Joe Schwartz interview

Check out this sweet interview with Big Mountain senior guide Joe Schwartz...from our friends at NSMB.COM. 
Want to ride with Joe this summer? How about some downhilling in the Swiss Alps? Click here and make it happen!

The Brazilian

Upon retrospect we should have worked harder to keep this trail unknown. Back in 2003, on a pioneering trip in the Swiss Alps, journalist Mitchell Scott in a fit of pleasure, compared parts of this trail to that of a freshly shaved Brazilan wax job...the word got out and now we've been told that the name pops up regularly in German mountain bike chat rooms. For years we were the only mountain bike tracks and now we're seeing more riders up there. It's all good. We're mountain bikers and we love a good descent. Here's a good view of it...



Want a taste of The Brazilian yourself? Join us for the ride of your life.

Going Downhill in die Alpen on Pinkbike.com

Calgary's Stephen Matthews joined us in Switzerland this summer on our Alpenrock DH trip. See his sweet vids and read the whole story here.

Here's a little sample following Joe Schwartz.

the way it used to be

I like this photo. It was taken three years ago on the top of a lift station on the top of a mountain in Switzerland. This is a private group of friends that joined us on a super Cloudraker all-mountain trip that i will not soon forget. We laughed and we rode a lot. Back then on Cloudraker we'd spend several nights sleeping in alpine huts which made the trip more exciting but also more challenging logistically and more tiring for all. Now we stay in two hotels for the 9 night duration - unpack your bags, saunter down to the bar after a day of riding - it's more of a holiday now then in years past. That's not to say that we don't enjoy the more adventurous itineraries...if you have a group and you'd like us to take you on an epic all-mountain trip where we stay in huts most of the time, just holler. What about a circumnavigation of Mont Blanc?

downhilling in switzerland slideshow...

great photos from Matthew Trudeau who joined us on an Alpenrock DH trip this summer...

PK's summer

Our friend Paddy Kaye's helmet cam footage...Park City Utah, Nelson BC, Gray Rodier on Windy Pass near Whistler and some from our Swiss Cloudraker trip from a few weeks ago. Looks like a great summer...

09 rides from paddy kaye on Vimeo.

Off to Europe this morning

Ahhh...it's always the same each year when the departure for Europe looms. "Oh, no problem, i've got everything dialed," I think. Next thing I know i'm putting in 15 hr days staring at my computer for a week straight. Trips have been planned months ago, it's that list of stuff that needs to get done. Anyway, bags are packed, bike is in his box, everyone's happy. Watching the Tour this morning is especially sweet knowing that i'll be hanging with our Swiss Cloudraker crew on the sidelines watching Lance go by in the next few weeks. How sweet is that?
Hope your summer's going well and riding's been great were you are!

Blissed out in Switzerland with Big Mountain

Wow, a super photo essay on our Swiss Alpenrock DH trip with Wade and Joe. Check it out here.

Wanna come? We have a few spots left for this summer...

Latest Decline Mag issue

Journalist Dave Smith and photographer Blake Jorgensen came to Switzerland last summer and joined us on Alpenrock DH trip. We're super stoked to have the pleasure of hosting these two heavy hitters. If you get a chance check out their story, "Riding Big in Switzerland", in the latest issue of Decline Magazine.

Swiss Cloudraker + the Tour de France: what you won't have to do...

We are super excited that our July 17th Swiss Cloudraker all-mountain trip will be happening during this year's Tour de France. Lance is back for another pull and there's some hot new young guns on the start list so it'll be especially fiesty. Can you imagine watching the race go by and then railing a 6000-foot descent? And then checking out the circus after hours that follows the tour? It's about to happen...

Don't worry, you won't have to launch the peleton like Dave Watson did a few years ago.

Photo by Scott Markewitz.

more downhill fun from the Alps...

Downhill Mountain Biking in the Swiss Alps: part one from big mountain on Vimeo.

Swiss Cloudraker all-mountain photos

Want to see what actually goes on behind the scenes on one of our epic Swiss all-mountain extravaganzas? The good, the bad and the ugly. Enjoy!

DH THE ALPS

It's been awhile...we've been having so much fun here in Swissland going downhill on big bikes on our Alpenrock DH trips. After years of mind-blowing research on oil-tanker-sized downhills we've dialed in this trip to the point where participants are pumped, satisfied, wowed, stoked by day 1 and by day 2 they understand why we call it the Alpenrock and why we are Big Mountain. We're having a blast.

Here's a photo of returning participant Lee from Sydney Australia having fun amongst the grapes on the tail end of Rolling Orgy, a trail that Lee compared to skiing waist deep powder.



Another of Vancouverites Brian and Karaleen dropping in on the La Vallee Express, a secret nug off the backside of Verbier that drops us pretty much on the patio at our 3-star hotel.

big recon

We rode a spectacular hawg yesterday, 8 hours or so on the bike. It all started with a monorail, then a gondola then a tram to a cool 2750 meters. From there we traversed, descended and climbed in a super arid high alpine zone like nothing i've ever seen - the glacial lakes were teal-blue, rocks ochre and the mountains dark grey with little fiesty flowers popping everywhere. The top of our ride lay at nearly 3000 meters with a 2300 meter descent ahead - over 7000 feet.


Here's a photo of local madman Francois, licking his lips at the descent ahead.




A sweet cabin with a sweeter view. Perhaps we'll stay here at the 2009 Cloudraker Swiss mountain biking trip?

As good as it gets

Joe Schwartz and i just wrapped up a 9-day Cloudraker trip that will go down in the books. The group consisted of crazy Californians, tough Canucks and a stylin' Swiss German and all were on fire - we all ate up as many big days as we could swallow on this trip, big big days!! We ripped up some amazing terrain and unreal rides together. The group gelled like old friends and solid bonds were forged right from day one. Thanks to all for a great trip...

Here's a photo of some of our group after a wet descent in Zermatt. We logged 14,000+ vertical feet of descending on this day.


A sweet photo of Joe. If you look really closely you'll see a Swiss flag flappin' on his back. It was Aug 1, Swiss Day!