Never stop exploring: the Yukon Territory.

For years I’d heard the stories from close friends who’d lived in the Yukon, friends who described the place passionately with hands and arms flailing and eyes wide open and alive, “the views are like nothing you’ve ever seen with endless untouched forests, pristine rivers and lakes and big and inviting mountain ranges everywhere,” they’d tell me. “You can basically walk out your door to 1000 miles of nature all around you.” I listened with keen interest as I’ve always been into outdoor adventure. 

And then came the larger-than-life stories of characters that they’d met in the Yukon. “There’s this one guy that I became friends with who’s a total animal on skis,” recalled Anthony, who’s now back in Montreal. “Basically he was this unknown and unassuming guy who all but walked out of the woods and decided on a whim to compete in a national cross-country race and he destroyed the world-class field of competitors. And he did the same thing in a cross-country mountain bike race too. We climbed and skied all kinds of mountains together - you have to meet him!” The stories continued, the years passed and as it happens, these friends of mine no longer live in the Yukon.

Then I met Ray. Ray is one of the most passionate and warm-hearted people that I have ever crossed paths with. And guess what? He told me similar stories – the epic adventures to be had, the amazing people and the unreal natural landscape all around. And just like my friends before, when he described the Yukon he spoke with reckless passion – arms flailing and eyes glowing - he was practically dancing when he talked about the place. Then he invited me up, and I went. We mountain biked and our trip was magical.

10 YEARS.

This is a photo compilation that was posted on Pinkbike.com back in May of this year. We figured that since the year was coming to an end we'd bring it back. Enjoy!

This photo-essay shares a few highlights from Big Mountain Advenures (BMA), the Whistler-based mountain bike tour company that turns 10 this year. This is a brief history for Big Mountain, but really its roots started growing back in the early-70's...

Circa 1977, BMA founder Chris Winter getting a taste of cycling tours from the back of his dad's custom tandem on a month-long camping trip with 30 high school kids. Winter's pioneering parents started running road bike trips in 1972 to Europe and Canada's maritime provinces. The company, called Cycleventures still exists today, 41 years later.

The wheels were set in motion for the idea of developing an international mountain bike travel company during the winter of 2001 while eating fondue and drinking wine in a little chalet perched above the town of Haute Nendaz, in the Swiss Alps. Winter met local Francois Panchard earlier that year on the internet as he researched riding options in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The two hit it off like old friends and realized that they both shared a passion for mountain biking and exploring new terrain. In this 2002 photo, Paddy Kaye, Ryan Bowland & Winter ride the Col de Mines, Verbier, Switzerland.

 On this first exploratory trip Panchard eagerly dragged Kaye, Bowland and Winter all over his local mountains, linking up rides with buses, trains, lifts and a shuttle truck. Panchard’s bike that year was a 25 pound fully rigid with v-brakes that he climbed like the wind. The bikes of choice in Whistler at the time were heavy overbuilt freeride bikes with double-crown forks and 3” tires built for jumping off roofs and big stunts. And jeans and flannel shirts as riding apparel. Needless to say, the Whistler crew got worked pretty hard on that first trip, but they still returned blown away by the riding. This photo is Winter taking trip notes after a long stretch of back to back big epics in the Alps. Tired, but very happy.

 In Switzerland every ride requires a map and serious logistical planning to link the details together. Besides the amazing rides, what stood out for the Canadians was the lack of riders they saw on any given day and the unreal transportation network. And unlike riding in Whistler, every ride in Switzerland is a high alpine epic accessed by a lift or paved road usually with a cafe at the top. Each day became a top 10 of all time. In this photo, Panchard & Blaise Mettan scope new lines in their backyard.

 Winter was so excited about his Swiss experiences that he and Panchard hatched up a grander adventure for the next year, 2003. Panchard dubbed it the Crazy Canuck Freeride Challenge (CCFC) based on the ambitious itinerary and the all-star crew of fired-up BC riders and local Swiss riders invited. This photo shows the modest view from their digs in Zermatt and JJ Desormeaux heading out for a day of big mountain riding on his Chromag on singletrack that could not have been closer to the front door.

 Panchard laid out an ambitious riding itinerary that encompassed rides that overlooked Lake Geneva to rides on the doorstep of Mont Blanc and a long list of loops on both flanks of the Rhone valley through Martigny, Sion, Sierre and onto Brig and Zermatt. Many of the rides had barely seen bikes. This 2003 pic is Squamish-based Chad "The Champ" Onyschuk hanging it out on the Dent de Morcles. A hike-a-bike to end all hike-a-bikes that led to an extra large descent.

