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!

Start Here: Bike Magazine

Grab a copy of the latest Bike Magazine and see Big Mountain owner Chris Winter scoping a new trail in Switzerland in the Start Here column. "This section of trail is after a rediculously long and fun downhill," says Winter, " you feel like you're hanging from the cliff's ledge and then you pop around the last corner and ride past a shrine with a cross and mini-sized Jesus on it and lit candles all around. Did I just see that? It's kind of surreal."

A few of Bike Editor Lou Mazzante's words from Start Here: "As we head into winter and start looking for new gear and dreaming of new trails to ride, keep in mind that the act of riding a mountain bike is so much greater than its component parts. It is inherently fun, implicitly adventurous and often best enjoyed with good company."

Do you like the look of this trail? Want to ride it with Big Mountain in 2010? If you're an all-mountain rider click here, if you're a DH rider, clicker here. Why not join us in the Alps next summer?

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...

riding with Joe in the Alps

Our annual Swiss Alpenrock DH trips are happening as we speak. Want to ride with Joe next year in Switzerland? Keep your eyes peeled here...we're working on 2010 dates and details now and will have them posted very soon. Enjoy the rest of summer!!
Read Joe's Kona Cog blog here.
Thanks to Scott Hagarty for these fine photos.


Schwartzy hitting a little wall ride at the Crans-Montana bike park.


The group of Alpenrock I on top of Gornergrat, high above Zermatt. Looks like a great day!

zee alpen...

Writing this while sitting in our little hotel in the hamlet of Lourtier...tucked up a tight valley with big peaks all around. We've just started our Cloudraker trip with the Tour coming through the valley in a few days. The anticipation is growing!! Can't believe that we'll be watching the Tour in a few days from our mountain bikes! So pumped.


PK and Daughrty starting a 7 hour descent...


This lift got us high. Really high.

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...

More Cloudraker all-mountain action

From Vernon Huffman, California. Thanks for the great shots and great rides Vernon!
Check it out.

Cloudraker

I'm sitting at our hotel in the small town of Lourtier in the Val de Bagnes region of French-speaking Switzerland. We're taking a morning off from riding to relax, stretch and work on some bikes. This afternoon we're heading out for a few local shuttles. Tomorrow is a big day as we pedal up and over a pass out of our backyard to Aosta Italy for dinner and a gelato. The fun continues!





More about the Cloudraker mountain biking trip in Switzerland.

New trail

This afternoon i went for a ride with local XC lung Laurent for a super fun alpine ride. First we drove up a mountain in the backyard to 1700 m and traversed and climbed to 2350 m. There were a few hike-a-bike sections in there that nearly killed me. Must have been a combo of jetlag, altitude and fitness, i think. I did feel better about an hour in to the ride. The views were staggering with big-ass peaks all around and the clouds came in a out providing peek-a-boo views. After crossing the base of a glacier we started down for 1000 m (3000 or so feet). It was a nice descent and very technical at times. I will do this trail again, I'd love to ride it in blue skies and views.

In Switzerland: snow and yodelling

Rolled in this week for another summer of Alpenrippppping to fresh pow on the hills. I left BC's 30c blue bird days for snow...what's up? I guess it happens in the big mountains. The good news is that it's sunny now and 25c, the mountains look killer with a fresh blanket of white.



Have i told you how much i LOVE my new Trek Remedy 9? Talk about the perfect all-mountain bike! And my new Crank Bros Joplin seat post is a dream come true and my Rock Shox Lyrics eat up the track like a hungry teenager lapping up a Slurpee on a sticky summer day. I'm not saying this because im biased. It's true!



Check the upcoming Switzerland mountain biking holidays.