"One of the most astounding mountain bike adventures of our lives."

Senior Bike Magazine corespondent Mitchel Scott recounts one of our first mountain bike trips to Switzerland's Valais region and the legendary story that followed. Click on over to pinkbike.com, sit back and enjoy Mitch's words and Sterling Lorence's amazing imagery.

Shandro & Simmons at first light just up from Panchard's chalet in Haute Nendaz.

Pura Vida DH: new dates & details.

Are you looking to get away this winter for some gravity mountain biking? How about a place where you can wear a t-shirt in February, where descents are on private trails and can take an hour (or more), where beers cost around $1, where your guide is a legendary rider and trail builder and ultimate host...and post trip...you can leave your bike behind, grab your surf shorts, sunscreen and not much else and hit one of the world's finest beaches for some deserved R&R, or surfing, or dancing, or yoga, or...whatever? This place is Costa Rica. We're excited, our legendary eight-day Pura Vida DH trip will be offered five times this winter for groups of two to four (yes, that right! SMALL groups!!) for $1895 USD. Click here for all the details. Or drop us an email to see what availability is on your preferred date.

Sombrio's Dave Watson getting away from the Canadian winter.

Costa Rica's coast is BEAUTIFUL. Deserve some beach time after a mtb holiday!

What has mountain biking taught you?

Check this short film out. Great shots. Now let's get out and ride!

6 things to remember when going on a destination trip.

Ride lots leading up to your trip, you can never be in good enough shape. Typically on a destination trip the fitness required for a single day is not a problem for most. Where you'll shine however is when the days accumulate, and then throw in some altitude, some climbing and a big day (or two) in the saddle and you'll be happy that you arrived fit.

Talk to your tour operator about the technical ability required on the trip and the specifics of the riding. Is the riding in the desert of Morocco and generally dry and loose and midly technical singletrack and doubletrack? Or is the trip all-mountain in BC with an emphasis on going downhill where the trails are rocky and rooty? This information will ensure that you are able to handle the riding, or if you'll need to spruce up on your riding skills with a local riding coach.

Is your bike ready? Make sure that your bike is ready and know what tweaks to make. This goes along with the above point. A good tour operator should know the best tires to bring, if a shorter stem might be a good idea, or bars with a substantial rise. And definitely don't get your bike serviced just before leaving, have at least a few rides on it before putting in the box.

Get travel and medical insurance. If you break your pinky three days before flying to Peru and have to cancel travel insurance will reimburse you for your flight and land cost. If you go down on the trip and need to get home, medical insurance will cover expenses. It's best to kick down and get the most comprehensive packages that include heli-evac and more. Afterall, we're mountain bikers and what we do is risky.

Packing your bike is easy. Well, it's not as hard as you think. There are more options than ever for bike boxes: Crateworks, EVOC and Dakine are good considerations. Or, you could swing down to your local bike shop and get a large cardboard box which works fine (they'll even pack your bike too if you want). Unfortunately expect to pay an additional fee to the airline to take your bike, usually between $50-$200 each way. Or you can have Bike Flights ship your bike for you.

Just below the Italian/Swiss border.

One of the best parts of going on an overseas trip with your mountain bike is the dreaming and planning. Take the time to do some research on your destination and read up on the history, culture and sights. And, of course spend lots of time dreaming about the great singletrack and adventures that lays ahead.

Endless Summer.

It's that time of the year when leaves start falling, days become noticeably shorter and cooler. Soon, it'll be wintertime and our bikes will lay dormant for months. What better way to keep the mountain bike stoke going that to book an amazing Costa Rica mountain bike trip this winter. Our new Peaks & Beaches all-mountain trip which is designed for intermediate-level riders and above departs from San Jose on February 25, cost $1795 USD. For downhill riders, our amazing Pura Vida DH trips run Dec 10, Jan 8, Feb 18, Mar 10 & April 14 which cost $1895 USD. Get inspired and see what's it's all about with this video shot by Ride Guide. Your host is Paulo Valle, there's no one better to show you the trails and a great time in Costa Rica! Pura Vida.

Three things we love about Italy.

