Colin Stewart - All Mountain riding like you've never seen it!

 Preference. I think it looks like fun, but from experience I can imagine how it takes forever to get up top (needing to hike-a-bike much of the way), but just being able to ride down something so tough that it is virtually impossible to ride up gives a good adrenaline rush. The high you feel afterwards is amazing. I don't get that feeling riding fast rolling and twisty stuff. I admit I'm not much of a speed demon though... only time I go beyond 25 mph for long periods is on pavement.

 agreed or at least they don't need to be done on every turn on a trail.

 The trail was super steep and the endo turn allows you to turn sharp without slipping out!
I use it a lot here in Japan too as the trails are also vey steep and rocky!
I think the riders in the video also did not want to take their feet off. I agree with them but admit it did get tedious on every turn.
Good job to all the riders!
RideOn!

 Agreed,

More impressive than an endo turn is making the turn without having to do an endo turn.

 I rode this trail in the first vid last year and I must say it has a lot of flow, as long one can ride it ( I did not ride all of those wooden stairs...).
It was a lot of fun, and we rode with Fabi and Col an easier/faster trail the other day and I had trouble to keep up with them. So not all of it is this front-wheel cornering and hopping around.

 Dh-pete. Different people look for different things in biking For me personaly there's too much people looking just for fun. Even in smaller more forgiving mountains looking for pure fun is actually looking for trouble. One you don't want to have because you don't realize how close it is. For flow and fun you go to the bike parks and singletracks. These guys seem to like to be in the trouble - I would love to have such skills to ride in such places.

 I tell you that they have enough flow. You have seen short part of these trails.. Believe me, not whole the routes I look like these difficult passages. And there are people for whom bikepaks are boring

 Dh Pete: Slow tech is it own style that's WAY under rated if you ask me. I live in CO where 95% of riders share your opinion that a trail is no fun unless it flows fast, preferably with options to air it out. I personally love that style too, but also love slow tech just as much if not more. Doing nose pivots, endo turns.. whatever you want to call it, opens up another world of trails that otherwise wouldn't be ridable. A trail that seems to lack flow becomes fluid when you can ride a nose wheelie into a tight turn. It's just a different style, not everyone's cup of tea, but until you give it a try, you'll never know if you'll get in to it?

 WAKI : I understand that people look for different things in biking, I respect that. But ultimately we're all doing this for fun. I don't know of anyone who'd drag themselves out of bed and hike up that far with the aim of not enjoying themselves.

Cofattire : I said a trail without flow is a trail without fun. This doesn't require nothing but groomed, flat out flow. Definitely not! Although airtime is never something to be passed off! I don't hate this riding, and I've done this sort of decent albeit less technical, but that nose pivoting is just one of those things I don't enjoy. It's a skill, and is one to master. But like I said before, it lacks progression, there is no fast way around it, it's a repetitive task of stopping, pivoting and balancing. Something more for a trials bike than a mountain bike.

I don't have anything against the riding, even if I don't enjoy it. My point is it doesn't translate well on video, not to me at least.

 Each to their own. If it's not your thing it's not your thing. Most riders I ride with totally agree with you, I personally love this style of riding and love watching it. That's the cool thing about our sport: so many different styles you never get bored.

 agreed, can you imagine taking a bail and needing medical help? Awesome vids, the scenery is mindblowing!

 Damn this shit is sick!

 @Colin:
Congratulations! ;-)

@dirty-fecker:
They have been criticized in the press? Can you give some examples? I just remember something the other way round. By chance Colin once met an editor from a local paper who was quite impressed and wrote some short but positive notes about it.
The only bad press I have heard from was about riding the Watzmann. Quite understandable I must say. But that has nothing to do with Colins works.
Concerning the alleged irresponsible behavior. This is a prejudice I only heard once from very eldlerly hikers who really had troubles to get down the mountain and just could not imagine us riding down the same path.
However, isn't it a quite limited view of the world? Because I can't do or understand it, so everybody else who can is crazy and irresponsible?!
This kind of alpine riding is done just by a small number of very advanced or expert riders. We are respecting hikers and nature and don't throw ourselves into risky stunts. There's no room for that in the mountains and everyone knows that.

 @AlpineTrailhunter
Don't get me wrong here. I have full respect for what these Guys do and their capabilities. The Vertriders in Innsbruck have been around for quite some time and are pushing the limits of our sport.The Problem lies with all the "Copycats" who put themselves into situations that they can't handle, who haven't planned or researched their routes and are badly equiped ! Now that is irresponsible ! As a climber I see too many people on the Mountain who should not be there and this is sinking into Mountainbiking too.
Apologies also for the my comment about Bad Press. I did not mean to refer to this group of Riders specifically, about whom I have read several (positive) Reports. Generally there are too many Riders now riding in places they should not be and where they are over their limits. This has lead to a lot of discussion and criticism, as well as Trail closures in the Alps which of course has resulted in negative Press which we Bikers just don't need !

