Finale Outdoor Region servere weather and trail damage

I know alot of use on here visit. Some more than others and even have the card which helps to fund trail maintenance

We have been lucky to have been for the last nine years and our daughter competing in a few of the EWS Enduros

They have put out a crowd funding appeal to raise monies to try and get the trails repaired after the devastation the have just had

I know times are hard but have a read and if you can help in any way that would be great

I for one can’t wait to get back

https://www.finaleoutdoor.com/en/blog

Do the uplift companies pay anything per rider, per uplift towards trail maintenance is what I’d want to know before a donation is made.

My understanding from asking a couple of years ago is that any place that accepts the card gives you points to use and that the business also contributes to the trail development and maintenance.

We had a long chat this year with the staff in the kiosk about having a donate points earned facility to put them as an extra towards the costs which they were going to discuss

Sounds like they don’t then 🙁

Businesses that accept the card pay 1% of bill to trail work. Not sure about the uplift co’s but the drivers we had all built and repaired stuff

@andylaightscat – do you ride there and if so, do you plan on returning? If no, then it makes even less difference if other people are donating; if so, it doesn’t make much difference to any donation you may want to make.
It would be great if everyone who used and benefitted from trails gave back money to help with trail maintenance and trail development, but the reality is many don’t or won’t. I’d hope that they would be donating, but they may be offering physical bodies on the ground to help sort the mess (they will benefit sooner if it gets sorted quicker).
That should stop people who might to make a donation though alongside those who do donate.

andylaightscat

Do the uplift companies pay anything per rider, per uplift towards trail maintenance is what I’d want to know before a donation is made.

It varies – Finale Freeride were the first company out there, and they were heavily involved in building the original trails, over time they worked with a lot of local businesses (hotels, bike shops, etc) to get them to contribute to the trails, as biking got more an more popular.

Nowadays, most of the established larger companies contribute and there’s an established group for maintenance, but there’s lots of one man with a van type operators who don’t. Similarly, most of the “big” operators  who are part of the organisation will not run when there’s heavy rain, but the smaller guys ignore and go ahead

It now looks like they have raised enough to repair what was devastated in the storms. Lets hope they don’t have any more.

We will only book uplifting or guiding with the ones who accept the card. That way we know that some of what we pay goes back into the trails from us and from the companies we use. and hopefully the companies have insurance for if something goes wrong

Unfortunately  there aren’t enough uplifts for riders at certain times of the day and season and that’s where the man with the van and a trailer are been more and more utilised. You don’t usually notice them at the pick up compound but when you get to the drop off point there are quite a few so they are obviously picking up elsewhere.

The campsite we use has an uplift service but they contribute to the scheme if you present the card

Tracey

You don’t usually notice them at the pick up compound

Anyone using/picking up inside the compound is part of that org – that’s why nobody in the compound runs in the rain

Was there in for three months last year and guided for a week as an old friend was ill (I rode for Vania @ Feligno Downhill) and there were over 80 vans on some days. Traffic jams at Nato Base. The trails were full of holes and braking bumps.

Lots of private vans with trailers come from all over the place. Last year there were vans from Czech, Poland, Spain and the UK pulling trailers loaded with bikes. They’re not contributing anything towards trail maintenance and will be hitting the trails in the wet.

Five or six years ago a lot of the guides and drivers used to do maintenance during the off season. That doesn’t happen quite so much now. I know for a fact that a lot of the guides are only there for the season and then they leave.

The local authority used to pay for a trail maintenance crew. A friend of mine who bought a place there used to do 20 hours a week looking after Ingenere and Crestino. Another guy used to look after Nato trails. The number of maintenance guys has been cut.

I think now Finale has jumped the shark. A victim of its own success.  What does a days shuttle cost now? 60-80€, plus 15-20€ for lunch. That’s an expensive day out.

IMO/E there are better places to ride with far fewer other riders, braking bumps and shuttle drivers who cut you up in the turns.

Some nice bike parks over the border in Piemonte, (Viola and Mont Alpet) that have chairlift and only cost 20€ for the day. Worth visiting if you’re in the area.

@alpin

That’s a lot of useful info and NONE of it makes me happy.. We were debating a week down there after Morzine next year to give Mrs Weeksy some beach type time.

We have been back a couple of weeks now and in the nine times we have been I can honestly say it the best riding we have had in the area in all that time but we have ridden off the beaten tracks and had to utilise emtbs rather than mtbs for some of it. I’m sure a fit rider would have been ok on a normal bike

We decided this time to use a private guide who lives in the area, we met him last year when we were out walking as Kevin was injured and off the bike.

He was guiding a couple of Canadians and we got chatting about what he did, kept in touch with him and booked him in the Summer. Gave him a simple remit of what we wanted to do and he delivered. We rode in places we have never ridden and hardly saw any other riders.

It cost no more than using on of the guided tours and we had him to our selves. We booked him for two other days rather than just uplifting as we were having such an amazing time. We have also booked him for next year.

Finale is still great, but if you stick to the local trails (Cafe Din/NATO base) then it can be very busy – there is a huge variety of other  trails areas in the area. Those local ones do get very blown out towards end of the season. Find a company who will take you to the other areas

Mrs Weeksy some beach type time.

Not a fan of Ligurian beaches. Generally crowded, train line right behind you and they shelve off real quick.

there is a huge variety of other trails areas in the area. Those local ones do get very blown out towards end of the season.

They were full of holes last year at the beginning of October. Speaking to locals, not much was done over the summer and since covid in general.

There is good riding beyond the typical shuttle tours. Oltre Finale, as the locals say. Up the coast is Varazze. Some great riding down to Pietra (single lift to Din/Melogno, through the fort, follow the Alta Via towards Monte Carmo). Some big mountain days around Nava.

And then there’s the more obvious places like San Remo and Molini di Triora.

Although even a lot of the trails just above Finale don’t get ridden as much as they’re not easily accessible with a van and trailer.

Everyone says “use a different company to access the hidden stuff”, but 95% of Shuttles are doing the same trails.