Nights on the CCFC were spent packed into his small chalet pouring over maps, listening to techno music, drinking too much beer and wine, or spent in a mountain hut, drinking too much beer and wine. In this photograph night had fallen, the group had ridden a massive day and had caught the very last lift, just in the nick of Swiss time, to an alpine hut for the night. Panchard (second from left with beer in hand) set the bar very high on the CCFC, and it was met with great enthusiasm as the smiling Sean Dinwoodie attests.

Guides Joe Schwartz & Chris Winter descend the final stretch to the Hotel La Vallee in Lourtier, Switzerland, Big Mountain Adventures' European headquarters in the heart of the Alps. The hotel is run by the skiing and mountain biking Pellissier family who are the warmest mountain hosts after a big day of riding.

This photo is Big Mountain Adventures' backyard, exploring deep into BC's South Chilcotins region with good friends and a flight from Tyax Air. BMA has spent a decade exploring some of the far reaches of the earth in search of great singletrack and great trips. Each time the crew returns home though, the riding and culture out its front door become just a little sweeter. The company also run some impressive itineraries out of Vancouver that encompass Squamish, Pemberton, Whistler, the South Chilcotins and the North Shore.

Fall '04 was their first trip to Morocco led by Montreal-based Dave MacDougall who’d been guiding and living in Marrakech on and off for a decade. After an amazing eight days of remote desert riding, on a whim, MacDougall had this first group climb North Africa's highest peak, Mount Toubkal. A side-trip that goes down in the books. BMA knew that this would be the first of many visits to Morocco. Here, Andrew Shandro is seen flying high in remote mountains on the edge of the Sahara while Vanderham carves a giant red wall while filming for The Collective.

Early in ‘05 a big crew left the snow and rain of Coastal BC and headed south to the palm trees Costa Rica to ride with legendary San Jose-based guide Paulo Valle. The trip ended with a few deserved days of surf and sun on the worldclass beaches of the Nicoya Peninsula. Since then Valle has hosted hundreds of BMA riders and created lifelong memories. In this photo Valle admires a killer view in his beautiful country.

 Along with leading trips for clients, BMA also produces corporate and media events. Here, locals Fabio Bernardi & Paolo Tossi drop down to their beautiful hometown, Cortina D'Ampezzo while researching routes for a Trek Bicycles event in 2012.

 Peru remains one of Big Mountain's most popular destinations. It's for good reason, it's one of the best places to mountain bike on the planet. The Andes are extra grande, the second biggest mountain range the world. Add the fact that their mountains are arid, that the Incas happened to be master trail builders and you've got a recipe for a whole lot of good times on a mountain bike. Rider: Justin Mark.

 For a number of years Big Mountain ran a mountain bike safari trip in South Africa and Botswana where you'd ride from luxury camp to luxury camp in a 70,000 acre game reserve. Kinda like being inside the cages of a zoo, except without the fences. The trip is no longer, at least for the time being. This photo is a group racing the sun back to camp. When the sun sets in Botswana the predators come out to hunt. Lions, leopards; a different kind of technical. It's a good thing guides carry big-ass guns just in case.

 Mr. Wade Simmons with Chile's Villarrica volcano looming in the background. Not all destinations have made the cut for a BMA trip. Chile is one of them, at least not yet. It has all the features of a world-class adventure mountain bike destination but its unique geography makes logistics difficult and expensive.

 This is mountain bike-crazy Rotorua, New Zealand. A truly great place to ride if you get the chance. Every town planner should go to Rotorua and take some notes in their Whakarewarewa Forest trail network. Task #1 is to figure out how to pronounce the name. They've created an extensive network of great trails within a concentrated area minutes from town. Easy climbs to trail heads, trails for all levels of riders and a killer shuttle service. The dirt there is pretty much perfect for trail building. Lucky them. Rotorua. Rocks.

Dropping down to dreamy Lahaina, Maui with Lanai island in the distance. There are pockets of good riding on Maui but not enough to warrant bringing your mountain bike instead of your surf board, yet. This is local mountain bike advocate 'Moose' leading the charge on a killer evening ride.

Wherever they travel, Big Mountain's mission is to support the local economy by partnering with the very best local guides and tour operators at its destinations. It also has had the pleasure of working with a number of celebrated guides like Joe Schwartz, Wade Simmons, Lorraine Blancher, Paulo Valle, Wayo Stein, Andreas Hestler, Seb Kemp, Louise Paulin and Stephen Matthews, to name just a few. Here, Kemp is right at home on the planet's biggest mountains, on BMA's Nepal 'Himalaya Heights' trip.