Of course I think you lot are crazy ! And yes you're right , I can't ride like that ;-)

My Comment was meant to be more general and not a direct critic of the Riders portrayed here. My Apologies .

 @dirty-fecker:
Alrighty! Now I know what you mean.

And I must admit to be a bit sensitive due to the recent discussion in the IBC ...

 The Negative Props I'm now getting are probably from exactly those people that I mean !

 Ridiculous riding!

 I'm also a climber for 30 years so I do have the mountaineering background required to be in these environments. I have led WI6 ice, British E5 trad, Yosemite off-widths, numerous Alpine peaks. Also kayaked for many years on class V water in Europe, Scotland, Norway. Eventually I got into MTB because it was much safer As far as climbing is concerned it's been the same for a long while about inexperienced climbers (& skiers) being out of their depth but the DAV, kletterhalle's, mountain huts, etc... do make it much easier these days for people to get into those situations, don't you think? But I'm digressing. The riders that I go with have as much mountain experience as me, if not more, and they even grew up in these areas. They're certainly not reckless or irresponsible. As far as I'm aware the only bad press I've had is a letter written to the local Garmisch newspaper by an old lady who saw a picture of me on a bike above Garmisch - she may have just liked my shorts and wanted to get my attention. Nearly worked ;-)

greets,
Colin.

 Can only agree as too what you say about the DAV (German Alpine Federation), Climbing Halls etc.... The DAV profit from running MTB courses and TransAlp trips (i.e. making it easier for people to get into the mountains) but are then one of the first groups to start shouting about the reckless Bikers :-(

 Precisely;-)

Funny name by the way, you based in Munich?

 just commenting on this so then i can go go show comment - news- then click on link to story, so i can watch all the videos when i have more time.

 I see Dirty-fecker your intentions are honest but well...

It doesn't really matter whether you are a hiker or a mountain biker. Every year during hikes I see many idiots (in political correction language: irresponsible people) on Via Ferrata type of trails, in sneakers, without any warm clothing, no food. Walking alone. You can have a +20 on a summer day, yet still if something happens to you, really simple like slipping, breaking a leg, knocking yourself uncoscious, making you spend a night over 2000m -> you can get seriously screwed if just in a T-Shirt and shorts. Even worse are those who overthink the whole thing! Crap I saw two people walking a difficult exposed trail tied together with a rope! They were either EMO (you go I go) or just plain stupid Alpine Style wannabies...

You can't do anything about it - some people are stupid. They risk their lives, and the only ones I am sorry for is their families and the rescue teams. RESPECT THE MOUNTAINS - spread that message it's all you can do.

 saw some vods and some pods

 In general, singletracks are illegal almost everywhere in Germany and the Alps. Fortunately it is widely tolerated. But because our country is more densely populated, we have to be especially considerate towards hikers.
We also have explicit bans that should be respected. But the alpine trails aren't affected usually (if they don't belong to a French national park at least ). Because nobody imagines us riding them! Besides there aren't many riders willing to shoulder their bike for hours and hours ...

However, we really have the problem that we aren't legally allowed to ride single tracks anywhere (except in bike parks and on specially build trails in some touristic regions).

 ...and unfortunately too many Riders ( even if it's only a small minority ) abuse the already precarious situation and get us all stress. The Isar Trails in Munich ( Last Video ) are the perfect example of how it can all go wrong :-(

 Yea amateurs make it worse for everyone. Especially rude arrogants destroying trails due to the lack of skill. I like the ambassador idea: being nice to people you meet, stopping if necessary, smiling and having a chat, but most of all not destroying trails by skidding or braking with locked wheel. They should cut balls to people that destroy trees or cut new lines on public trails.

 However to be very honest I always tend to think in politicaly incorrect way: you like your trails, you care for them: don't share them!

 @Waki: so true!

 rob swoje i sie nie przejmuj. . W Alpy daleko ale na UA juz masz blizej i taniej,. a umiejetnosci mozna poprawiac nawet w poblizu domu

 err... brainfart *DOWNHILL mountain biking*

 Very observant of you ! At least you ride a Santa Cruz bullit !

 Arczii what did just bite you?

 @ WAKIdesigns:
I said: these wonderful films are known for a long time. I saw it on Vimeo long time ago . But pinkbike and others do not know nothing about this type of riding. This is not the mainstream of MTB, but for several years, the riders from Germany and Austria do this. I do not know who was the first ... Maybe vertriders, maybe not ....
These low cost vids are 100 time are better than the well known , boring and expensive productions . I have enough a movie, with the flying bicycles, in which each scene was preceded by dozens of trials

@wholeeoh07 : Poorly observant of you . look at my profile more carefully

 Yes I know they are on PB for some time, though I don't know if they were so well known. I just didn't understand your questionable going on the "Americans"

 Now that was stupid. Did you even read all of his posts or just the first one?