The SkiBike Shop

Looking back on the 2014-15 skibike season, it is easy to forget that it got off to such a terrible start. Many resorts had a green rather than a white Christmas, even a premium resort like Morzine was forced to bus their guests up to neighbouring Avoriaz where just a few runs were open and lift tickets were rationed. At Morillon, they opened the bare and rocky pistes to anyone that fancied a bit of out of season lift assisted mountain biking on Christmas Day.
Despite a big dump of snow on New Year's eve, the snow drought continued through January and the prospect of the season becoming a total write-off looked ever more plausible.

At the very end of January nature re-established the equilibrium and there were huge snowfalls that continued throughout February. I studied the forecasts and watched the webcams like a hawk; once I had completed all of my work commitments, I blocked booked my diary, packed the car and headed South to Geneva; better late than never!

Time to hit the road - better late than never

I had not been at all well during the winter months and wanted to start the tour with a gentle warm up day in the Jura mountains; blog tour stalwart Thierry drove over from the Aravis area to join me for a whirlwind tour of skibike friendly Col de la Faucille and Lelex / Le Crozet ski stations.

Blog stalwart Thierry

Without any pause for recovery we then had our first group ride of the season at La Clusaz, most of which I spent falling about in the snow and going head over heals in the low visibility.

I then had a couple of days in Sainte Foy, one of which was spent mostly in the company of Max, a skilled BMX rider, working there as a seasonaire. The look on his face when he saw me trudging towards him with not one, but two skibikes in tow, was priceless. His previous skibike experience had been riding his ghetto BMX skibike conversion on his local golf course in South Wales, so riding my skibike on the big mountain was quite a challenge, but one he soon warmed to.

Sainte Foy - skibike friendly, but freestyle skibikes were a novelty

Sainte Foy has historic connections with skibikes, but this was still the first time the lift operators had seen a freestyle skibike. They weren't sure it was wise to take one all the way to the very top of the mountain, but I soon proved the viability of skibikes as all mountain machines and made Sainte Foy the first new skibike friendly station of the season.

Buoyed up by my recent successes, I made a day trip to Tignes to check out whether it was once again skibike friendly. It turned out that you can legally ride skibikes, and can use the gondolas and cable cars for access. The down side is that you can only use the chairlifts with foot skis, which was frustrating, there's no way I will be regressing back to this method of riding and you can guess where all the really good riding was to be found. I ended up switching to skis, it would be great if Tignes caught up with the trend for easy skibike access everywhere, making it only half skibike friendly for the moment.

Tignes - you still can't do this with a freestyle skibike

Whilst in the area I made an expedition to La Plagne to prove its viability as a skibike friendly resort. It has been used by skibobs for many years, but the trip verified that you can also use a freestyle skibike with impunity. La Plagne was the second new skibike friendly resort of the season and fortunately wouldn't be the last either, can you sense a trend emerging?

La Plagne - the second new skibike friendly resort of this season

The venue for the next group ride was Avoriaz, it gave us a chance to scope out the adjacent runs at Châtel and Champery, although we didn't fully appreciate it they were two places we would be seeing more of in the coming weeks.

Avoriaz/Châtel - we would see more of this in the coming weeks

Some very stormy weather followed, but once the clouds had lifted I managed a laid back afternoon at Le Crozet, cruising around and loving the skibiking experience.

Le Crozet - loving the skibike experience

Feeling ready for fresh adventure I headed off the grid for an expedition to the small, isolated village of Areches Beaufort a charming little resort, which in many ways serves as a glimpse into a less commercial past. There's no modern glitz, no giant screens shouting advertising at you wherever you look, a pleasant relief from the marketing overload that so many bigger resorts can exhibit. The conditions weren't brilliant, but it was the third station with a positive attitude to skibiking I had found this season and will be worthy of a return visit next year.

Areches Beaufort - a charming little resort

I had a fun re-union taking giant steps walking on the moon with Kevin the deaf skibiker at Val Thorens. He didn't say a word to me for the whole day, but he laughed like a drain, especially if it involved me making slow motion falls or a really good face plant. Mmmm snow sandwich anyone?