If you've been to Italy, then you know the Piaggio Ape. Bad ass. Piaggio need to bring the bad boy back into production. I got my first ride just this past spring on our new Bella Riviera DH trip and let me tell you it was memorable. Typically driven by an old guy, these little three wheelers can carry everything from peaches and even grapefruits. Big, juicy pay load. Look closely, this little nug has mano-a-mano hand painted on the front and door, one yielding a blade. Ape.

Guys in white pants and guys white shorts talking by a fountain. Guy white in shorts: "The climb," he said, "it was insane. You wouldn't believe how steep it was." Guy in white pants: "No shit eh? I love your shorts man." No disrespect at all boys, full props to let'ner fly.

 

Like architecture and history? Italy has amazing buildings that we'd only dream of back home. Check this out, the Duomo in Catania Sicily that was originally built in 1078 but destroyed many times by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 1078? A little reminder that we're all here for just a short time, best enjoy it and take care of your surroundings so that the next generation can enjoy it...

On going downhill.

Pro rider and Big Mountain guide Stephen Matthews shares some experience of going downhill on NSMB.COM. 

Behind Big Mountain Adventures.

The way we rolled back in '77.

Growing up in my family, riding bikes was a part of life. My earliest memories of pedalling were on the back of a tandem with custom cranks for my short legs; my dad at the helm and my younger brother in a baby seat hanging off the back. My parents ran their first cycling trip in 1972 in England and Wales and photos from those days show plastic hockey helmets and afros, cut-off jeans and white cotton socks pulled up high. Next year, their company, Cycleventures Bicycle Tours will celebrate 40 years of running European bike trips, they were pioneers. Itching to explore, I moved west to Whistler as soon as i could and I hit the mountains on fire. The community of passionate riders inspired me like an artist's first trip to Paris. I could not believe the energy; scores of people were building epic signature trails, creating innovative films, capturing groundbreaking photos and pushing the limits of all things mountain biking. In the summer of 1998 my roomate Paddy Kaye and I hatched up the idea of a new mountain bike event. We called it Joyride and the world's first bikercross, and later slopestyle, was held. We invited the best to Whistler for this first time - Lopes, Chausson, Peat, Gracia who came and never looked back. A few years later our event morphed into Kokannee Crankworx which took off. They even brought the name back this year as Red Bull Joyride with Paddy as the course designer who is now a bike park builder with Joyride Bike Parks which is super cool.

Red Bull Joyride - Official Event Video - More Mountain Bike Videos

Enamored by the Alps.

Like a teenagers first love, i turned my sights to the Swiss Alps in 2003. I was instantly blown away by the potential; the country was a giant lift-accessed bike park with endless singletrack peppered with cosy mountain huts linked by trains and roads. I could not believe my eyes, almost no one was riding, or if they were, they were rocking fluro tights on fully rigid bikes climbing and descending dirt roads. The trend in Whistler at the time was jeans, heavy freeride bikes and big airs from the local school roof to flat. I labored my big bike in the Alps that summer and returned home with lofty dreams - Big Mountain Adventures was born. My vision was to re-invent guided mountain biking and meld the latest technology with worldclass riding in a seemlessly orchastrated dream-trip; ripping singletrack, a sprinkle of culture, an intimate knowledge of each region and riding style, great cuisine and wine and the very best guides possible. Riders like Joe Schwartz and Wade Simmons joined in to make the experience unreal. Nearly a decade later and Big Mountain offers epic cross-country, all-mountain and DH trips in 14 countries. The adventure continues...

Beautiful New Zealand.

Welcome to Nepal.

