Looking at doing their Tour Du Mont Blanc anyone done it [or anything else] with them?
Did a week with them 4? years ago.
Mixed feelings - I had a lot of fun - some fantastic trails, but for the most part it was like going for a ride with a bunch of mates rather than being guided. Each group only had 1 guide (who led from the front) and for an assortement of reasons I ended up at the back, meaning when crashes or mechanicals happened I inevitably ended up sorting them out/doing the first aid whilst the guide sat at the bottom of the hill wondering where we were. Being used to AQR standards of guiding I was left a little non-plussed by this.
My other half enjoyed it a damn site less. She was in the "b" group with a bunch of testosterone fueled MCP Italians who basically ignored her. They weren't great riders either (loads of show, very little go), and the riding basically got dumbed down to their level.
The food and accomodation was pretty good. I was impressed with Ian's dedication - he did all the cooking as well as the guiding, so was getting next to no break, but it did all add to the impression of "trying to do the best on a shoestring budget"
They were definitely an "xc" company if that bothers you - we hardly touched the lifts. I was reasonably happy to do that, but expect some *proper* big climbs at altitude.
Overall I'd give them 7.5/10, whereas I think E would only give them a 5...
Thanks Jon
I may just go back with MBMB again then - I fancied doing it with 10fifty as they do it the other way round
I think you'll find they are no longer running.
We did have 2 great holidays with them though, Chamonix based in 2004 and TMB in 2006. They did, however, do the TMB in the same direction as MBMB (clockwise) as we were doing it and staying in the same accom as the MBMB group that were also doing it that week.
Cheers for that
*crosses another one off the list*
