Trail Addiction's newest base, Destination X (Arêches-Beaufort) is away from the crowds, away from resort infrastructure, but slap in the middle of hundreds of kilometres of barely-known alpine singletrack, allowing new ground to be broken in that never-ending quest for that ultimate, all-mountain ride.
The huge shuttle possibilities, the itinerant nature and quantity of singletrack, the crazy views, the friendly people, the great food and accommodation in this part of the world are just some of the ingredients which make Destination X a definite one for the bucket list!
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The French are indeed a law to themselves,a fact that had really annoyed me for many years,but now i have the up most respect for !
Why have you been neg propped for pointing this out ????????????????????????????
Getting caught high in the Alps in a thunder-storm is fairly seriously, I agree - however, escape is often easier in the Alps (with roads and refuge in most valleys) and really once the warning signs start to show you should be modifying you day to avoid been caught high up (weather forecasts are generally accurate in the Alps and the warning signs of a late afternoon storm as often present by lunch-time). In Scotland the weather changes far faster and is more unpredicatable, forecasts are poorer and often escape is more difficult. Also rescue is harder, a storm will clear quickly, however, in Scotland frontal weather systems can last days.
My point really is, that if you can MTB guide in the Scottish Mountains safely, then there is no reason why your skills don't transfer to trails in the French Alps. As to whether the SMBLA qualification on it's own ensures a guide is capable of guiding safely in harsh Scottish conditions - that's another argument.
Even in South Wales less than 20 minutes from a city we had a rider crash on a secret track and from all accounts it took pretty much every emergency service available a very long time to get the guy out simply because there is no access to that part of the track and they aren't set up for that sort of rescue, whereas I guess in the Alps it's every day's business.
In the video, at 1:30 you see one of the guides followed by a kid in a black T-Shirt. The kid is the son of the local bike shop owner. He is 12 years old and an absolute shredder, bags if talent. Though I guess you would be if that was your back garden.
Just the past summer i organized with a bunch of friends, a 4 days tour in Queyras (france) and it has been fantastic!!!!!!