections of terre noire before finishing on a super fast rollercoaster down into the bottom of a valley. What a superb area of unique grippy trails!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We wondered, that night, over obscene portions of pasta red sauce, how could this day could be topped. In fact how could this day be beaten all season?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Luckily down in Digne, the "normal" singletrack trails are equally sensational and the remaining days, as ever, involved huge climbs, into huge amazing, grin inducing trails.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The kind of trails that make beer and ice-cream taste good at 5pm in 20.C temps...</span></div>
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The southern Alps reaped it's early season rewards again. We scratched the surface on another small part of the Provence Region, there's still so much more to explore!</div>
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THANKS TO CANYON Bikes</div>
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-45068813445201225932016-03-15T13:18:00.001+01:002016-03-15T13:18:53.283+01:00INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN LEADER<h4>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Accompagnateur en Montagne</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After many years of training, I am now a fully qualified International Mountain Leader (IML) which opens up a whole new world of work opportunities. I am now able to lead hiking tours all over the world, but more importantly I have an outdoor qualification that is recognised and highly regarded by the French for hiking and mountain biking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The final assessment took place in the Pyrennees Orientales where we found great snowshoeing terrain. We were tested on micro navigation every day during which we had to talk about various environmental subjects. Animal tracks, tree's, geology, local area geography and other general nuggets of information. Other area's covered included emergency rope work in snow covered terrain and multi burial avalanche transceiver searches (find and probe 2 units in 8 minutes, I averaged 4 minutes).</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowshoe assessment in the Pyrenees 2016</td></tr>
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-51226371128472839002015-11-05T18:32:00.000+01:002015-11-05T18:34:20.276+01:00Coming to an end<h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ludlow blur</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hopefully winter will be hitting the Alps soon, but in the mean time I have been back in the U.K visiting friends and family.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Me and my Dad hit up Mortimer's forest for our classic autumn ride checking out the new trails he's found. There seem to be more each visit. A great sign of the building community of trail builders in the boarder Counties.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This past weekend I went to North Wales to visit some past haunts. Over the last 5 years I had only visited North Wales to complete International Mountain Leader courses, so it was nice to be finally back how it should be, with a mountain bike. However, over those 10 years many of the trails have been exposed to all the finest weather of North Wales, and many, many bike tyres. Penmachno was basically a solid stream, but a fun roller coaster despite getting soaked in under 2 hours.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After a big meal, plenty of ciders and a sleep in a local Betws-y-Coed bunkhouse we headed across to Llandegla as my mate was taking part in a Halloween night time enduro. The trails are perfect for a good laugh. Wide, smooth and with features to boost off all over the place. Unfortunately, as good as the flow was, every descent seemed to have a nasty climb 3/4 the way through in an attempt to make the "descent" longer. Not the greatest trail centre, but it did the job for my mate, his mates and the night race.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Night time enduro team</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On the way back to Herefordshire I stopped off at Eastridge near Shrewsbury for a bit of a challenge. There's trails all over the place if you know your way. I don't, so I stuck with the marked red and had a blast. Slippery roots a plenty and even some quite steep descents for such a small hillside. The local's are really spoilt in this area!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wonderful Shropshire morning light, but mud tan inducing trail conditions</td></tr>
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Now my bike is online, hopefully the snow will arrive and I won't need anything till next spring, it's been a superbly <i>"epic"</i> riding season showing that there are many good trails close to home in Savoie & nearby boarding countries, but it's also given me a taste for southern exploration!</div>
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CHEERS!</div>
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Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079157459943962026.post-82272454246315813022015-10-22T13:28:00.001+02:002015-10-22T13:28:19.560+02:00How to retrieve a car, the Chamonix way<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My car was left at somebody else's house a few hours drive away.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I could have gotten somebody to drive me around to collect my car that had been left near Aime in the neighbouring department of Savoie. I even had the idea to borrow a road bike and finally do the huge climb out of Beaufort and over the Cormet de Roseland.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Instead the Tom's joined for a two day Oli-venture across the mountains. There was hope for great singletrack, and I did warn them about some height gain. It's just a shame many of the vertical metres gained where whilst pushing our bikes.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near the Col du Bonhomme looking into the Beaufortain</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We left Notre dame de la Gorge and pedalled for about 1 kilometre before the first section of pushing began. And so it carried on for about 5 hours, ride, push, hike a bike, ride a little more and push even more. Luckily we were fresh, the banter crude and the views in every direction were beautiful. The views and sunset really made up for it all!