A mixed May

Riding the weather patterns

The weather has been very changeable these past few weeks. Which has kept a few of us keen for searching for nice ski turns, and some of us keen for finding sticky 'hero' dirt for our mountain bike tyres to grip into. We visited the Vanoise but got shut down on skiing the Grande Casse as the guardian warned us of wind slab. Still we made the most of it on the Vanoise Glacier and spring conditions.

I've been riding on setups that are actually fairly similar. My Scarpa Freedom SL ski touring boots are pretty light, but far from ski-mountaineering race boot lightness. They do the job on the up's but they are so good on the descents. My Nukeproof Mega AM is also on the heavy side, but it can get up the climbs. However once on the descent it's amazingly capable! The latest technology available in all areas of outdoor sports is simply amazing and is making everything so much more enjoyable and potentially achievable.

For Example

Doing multiple pitches of 60m abseils at 3800m to ski a couloir:

And then a few days later getting first tracks down Domes de Miage (3673m):

It was then time for this somewhere deep in Servoz's moyenne montagnes:

However there was unfortunatly two instances of chain break's that got fixed quickly both times. Though I think we appreciated the rest-bites they gave during the huge climbs!

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Being shown around my classic stomping ground

Another chance to be shown around trails. Not as glamorous as Switzerland, but just as good! Mortimers Forest and Bringewood, Ludlow, Shropshire, England The woods of Mortimers Forest and Bringewood are where I grew up mountain biking so I always love going back. A few years ago I built a long section of singletrack trail to link in above a much loved piece of trail that had been a staple of rides for many years. It was my way of giving back to the forest riders and builders. Over the last few years whilst I've been away riding 1000m+ descents my Dad has still been out exploring every corner of these forests. Sometimes walking with my Mother, other times out on road rides with his Wednesday night Pub Ride group or usually with his main Sunday morning off road group. They are trail connoisseurs, though they might not look it. They are the type of group that make up every British Forestry carpark on a Sunday morning...

What guides do between work in the peak of July

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. 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: Day 1- La Thuile with Wayne of newly qualified French legal mountain bike guiding service Chamonixmtb.com . Enduro race venue at it's best, rough and raw. ...

Changing times

Being show around Valais trails for a change People I've been riding with recently have been talking about the Emosson to Martigny trail and how good it is. Me and Tom had been up there in June to ride the first half of the trail and loved it. blogged here . So I was keen to get back. I wasn't keen to get up after a late night in Amnesia, but knew that the road climb from Finahut would sort me and Jarno out. 1 1/2 hours spinning wasn't too bad. Luckily the trail is great form the beginning, even if it undulates and you often have to get off your bike for a quick push up. It still kind of flows, in a 'flow-tech' kind of way. The views looking down towards Martigny and Sion were still great. The trail really gets going after about 3 kilometres. Basically from the Emosson the trail traverses North-Eastwards constantly hugging the mountainside to your left, and always with a big drop down to your right. It's another one ...

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