What about an annual Singletrack-sponsored award for the most epic, risky, ground breaking non-lift assisted mountain bike hike and descent. Stupid idea? Sort of like a less lofty version of the Piolets d’Or, for bikes.

If such an award existed, who would have got it so far or been a candidate? Nick and Dick Crane doing Kili in the early 90s? Hans Rey, on various? A few people on this forum? Various on Pinkbike (that Alaska shoot recently); various on Dan Milner’s blog (Argentina trip recently)?

barry know Best to Peaslake stores for a cheese straw. dangerous dodging the locals….

The Septimer Pass in the Swiss Alps.
Anyone who can ride the whole thing deserves an award!

Mmmm, cheese straws!

Woods behind Tesco in Swindon?

Or better yet – the woods behind Asda in Banstead – used to be awesome dirt jumps there

Biking Mt Rosa at 4550m
http://www.vimeo.com/20036833

lol at being roped up riding a bike. 😆

Nothing said about being roped up riding a bike! I do think the sport has become unduly sanitised and risk-averse, however. The more suspension tech improves, the fewer people leave Pleney.

Didn’t someone from Trailaddiction post some very good pictures here recently regarding a late season high-pass ride above Tignes? A possible candidate, but I’m really thinking beyond the Alps, even beyond the usual Rockies suspects.

Greg Herbold, Durango, 1990

Though, clearly he should be disqualified on the basis of having cut the course 😉

Aiguille de la Grande Sassière above the tignes road
http://www.vttour.fr/sorties/aiguille-de-la-grande-sassiere,2743.html#sortie

other goodies
Mt Thabor
http://www.vimeo.com/15591962

most epic mtb descent? Missy Giove, possibly. 😕

I’d give the award to the guy who rode up 🙂

Aiguille de la Grande Sassière above the tignes road
http://www.vttour.fr/sorties/aiguille-de-la-grande-sassiere,2743.html#sortie

Hardcore! That’s what I’m talking about

BTW Nick off-topic but did you see this http://www.lucapandolfi.com/2011/05/aiguille-du-midi-north-face-mallory-16-05-2011/

J yes follow his blog, you wouldn’t get me on the Mallory!

Amazing shot!

Yes & Me.

Everything I do is awesome, even this post.

Phil from Bike Verbier (Cupid Stunt)
Cleaned Jackass, The Bitch, Magic RoundAbout and the opening to Silly Arete plus many more in and around Verbier. Legend.

cleaning jackass = 8)
RHS you ever clean it?

I have ridden every corner clean but never all corners in one run. Phil has done a few times now.

The ‘Hardest’ corner is now stupid hard due to trail erosion…guess we just need to man up (and Suit Up) 😉

nice work, seem to remember Phil showing moneyman adam how to ride one of those corners and Adam then proceeded to fall about 50 ft down the mountain.

http://www.1001sentiers.fr/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1000

6 3000m + peaks in 6 days 😀

That looks awesome – this is a great pic on that link

Are there any pics/video of this Jackass trail? Had a quick look but couldn’t find any.

Wow yeah. Bonus points for riding it on what appears to be a steel hardtail (though it might not be).

No skinnies, teeter-totters or dirt jumps to be found on this thread! 🙂

can’t find any pics of jackass. But think super exposed very tight switchbacks. one with terminal consequences!

Bearclaw’s trip to the Gobi?

The “first Decent” article in dirt a while back looked similarly nuts, and was done on a sub £1k bike (IIRC it was a pitch comp) for added gnarr bonus points. Basicly looked like Bearclaws decent, lots of sideways drifting to keep the speed down, follwed by aiming for a narrow chute in the rocks, then more sideways drifting, the rider talked about leaning the bike into the hill so far that the inside pedal was digging in to keep the speed down!

That is NOW on my ticklist Freeridenick 😉

You have to have a fall here and there to learn!

These are Jackass seemingly. Second one looks almost like a shot from a computer game

This one looks good, what’s it called? http://www.flickr.com/photos/dangreenwood/2844183030/in/photostream

think thats on the way to to the top of The Ultimate.

RHS – yes a good weather window and you could knock those off!

jhw – really like the idea. I reckon it could make a great regular feature for a few months – the guys could go out and sample each ride (there are plenty of companies out there – bikeverbier, trailaddiction etc who could thrown in a proposed route) and do a write up once a month. Then readers could vote on the on they liked the look of the most during the annual awards.

the grande sassiere link was the route that ash from trailaddiction posted. 3747m down to bourg st maurice at 800m, singletrack all the way! http://www.trailaddiction.com/gallery/gg2.JPG%5B/img%5D

I also know of a route above granada that starts at 3400m at the peak of veleta and you can descent awesome rocky singletrack (and its 100% rideable, no dabs) all the way to the tapas bars in granada at about 700m. Difference here is that its not hike-a-bike to get to the start, just a road climb with fireroad at the end. If your lungs are up to it that is. Awesome.

IMHO figures aren’t everything though. People go on about “the most dangerous road in the world” in south america but Ive seen pics and it looks like boring fireroad all the way down to me. Hardly worth the trip, Id say.

On the other hand “la varda” above les arcs starts at a measly 2600m and drops to 700m but it is super tech and real alpine stuff all the way – with huge vertical cliffs on one side, in parts. You know youve ridden an entire mountain by the time you are done. It took rowan sorrel 22 minutes on full-bore just to get half way down the route. So that’d be a good 40min + of balls out descent for a top class rider, with no uphill pedalling to drag out that time. one hell of an epic i say.

this is the top bit of it before you get to the end of the hanging valley and it opens up into a tech-fest ring-twitch of an animal.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM2GxoQU_-4[/video]

Did someone mention The Ultimate Trail.

For some reason I’ve lost the video of the very top section.

Back there again in a couple of weeks. I can’t wait. 😀

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOKj_QC6vGw&feature=related[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAcf6f0QbNA&feature=related[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbTsgPB8XUM&feature=related[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2oUy_Mo8wI&feature=related[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxKMm5Osdi0&feature=related[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csT4vW7ksyc&feature=related[/video]

Grande Sassiere (3747m) was epic.

The route goes up and down the West flank (to the left of the photo above). Has to be the easiest hill of its size in the Alps to ascend on foot, hence rideable down on a bike. Hardest bit of carrying was probably just before the top:

After that it was huge fun all the way…

All riding shots by Greg Germain (g2vision.fr)