At Big Mountain, we know that successful mountain bike trip is the result of a team effort, a well-executed symphony of details that results in a trip of a lifetime. There's absolutely no doubt that our guides are paramount in this success. They're the ones changing flats for you, showing you the best trails that you've ever experienced, uncovering local secrets and chatting with you at dinner time - and a whole lot more. Next month we have a group off to Nepal on our Himalaya Heights all-mountain trip. Along with Whistler-based Big Mountain guide Seb Kemp, the group will be hosted by a team local professionals. We'd proud to introduce you Thagendra Gurung who will be at the helm of Himalaya Heights:

Thagendra Gurung was born in one of the remote villages of Matsyapokhari in eastern Nepal. He grew up there in an ordinary family, going to the village primary school and working hard as a farmer. When he finished school he came to Kathmandu to work. He was interested in working in tourism, beginning first as a porter supporting trekking groups, including work in on a bike trek, a trip during which he fell in love with mountain bikes. Today he has been mountain biking and guiding in Nepal and abroad for almost two decades. He is one of the pioneers of mountain biking in Nepal and he has consistently opened up new trails and areas for biking and biking tours over the years. He owns and operates his own biking company and does some freelance guiding for groups who are up for something beyond the ordinary.

Ready for action!

Training completed: -

1. Guide Training Course
2. Basic Computer Course
3. English Language Course

Experience with the following biking adventures: -

1. Lhasa - Kathmandu  (Tibet and Nepal)
2. Xingjiang (China)
3. Karakoram highway (Pakistan)
4. Annapurna (Nepal)
5. Tilicho, Highest Lake (Nepal)
6. Langtang - Gosaikunda (Nepal)
7. Arun Valley (Nepal)
8. Taplejung-Ilam (Eastern Nepal)
9. Bike tours in the Swiss Alps, North Italy, South France, Ardeche and Prynees

Countries visited abroad: -

1. Europe : - France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, Nether land and Switzerland
2. Asia: -  China, Thailand, India, and Pakistan

When it counts.

A few weeks ago a private group of clients from California arrived in Vancouver BC for a custom guided 9-day mountain bike adventure. I'd ridden with this crew in Switzerland, the BC Kootenay region and the Yukon Territory and each of these trips were a huge success. All time. The pressure was on. As it is for all of our trips, I planned to show them the best of the best in our region. We'd ride the Whistler valley, the Whistler Bike Park, Squamish, Pemberton, the Chilcotins and North Vancouver all in one swoop. Like our scheduled Sea to Sky trip, but on steroids. These guys are strong too, so the line-up of planned rides was spectacular. Our biggest ride was one for the books...

 

8:45 AM. Watching the plane leave us and our bikes on the shore of a remote lake. And the realization that civilization is a long way away...across glacial streams, up and over two big passes and through some very remote backcountry.

10:30 AM. Cresting the first pass on a sun cupped snow field. It's always fun to feel snow beneath your cleats on a big ride. It was a big snow year in BC so there's more around than usual.

 

10:45 AM. When you have to carry everything on your back for a long and arduous day every once of weight counts. Have you tried Clif Bar's Shot Blocks? These little tasty treats are packed with tons of energy, just what we needed to keep going.

 

11:00 AM. "With great effort comes great reward." Who said that anyway? Brilliant. True eh? The very finest things in life, the ones that stick with you and really have an impact - take effort. This descent stuck.

11:30 AM. One of the many fine things about mountain biking is the places that you stop to refuel. I'd been to this little spot a few times before. It's special. A grassy meadow with a fork in the trail. Go straight and it's about five more hours, go right and it's another seven. We went right.

1:45 PM. At this point you're wondering who the fuck decided to take this route and why you didn't go on that fucking resort holiday instead. But then you get to the top, high-five your buddies and do a 360 turn and realize that you're very fucking alive.

6:45 PM. This is Peter. He's smiling because he's an animal. No really, he's super fit and loves pain. Ten hours later. We did it. Actually he's smiling because we put a cooler full of beer on ice in the van. Smart thinking.

New Italy DH trip. Check this out.

Coming next spring....

Would you ride the Himalayas with Seb Kemp?