</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Arriving just before dark at the Refuge du Col de la Croix du Bonhomme we tucked into our freeze dried tartiflette. It's out of season now so there is no guardian to look after you. Freeze dried meals are an expensive but very efficient way to eat. We had packed as light as possible for this trip. <i>For me: 1 set of riding clothes (long sleeve light weight merino jersey, 3/4 lycra tights, baggy shorts, mid weight waterproof jacket, 1 pair of gloves,</i></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i> 2 pairs of socks plus a mirco</i></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i> down jacket) a sleeping bag liner, food, pocket rocket stove and a light weight saucepan. </i> By arriving late we'd missed the opportunity to grab the 6 beds right by the wood burning stove so were up in the cold winter room dorm. Luckily there were only 2 other people in the dorm so the three of us had about 5 blankets each.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uno before bed in the Refuge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We awoke to glorious views and clear skies. We left on downhill singletrack right out of the refuge door. What better way to start your day! It was soon time to climb a little to get onto the wonderful ridgeline descent. It was stunning and great to ride, even if the north side was slightly frozen. We descended for around 600 metres on fun singletrack with the odd bit of farm track to cross over.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving the refuge in the morning sun</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sublime!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Next the big climb. To begin we were on road and span up chatting together, then fire-road where we continued to chat. We reached the start of the footpath, and started pushing, silence took over. About 4 hours later after lunch, caffeine energy gels we'd crossed the boulder field and reached the snowy col. The boys were tired. I was on the edge of getting cold. The views were still stunning as we looked over the Pierra Menta from an angle I'd not seen before. After what we'd carried our bikes up I was nervous for the descent on the other side. Luckily it was great!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The best part, was passing a stunning new refuge that needs to be re-visited in both winter and summer. By now it was around 16:00, the rain had begun to arrive, mr G was exhausted but we were all in high spirits. From here it was 2000 metres down to the valley floor!!! The main chunk of the descent was on a trail that was true Beaufortain flow-tech. Keep your momentum, drop in and hold on!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As the rain got harder the singletrack ended, the option of another push to link up lots more singletrack was skipped due to various factors. A sensible option. We zoomed down a fire road which normally would be boring, but on this adventure ride where the riding is not the main priority we still had fun. From here on we got soaked through and took a mixture of tracks, wide single tracks, and roads to get down to Aime and my car.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Struggling up the boulder field, note the fog behind</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loose descent, note how grey the sky now is</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9RiCl6JWicypTZHCR5i0tryPJnbBLy5NG0gYTQCJX9U-QmKCzl6yxzkHLi_zHLOCY0iqApreStqEnOPsZdwiGoM-HOhpBBe7zyrdjh1lz7opbAaMRXR4Xxb7A35r3ZCwYDxuQNqnjoo4/s1600/IMG_4515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9RiCl6JWicypTZHCR5i0tryPJnbBLy5NG0gYTQCJX9U-QmKCzl6yxzkHLi_zHLOCY0iqApreStqEnOPsZdwiGoM-HOhpBBe7zyrdjh1lz7opbAaMRXR4Xxb7A35r3ZCwYDxuQNqnjoo4/s320/IMG_4515.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steep and deep</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We arrived at my car just before dark, cold and wet to the bone after a true epic. Bikes loaded, McDonalds eaten (!) and 2 hours drive later we were all home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now that's the Chamonix way to retrieve a car!</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.0" style="color: #141823; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.0.$end/=1$text2/=010">Facts and figures:</span></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.0" style="color: #141823; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.0.$end/=1$text2/=010">Day 1: 11km, 1200m up.</span><br data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.0.$end/=1$text3/=010" /><span data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.0.$end/=1$text4/=010">Day 2: 33km, 880m up, 2600m down.</span></span><span data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3" style="color: #141823; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><br data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text1/=010" /><span data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text2/=010">Km's of uphill pedalled: about 4km</span><br data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text3/=010" /><span data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text4/=010">Biggest section of descent: 2000m!</span><br data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text5/=010" /><span data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text6/=010">Games of UNO played: 1 extra long game. We forgot all the rules.</span><br data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text7/=010" /><span data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text8/=010">Humpage's alarm waking people up in another part of the refuge: Once, at 11pm, when they'd gone to bed at 8:30!</span><br data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text9/=010" /><span data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text10/=010">Car's retrieved: 1</span><br data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text11/=010" /><span data-reactid=".1f.1:5:1:$comment10156111660915316_10156111951955316/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text12/=010">Oli-venture: tick</span></span></span></i></div>
Oli Carr / Chainmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10343698009386630317noreply@blogger.com0