Autumn's Last Gasp: Last Minute Adventures in the French Alps

A few weeks ago in the Northern French Alps, it looked like winter was never coming. Riding high in the mountains at the start of November was still completely possible, and so looking out of the kitchen window one Sunday morning we decided we should head up to ride the best descent in the valley. For whatever reason, we'd not made it up there at all during the summer and we were keen to squeeze it in before the snow really arrived. With the descent starting at 2,400m, we thought there might have a little snow, but we were certain the main descent would be fine.

There's no lift-access for this one, just a good long chunk of hike-a-bike. What normally takes 1h30 took double the time when we discovered that the top of the access trail had turned into a well-filled snowy couloir of near-doom even with only a little snow on flatter ground. Nevertheless, we persevered. We knew it was worth continuing for the descent that awaited, but it was definitely a bit scary. One slip and you'd be sliding an awfully long way. Luckily, as we thought, the main descent was snow free and in perfect loamy condition. Sooo good, even if we did have to switch off the cameras and switch on the lights as we made our way down!