As you may or may not know, globetrotting mountain biker cum-journalist-guide-coach extra-ordinaire Seb Kemp joined Stephen Matthews this past August as co-guide of our infamous Switzerland Alpenrock DH trips. He also co-drove the boat on an epic private Sea to Sky trip in our backyard, riding Whistler, Pemberton, Squamish, the Chilcotins and the Sunshine Coast. From all accounts across the board, Seb was a huge asset with his amazing coaching, guiding and riding skills and super sense of humour. And he's patient. Intelligent. He's top notch. We're so happy that Seb's joined our team here at Big Mountain Adventures that we've asked him to head over to the Himalayas next month to co-guide our Himalaya Heights Nepal mountain bike trip. I think that this group is in for a rocking good time on and off the bike as Kemp will surely keep things fresh and definitely memorable. That's what good life's all about though eh? Riding bikes and having fun. Plus, professional photographer Dan Barham's on this trip. All time eh?
Get inspired, read some of Seb's fine words and far-out thoughts from his blog "2FLAT: Insipid tales of a terrible child." Seb's account of Day 1 of the Las Vegas Interbike show, courtesy of nsmb.com.

Seb's beautiful wife Brandii.

Some funny interviews from the Interbike show courtesy of Mr. Kemp:

#FOUR - Interbike QUESTION OF THE DAY from nsmb.com on Vimeo.

Specialized in Zermatt.

A little heavy on the Stumpjumper but that's OK, we'll let it slide this time. Berrecloth, Sam Hill, Burry Stander and Christophe Sauser riding Zermatt a few weeks ago. Some great shots but it looks like they should have had a guide to show them the way!
Want to come DH'ing with us next summer? Stay tuned for our 2012 Alpenrock DH dates. Or, maybe some all-mountain riding is more up your alley? Cloudraker is what you need.

Planes, trains and automobiles.

A great article by Big Mountain Adventures guide Stephen Matthews from the front lines in Switzerland. Check it out here on NSMB.COM.

Shooting the Alps with Anthill.

We're just wrapping up a very successful film shoot in the Alps with Anthill Films for their next movie Strength in Numbers. What a trip. Man. Pretty much a dream trip. There was talk thrown around of "best segment ever." We'll have to see i guess. Here's a few photos that i took. There's more to come...

I like this photo. Looks like Hunter is just chilling in the sun.

Photographer Mattias Fredrikson and Anthill's Darcy Wittenburg at work.

Hunter & Simmons in the big mountains. Highest of high class dudes.

Huntor leaning it over in warm evening light.

Free goodies from Chromag.

We had the pleasure of handing out to participants of our Switzerland Alpenrock DH mountain bike trips the best handlebars in the business, OSX Fubars and a killer seat, the Lynx DH - both from Whistler-based Chromag. If you'd not tried wider bars yet, do. You'll never go back. And you might as well lay that touch of yours down onto something stylee and comfy eh? Here's what unfolded when the goodies where distributed...thanks to super guides Seb Kemp & Stephen Matthews!

Mustaches are cool.

Nice bars.

Moustaches are cool.

Best day ever.

Today was unreal. No seriously. We're in Switzerland right now guiding the crew from Anthill Films around the Alps and we'd been waiting for this day to fire up the helicopter and shoot riders Matt Hunter, Wade Simmons and local rider Ludo May. Full blue skies with a dusting of fresh snow on the peaks and big mountain singletrack lined up. Watch for Anthill's next movie, Strength in Numbers coming up next April and sit back and see what we captured today, you'll be inspired. Swedish photographer Mattias Fredriksson is also along with us so keep your eyes peeled for stunning photos from the Swiss Alps in your favorite magazine.

Hunter and Simmons getting ready for another day at the office.

A ridgeline shot from the heli. Wait until you see the video version of this line...

Five reasons why mountain biking rocks.

 FIVE REASONS WHY MOUNTAIN BIKING ROCKS.

1. You get to hang out with your friends and shred.
2. Mountain bikes take you to very beautiful places.
3. The latest bikes are well-tuned off-road Ferraris.
4. Exercise makes you feel great.
5. Adrenalin pumping good times.

Squamish & Pemberton.

Even from the sunny Swiss Alps we're still digesting last week's BC all-mountain trip out of Vancouver. Ahhh, so very nice. Here are a few photos from the nugget towns of Squamish and Pemberton.

Bridges are part of riding in BC. This one in Squamish is wide and friendly.

The group reliving some of the day.

Pemberton's Mosquito Lake is a perfect temperature right now, just cool enough.

Mt. Currie looms like a wall above the Pemberton Valley.