Morzine France, the downhill mountain biking capital of the world! Sept, 2011

I can honestly say that I hadn't heard of Morzine France until moving to Switzerland.  Morzine is a major ski destination just across the border from Geneva.  Little did I know that it is also a world destination for downhill mountain biking.  It wasn't until a buddy and I decided to compare notes on which adrenaline sport we wanted to do last weekend that I ever dreamed of visiting Morzine France.

The plan was to drive down to Morzine after work on Friday.  Neither of us really knew what to expect.  Although we have both done a lot of cycling this was the first time for both of us to really don the full protective equipment and ride a full suspension bike down a mountain.  Sounds simple enough....right?

I woke up on Saturday to clear blue skies.  I have to admit that I was too excited to sleep in.  We walked into the first bike shop that we found and rented a full complement of protective equipment.  It's amazing how invincible you feel with a helmet, shoulder pads and a full suspension bike.

This is the view from the top of the area that we rode on day 1.  I was very surprised that for such a world renowned ski destination that it wasn't higher.  If this picture was taken in the opposite direction you would see Mt. Blanc!

Of course, our prework before this trip was quite minimal.  Otherwise, we would have known that this was the last weekend for mountain biking in Morzine for the season.  What this meant was that there was a full-on festival celebrating the end of the season.  Bands, BBQs and beers.  Tough to beat this weekend!

From the top you could choose any number of trails down to the bottom.  In this instance you can see riders taking off in all directions.  This was the last weekend of riding for the season so everybody was out trying to get in their last runs

Downhill mountain biking is set up much like skiing.  There are marked, graded runs to match all abilities.  Unfortunately, we didn't learn this until dropping into our first red (difficult) run.  It was possibly the most terrifying, out of control, exhilerating trip down a mountain that I've had in a long time.  There really is nothing like bouncing your way down a single track, hitting unanticipated table top jumps and flying around blind corners.... on a mountain!  Crazy.

I just think this is an awesome action shot of my buddy.  To was taken at the end of a long, steep forest section. 

We spent a good 6 hours riding on the first day.  Each trip down the mountain came with a bit more technique and a lot more confidence.  Needless to say, by the end of day one, the fear had dissipated and the adrenaline had taken over!  In fact, we had so much fun that we chose to rent bikes again on the second day and explored a completely different area.  

In the valley you can see the outskirts of Morzine.  From the village you have any number of lifts to catch to the top of the surrounding mountains.  The village was pretty quiet but preparations were already underway for the ski season

Every now and then you need to capture a legacy shot.  These are the photos that I collect to be proudly displayed at my funeral (whenever that might be).  Always good to reflect just how incredible life is!

All in all, we spent 140 Euro to ride the lifts, rent the bikes and protective equipment, and sport a permanent smile for two full days.  Unfortunately, like most of these weekends I now need to resist the urge to quit work, move to the mountains and spend obscene amounts of money on new gear!  If you're ever given the opportunity to ride a full suspension bike down a mountain, I strongly recommend that you do it.  You'll never look at single track trail the same way again!

Conquering the Matterhorn (well almost), Zermatt, Aug 2011

It is reputed to be the most photographed mountain in the world.  After visiting Zermatt Switzerland, and coming face to face with the Matterhorn, you can understand why.  It is a truly majestic chunk of rock that protrudes from the end of the valley almost entirely on it's own.  Standing at over 4400 meters high, with almost sheer rock face drops in all directions from its summit, you can understand why it has inspired only the bravest of men to climb it!

This was the view from our hotel balcony.  The good news about Zermatt is that most hotel rooms have views of the Matterhorn.  I certainly didn't think that on the first day we'd find ourselves more than half way up this mountain.

This trip to Zermatt was our first time visiting the city in the Summer time. (we've been here twice before for ski vacations)  The GF had secured an amazing deal at a boutique hotel that we couldn't afford to turn down.  So Thursday afternoon we ran out of the office and boarded a train destined for Zermatt (approx 3 hrs).   The plan:  Trek the Zermatt region top to bottom.

In the time that I've lived in Switzerland, I've come to realize that the local knowledge is always better than anything you can read in a book or on line.  Everybody that we met in Zermatt had a different recommendation for which treks to attempt except for one....the 5 lakes trip was unanimously recommended.  The only problem was, looking at the map, it didn't look nearly as challenging as I was hoping for and it was reputed to be quite crowded.  So, instead, I convinced the GF that a trek to the Matterhorn base camp (a blue and white alpine trail - see earlier posts) was a much better idea.  Man, was I right!

Approximately 1 hr in we came across a rather exposed section of the trail.  What I love about this photo is you can see what is still to come.  Our destination is the small hut just to the right of the top of the glacier just before the steep climb to the top

The climb itself was pretty straight forward.  It took us approximately 2.5 hrs to walk up from Schwartzsee.  The trail had some perilous parts with a few cable supported sections but really pretty safe/easy compared to other alpine trails that I've attempted.  I'm almost amazed, no matter how difficult I find a climb, to see Swiss people twice my age tearing to the top...It's quite humbling really!  We ate lunch on the terrace in full sunshine at base camp before scurrying back down.  Of course, never one to come back the way we came, we decided to hike approximately 4 hours back to town instead of taking the lift.

Ok, so you've seen lots of my photos with the swiss climbing signs in it.  This time, you also see the hut that we're aiming for (just to the left of the top yellow sign)

On the second day we decided to trek to Gornergrat.   Of all of the places that I've visited in Switzerland, this has to be one of the most spectacular.  Maybe it was made better by the fact that we had absolutely no idea what Gornergrat had to offer.  I selected this trail by looking at the map and selecting a destination that would have us climb up for approx 3 hours and cover approximately 1 kilometer of vertical altitude. 

How can you not love this mountain! (and this photo).  We came across this lake maybe an hour into our second hike.  The lake water was crystal clear.  Unfortunately, it was a hazzy day which is why the sky looks over exposed

I know, it's almost the same as the first photo but it's just such an incredible view

 I had no idea that the view from the top would be so stunning.  We were overlooking the second largest glacier in the Alps.  From one location we counted 7 different glaciers all merging into one massive one that snaked its way down the valley.  It wasn't until we got to the top that we learned that there is a train from the centre of Zermatt that takes you to the top.  The clouds rolled in over lunch so we didn't feel guilty boarding the train back to the centre of town.

This is the view from Gornergrat.  You almost have a panoramic view of multiple glacier that all merge to form the big one in the middle.  To the left you can see a small moraine lake.  Just beside it is one of Switzerland's newest mountain huts.  Sounds like destination for another time

As if I had died and gone to heaven, to my surprise, our hotel was hosting an autumn party (aka Oktoberfest) when we got back.  After a quick sauna to relieve the muscles we made quick work of multiple "masses" (1 litre glasses of beer), sausages and potato salad.  My Munich friends would have been proud!  Unfortunately, shortly after the festivities started, the rain started pouring down and didn't let up until we left Zermatt the next morning.  All in all, it was an incredible long weekend full of adrenaline, adventure and fond memories.  Can't wait to come back during the ski season!