Just a quick question to those that have been before. Sintered or organic pads? I need to buy some spares and would nomally buy sintered, but are the descents such that I'll have boiling brakes a bit too often?

I normally switch to resin pads when I'm out there – Shimano XT. I've used sintered without problems before, but given that it's dry and not gritty, it seems pointless and they do generate and transfer a lot more heat, though to be fair, I've never had issues with fluid boiling. I would suggest big rotors if you've not go them already. I run 203/180 not so much because you need more ultimate stopping power, but it's simply less tiring being able to one-finger brake when you're shagged….

I don't know if the mineral oil Shimano use is more resistant to boiling than brake fluid btw, but if you're buying pads specially, I'd go for resin over sintered.

Resin it is then. I'm not planning on changing the rotors. They've been fine in the alps before. Can't wait.