Val Thorens - Kevin the deaf skibiker in action

Thierry and I then broke fresh ground with a trip to Les Arcs fixed in our cross-hairs. Les Arcs is also the self proclaimed "home of (French) snowboarding", this was the place where the snowboard broke out of the snow park and became accepted as an all mountain machine. To say that there are parallels with the history of modern freestyle skibiking would be an understatement. Once again it was totally skibike friendly, making it the fourth skibike friendly resort of the season.

Les Arcs - the fourth skibike friendly skibike of the season

Thierry, Stephane and I then made a visit to the Maurienne valley to enjoy the novelty of being able to skibike at Valloire, the fifth new skibike friendly resort of the season. Valloire has charm and a distinct Gallic/Italianate cross-over vibe, the lift infrastructure at was very good for a smaller resort and the attitude commendable. With easier access from Italy than France, it would make a great spot for a novice Italian skibiker from Milan or Turin to get in some riding experience.

Valloire - the sixth new skibike friendly resort of the season

I took a day off from skibiking and went house hunting in Morillon for a potential base camp for future tours and just maybe a place to retire to later in life.

House hunting in Morillon - a potential base camp for future tours?

I ended the first tranche of the tour by getting thoroughly chilled out on the Dole, drinking Myrtle beer in the car park and musing on the joys of having a great big snowy hill and a chair lift just 30 minutes from my Geneva base camp.

Chilled out drinking Myrtle beer!

Back in November I had spotted Jonathan's interest in skibing via Facebook, I couldn't resist the opportunity to introduce myself, in the vaguest hope that he would give skibiking a go, whilst in the company of some unknown and eccentric Rosbif in Combloux. Amazingly he went for it and even came back for a second bite later on in the tour.

Jonathan in Combloux

On the my last run I unwisely "went for it" on the Boarder Cross circuit, promptly overshot the banking and went sailing into the hillside at full tilt. Fortunately my head broke the fall!
I took a weeks hiatus and headed back to London as "Walking Wounded" to earn myself the cash to spend on "Part Deux" of the tour.

Back in the skibike saddle after a week off, I enjoyed my second ride with Jonathan at the ski station of Praz de Lys / Sommand he was rapidly turning into an off-piste monster!

Jonathan - smashing it at Praz de Lys

I then had an early start to join Thierry on a visit to Champery which was was a little different from the average tour day. Our objectives were; to meet with the operators of the lift company, do some test rides and show how skibikes can safely use the various types of chairlifts. All in the hope that by next season we will have another resort in the Portes du Soleil to ride.

We had passed the ski lifts of Châtel en route for our morning ride at Champery, so it would have been nothing short of churlish not to have stopped on the way back for an afternoon ride. Châtel has been SnowScoot friendly for a long time, more recently it has opened up to skibikes too, for both of us this would be our first opportunity to see how the theory would translate into practice. The trip was a resounding success and Châtel became the sixth new skibike friendly resort of the season.

Châtel - stopped in for a Saturday skibike ride

A second trip to Avoriaz which was somewhat of a reunion, blog co-writer Wayne had come out for a long weekend to join me and was joined by Thierry and John who had come all the way from the 3 Valleys. Group rides always have a different feel to solo expeditions, sometimes you are spurred on to get out of your comfort zone and try new things, like that black run that looked too steep for freestyle skibikes.

Avoriaz - group rides always have a different feel to solo expeditions

Continuing the theme of testing the skibike friendliness of sundry ski stations, my focus of interest shifted to the Les Sept Laux in the Chaîne de Belledonne, somewhat off the beaten track, although not really that remote. John travelled over from Les Menuires to join me and it turned out to be quite a large station, with plenty of variety, very quiet and peaceful and lots of good runs. It was another success and the seventh new skibike friendly station of the season.

Les Sept Laux - quite a large station with plenty of variety

Success at Les Sept Laux spurred me on to check out Chamrousse, another Chaîne de Belledonne ski station. Skibikes aren't officially permitted at this ski station, but they were happy to let me ride providing I had a safety leash. The weather was appalling, but my priority was to ride the eighth new skibike friendly station, tick the box and move on to the 3 Valleys.

Chamrousse - another skibike friendly ski station

This year was the first time someone has made me an offer I couldn't refuse and no the Mafia weren't involved, it was the chance to hang out in the company of fellow skibiker John in Les Menuires to do some easy riding all around the 3 Valleys domain. I would like to report that it was all plain sailing, but sadly that was not so and I have been left with the lasting impression that it was somewhat of a bitter-sweet experience.