What's in store for the next decade at Big Mountain Adventures? Continue to fine-tune and improve their current roster of destinations, develop new itineraries and keep inspiring people to ride their bikes and love our sport. The search continues...

A huge buffed-singletrack-filled thanks to all the riders who've joined BMA on trips over the past decade. And more thanks to the amazing professional photographers that have shot our trips: Sterling Lorence, Blake Jorgenson, Harookz, Chris Christie, Scott Markewitz, Dan Barham, Ian Hylands, Bonny Makarewicz, Ilja Herb, Mattias Fredriksson, Christophe Margot & Adrian Marcoux. And BMA's amazing sponsors: Trek Bicycles, Sombrio, SRAM, Chromag & Smith Optics.

Preparing for your dream trip.

Our friends at VeloNews magazine recently published a special issue called Ultimate Ride Guide. Are you going on a mountain bike trip this year or planning one for 2013? Here are some handy tips on prepping for your big mountain bike adventure.

Pre-trip Training.

One of the biggest mistakes riders make it to approach a cycling trip like a final exam. You can’t pile on the training workload at the last minute like you're cramming for a test, it won’t work; you’ll just end up exhausted and slower than you were two weeks easlier. Instead, plan for your final high-volume and / or high-intensity training week to end 10-14 days before you leave for your trip. Whatever fitness you have at that last point is what youre going to have for your trip, and nothing you do in thsose final 10 days is going to give you more power or endurance. While you could say “the hay is in the barn” about 10 days out from departure, there are still plenty of ways you can burn the barn to the ground. Your actions and habits over those final 10 days can absolutely impact how rested and fresh you are for your mountain bike holiday, and that can have a significant influence on how much of your power you’re able to apply on the trail when it counts. You have to back off the number of hours you spend on the bike, but continue incorporating high-intensity efforts in those shorter and less frequent rides.

Your travel day.

Get a good nights sleep: don’t wait until the night before your trip to pack. You don’t want to be up until 1am packing and then have to wake up at 4:30 to get to the airport. The more rested you are for your travel day, the less stress you’ll place on your body as you endure the progression of planes, trains and automobiles the next day.

Eat clean.

There’s a lot of crappy food between your house and your final destination. You’ll feel better by avoiding heavy, high-fat options. To keep it simple, focus on consuming primarily water, raw fruits and vegetables and nuts during your travel day.

Stay clean.

You’ve been preparing for this trip for a long time so why risk it by picking up an illness in transit? Wash your hands frequently and keep them away from your face as much as possibly.

Pack for the worse-case scenario.

If the entire purpose of your trip is to be able to ride your bike at the other end, carry your helmet, shoes and pedals and one cycling kit in your carry-on. If your bike gets lost you can rent/borrow one. If your lugguage gets lost, at least you’ve got on complete kit and clothes on your back.

Getting the most out of your bike trip.

One of the best traval habits you can get into is to build your bike and go out for a 30-45 minute easy spin as soon as you arrive at your destination. You’re accomplishing a few things at once: you’re making sure that bike survived the baggage handlers’ best effofrts to destroy it, youre working out the stiffness and fluid retention issues associated with airline travel, and light exersive hels minimuze the impart of jet lag if you’ve crossed time zones. Don’t be the person who drives the pace or goes pounding up ever climb on Day 1 of a week-long trip, becsue no one wants to have to wait up for you on Day 5. If you have the opportunity to plan ahead, make Day 3 the big day of your trip, you’ve got a few days under your belt so you’ll feel smooth on the bike, but not so many miles in your legs that you’re suffering from excessive fatigue.

Above all, try and keep your trip in perspective. Most likely, you only get one big mountain bike vacation in a year, so do your best to let go of all the multitasking you normally do. Be a cyclist for a week, immerse yourself in the sport you love and soak in the sunshine, the scenery and the company of great friends. Ride as hard or as easy as you want, but do your best to disconnect from the numbers on your handlebars and connect with the human experience that only riding a mountain bike can provide.

Beauty day of mountain cycling in Whistler, BC.

We've just begun a private Sea to Sky mountain bike trip, a ten-day jaunt in our most beautiful backyard here in BC. Riding the nuggets of Whistler, Squamish, Pemberton, the Chilcotins and the Sunshine Coast with a little Whistler Bike Park thrown in there for good measure and an optional North Shore ride. What a line up! It's great to see our trails through the eyes of others. Check back here in the next week for more reports from the front lines.

Your amazing host: Seb Kemp.

A special day in paradise.

BC forests are unreal.