Apparently there is some kind of big race this weekend in Switzerland so Spoke are on the road heading for it. Currently I’m in the lovely little village of Lourtier up the valley from Verbier racking up vertical faster than a turbo charged fart in an elevator. I’m on board with Big Mountain Adventures learning the lines and tracks of the Swiss Alps, eating cheese and chocolate and generally being absolutely blown away by the incredible mountain sights. Today we racked up a mellow 16,000 feet of vertical descending in the sunshine, which was nice. This is my first trip to Switzerland and it’s been rather nice to take in the spectacular scenery and ride stunning singletrack from above the clouds to the valley floor over and over again. We are into trip three of the summer which will have us hitting up Verbier, Crans Montana, Zermatt, Pila (Italy), Morgins, Chatel, and Champery for the big race. Zermatt has been my favourite spot so far for its stunning views, plentiful wide open trails, no half-arsed bike park built trails, and an endless chain of ski pole touting octogenarians.
Depending on Internet connection speed (and how many beverages I consume at the event) Spoke will have some updates from the Kiwi team in Champery. Until then check out VitalMTB and Dirt for all the run-up hype and background story. Below is a little gallery of amateur photos from the mountains here. Click to enlarge them, but honestly, they don’t do the scale and scope of the mountains here any justice. For more information on riding Switzerland, or anywhere else in the world, then click on Big Mountain Adventures.