The 3 Valleys with John - bitter-sweet

It was such a slow season to get started, but with fresh snowfall and a shift to much colder temperatures it seemed reluctant to end. The timing couldn't have been better for an Easter Monday jaunt to Valmorel in the company of John and Thierry which turned out to be the best riding of the season.

Valmorel - the best riding of the season

A message from Tim and Lesley to say that they were going to make an end of season trip to Morzine, provided a great reason to delay my departure and get in a final group ride of the season in Avoriaz. Due to slow post operative recovery Tim couldn't ride and Leslie wouldn't even consider it, instead I had to hang out with the skiers.

Avoriaz - hanging out with the skiers

So where could I find for the final ride of the tour? I pondered long and hard about where to go, I would have been happy with any of my local little Jura ski stations, but despite bountiful snow, they have all stayed firmly on schedule and already closed for the season. So instead I opted for the Grand Massif domain, which has in so many ways become a home from home.

So where could I find for the final ride of the tour?

I have always found a piece of music that sums up the vibe of a season's tour; this little ditty may not be the most current, but I heard it a couple times on French radio and the words seemed oddly appropriate to me after having I spent so much of this tour hunkering down in a guest or hotel room bed.

Today was a little different from the average tour day, Thierry is on a mission to open up all of the Portes du Soleil to skibikes; some resorts such as Avoriaz, have always been positive, neighbouring Champéry has recently allowed SnowScoots. Our objectives were to meet with the operators of the lift company, do some test rides and show how skibikes can safely use the various types of chairlifts.

Champéry lies in the Val d'Illiez in Switzerland, there are a number of neighbouring ski resorts which all form parts of the Portes du Soleil domain. From Thierry's home in the Aravis mountains it's not that far to Champéry as the crow flies, but the presence of all these big hills, combined with a paucity of motorways, makes for a very long drive of 3 hours each way. At this time of year, with snow and ice free roads, it was plain sailing and sat in the passenger seat, I was able to enjoy the scenery along the way.

Champéry - pristine and with the accuracy of a Swiss watch

The base station at Champéry has a giant cable car leading up to the heart of the ski area, as you would expect of Switzerland everything is pristine and runs with the accuracy of a Swiss watch. We were greeted at the cable car top station by the head of operations, introductions were made and there was some general discussion about the skibikes and a quick safety briefing .

Lift operators and security personnel switching places to take a ride

Equipped with a pair of "try me" Firem VS512 demonstration skibikes, we began a circuit of the resort, with lift operators and security personnel switching places to take a ride with us and monitor loading and unloading the skibikes on the chairlifts. Fortunately for us, Champéry has invested a great deal in modern detachable chairlifts which was a great relief, no rattly old two seater lifts here!

Firem VS512 - Try me skibikes

It will be interesting to see what the decision is at Champéry, I got the impression that there was a genuine interest in skibikes, the operations team took a fair chunk out of their day to thoroughly test and inspect them. They also appeared to be having a blast on them, while they were at it too and let's not forget that this is a World class downhill mountain bike centre in the summer, where a certain Englishman did rather well in a race a few years back.

Yesterday was an exhausting day, so I enjoyed a wonderful morning spent writing up activities for this blog, hey it doesn't write itself you know!

I wanted somewhere local to go to and just chill out in the warm afternoon sun and reorganise the slush all about the mountain. Heading to nearby La Dole on the French/Swiss border would give a little variety, yet take only 30 minutes to reach.

La Dole - just 30 minutes away on the French/Swiss border

It is essentially a great big hill, well served by a detachable chairlift from the car park up to the peak. You can pick your route down; follow the fall-line off piste if you want a challenge, or put in a giant traverse and take the easy route down or any number of subtle variations in between.

La Dole - just a big hill

As ever, you get a few curious looks and the usual frequently asked questions. But otherwise it is a chilled out spot to noodle around in the snow or enjoy a spot of late lunch and watch the world go by. I also got the chance to finally taste the Les Brasseurs Savoyard Myrtille flavoured beer that I was given recently and very tasty it was too.

Les Brasseurs Savoyard beer - tasty

So that's the 2014 Skibiker Skibike Blog Tour for 2014 all wrapped up and what a success it proved to be. It didn't kick off till the beginning of February, but from then on it was a roller coaster ride for the best part of eight glorious, action packed and thoroughly exhausting weeks.


