Last week during another dreary day at my desk, my phone beeped as an email arrived. It was from Dirt Magazine saying that the winner of their Mega competition (that I had entered months previously) had dropped out and there were two spaces up for grabs, plus accommodation for the first person to reply to the email who could get to Les 2 Alpes on Thursday.

Instinct took over. I immediately replied.

That is when reality kicked in. I entered the competition with the intention of training for it. I hadn’t. My bike isn’t mega-proof. I had plans for the weekend that would be painful to get out of (brownie point overdraft exceeded). I don’t own goggles. Getting to L2A was based on owning a car – not having budgeted for fuel, tolls or a last minute crossing. Which mate could I persuade that it was a good idea at this notice?

2 hours later an email from dirt arrived. Someone else had won. Disappointment was mixed with a touch of relief.

Today I saw this. Relief doesn’t even come close – that mud is absolutely atrocious. Some impressive glacier-handling skills by Nico Quéré though:

Mégavalanche Finale 2014 by Nico Quéré