Week 1 - Getting back on the horse

The first week was the toughest; in spite of plenty of cycling practice over the winter, it was still testing to switch from a soft office job to riding the mountains for the best part of six hours a day. I spent the first few days hammering myself into shape at my "local" resorts in the Jura mountains, such as La Dole, Le Crozet and La Faucille. It was supposed to be an easy week of warming up and settling in, but the weather made for a tricky time. There was more fresh snow than I would have though possible, it was just a shame that for most part you could only see for a few feet in front of you.

Great snow in February - but poor visibility

Sadly I only managed one day with Carl & Andy in Flaine and that was probably only a couple of hours skibike riding at the most. All too soon they were homeward bound and Mark Bayston had arrived in Morillon.


Week 2 - Anglo French

Mark Bayston rode my black skibike for the week and we had a couple of fun days riding together. It was a better week for him than last year - injury free - well almost, he pulled a muscle in his shoulder walking!
I also managed to get in some solo rides at, Praz de Lys, Combloux and La Dole all of which have remained skibike friendly. I finished the week with a visit to Firem for some website tweaking and a ride at Grand Bornand, including a chance to try out the new VS 614 model.

Firem VS614 - It will put a smile on your face

Week 3 - Riding with Wayne

Wayne Richards returned to France after many year's self imposed exile and together with wife Lucille we got in a good few rides at various places. There was a fun ride with Team Firem VS at Combloux on the Saturday, with Thierry Avrillon on the Sunday comparing three strangely similar skibikes and finally cruising round the Grand Massif on the Monday. There were issues using the Grand Vans chairlift at Flaine, till this is resolved it is Au Revoir to Flaine, my hard earned Euros will be spent skibiking elsewhere.

Wayne Richard skibiking in France - what is the World coming to?

Week 4 - Back to the grindstone

Both refreshed and exhausted, I jumped on a plane for London and spent a few days working on a medical conference, but I did ride my push bike 30 miles a day to stay in shape for the following week's Balkan adventure.


Week 5 - Watch out for the Avalanches

Another plane took me to the spectacular seaside town of Thessaloniki on the edge of the Macedonian highlands where I met up with Team Avalanche. Together we ventured into Bulgaria along with the Real Balkan Spy and I rode Bucephalus at both Bansko and Borovets. We unexpectedly met Clive and Eddie on their SledgeHammer skibikes and made plenty of MacGyver repairs whilst on the slopes. The mountains, weather and the snow were all about as good as you can get and the prices way below normal. But there was something sleazy about Bulgarian resorts that spoiled their potential charm. All too soon it was time to get that flight home and make another quick turn around.

Team Avalanche Downhill Skibikes - I preferred the pink one

 
Week 6 - Three Valleys

Back in Geneva, I re-packed the car for my first visit to the Three Valleys area in two decades and my first time on a skibike there. First I gave my skibikes a shakedown in the Jura mountains before driving down to Brides-les-Bains to establish a base camp and form an expedition advance party. I met up with new boy John Andree and Cédric Sabatte and we found that Courchevel was the place to be. Meribel was a disappointment for many reasons and Val Thorens remained cut off from easy skibike access. 

Ace skibiker John Andree - joined the tour in Courchevel

Week 7 - Skibike Swiss Rolls

Fresh from the Three Valleys and with my salopettes in tatters it was time to pack some fresh clothes and head to Leysin where Carl Day had established a base camp. We braved the technical and icy black run descents from Glacier 3000 and in vain sought out the last fresh powder in Gstaad.

No powder left at Zweisimmen

We further explored Leysin, hot lapping the mountain and gathering some of the best skibike footage of 2014.
There was still time to ride with Kevin Dawson in Avoriaz and the following day skied Morzine in the rain and found the perimeter area where skibikes are allowed.


Week 8 - To The Very Last Drop

I managed an outrageously decadent day trip to BullSkate and rode two of the prototype models for the 2014/15 season. 

BullSkate - prototype models for the 2014/15 season

After much waiting, the NISM skis finally arrived for assessment, just in time for the last few days of the tour. They were put immediately to use on my first visit to Valmorel with "Mr A", it was so good we turned it into a two day trip and since I've been told that we are welcome back next season, yay! We gave the NISM skis a thorough going over and they proved to be the ideal off-piste tool.
On the last riding day we made a back breaking ascent of La Tournette, I had to employ every technique I could use to get both myself and my skibike to the top.


So What Next?

I was sad to reach the end of the tour but also very happy that the even the most hap-hazard of plans all came together so well. Unlike any previous year, so many virtual friends joined in and became real ones and we all got to ride together on the slopes of Europe like no previous season. We had a few new riders jump on and join in the fun too and so many enquiries for information that I had to make a second batch of cards.

A few people and places got missed out, next year I must build in some visits to the skibike friendly resorts in Italy and also those of the Auverne and Vosges mountains in France. We can only hope that mother nature will provide the medium for sliding.

Many, many thanks to all who took part, if you haven't been name checked, it is accidental and not deliberate. If you have read this blog and want to join in next season, don't be shy, all it takes is money to make it happen.

Every season there is one track that you hear played everywhere; in the bars, supermarkets and on the radio constantly. This time it was a cover of Keane's 2004 hit "Somewhere Only We Know" given a pseudo classical makeover by Lily Allen.

I was feeling bad that I hadn't paid a visit to Swiss skibike manufacturer BullSkate in over two years and had pencilled in a visit for my last week of the season. I had intended to at least make an overnight stop over, or perhaps even a two day trip, but in the end it became just a day trip. The journey is a 5 hour round trip from Geneva and back by car; thinking positively, it's exactly same as I would make in the UK if I travelled from home to Milton Keynes to use the indoor facilities for a few hours skiing.

I'm so glad I made the effort, BullSkate have been very busy since I was last here two year's ago. The rental station has seen a lot of use and the skibikes are getting tired. BullSkate have an ambitious plan to replace the entire rental stock before next season with two new models and I was to be given the opportunity to test the prototypes and make my evaluation.

My first ride was the standard model, based on a regular bike "Enduro" frame and fitted with BullSkate adapters and a new ski developed in collaboration with an Austrian manufacturer. Having been given a refresher course on how to use the archaic T-bar lift system at Sörenberg I was off up the mountain and eager to ride.

Everything on this skibike fell to hand in exactly in the right place, almost every other skibike I have tried required a period of adjustment, but this one could have been made for me and immediately felt correct in seconds. The dinky skis looked far too thin and I expected their performance to be poor on the early morning icy snow.
It was quite the contrary, they handled the boiler-plate exceptionally well and I found myself riding on the pegs on some steep sections that would normally find me seeking the safety of a seated riding style.

This one could have been made for me - everything immediately felt correct

I remember this station having some great areas of safe off-piste under the sole chairlift and having located them, headed into the rough to see how such thin skis would perform on the crusty surface. As predicted they sunk quite a lot, but with a re-adjustment of body weight they surfed along reasonably well. The impression I was beginning to gather was that this is going to be such a good all round vehicle, capable of fulfilling the needs of many different types of rider; from beginner to advanced and all levels of physical ability.
Some will ride it sitting down and it will be soft and gentle, others will stand on the foot pegs and it will turn on a dime without being nervous. It will carve and it will drift, in fact you can set up a drift and hold it there for as long as you want or till the gravity runs out.

I was struggling to find anything to fault with it; OK the aggressive foot pegs constantly chewed away at my trouser legs, by the end of the day it looked like I had come of the worse with an altercation with an ill tempered terrier. The handlebars are all going to be a standardised width and for these skis they felt a little too wide and too easy to overpower.

Next season's model - I was struggling to find anything to fault with it

I could have gladly continued on all day seeing what I could get this standard model skibike to do, but it was time to move on to the new performance model. The most notable visual cue to this skibikes credentials are the triple clamp forks and long travel rear shock. It's not something you would want to lift over too many turnstiles in a day, as it is a hefty beast. That said there are a number of similar models made by competing manufactures that I have ridden that are almost exactly the same.
On the narrow run coming off the chairlift it was a tricky job to get in a bit of braking without running out of space and this bike seemed very eager to be let off the leash. Likewise following the piste it was all a bit ponderous, a bit like taking a battleship for a ride. I immediately recalled a couple of runs made in Germany at a huge indoor centre on a well known and respected American skibike that felt exactly the same.
The revelation came when I took it to the off-piste area I had previously visited. What had seemed a bit technical on the basic model, seemed totally effortless on this one. I repeated the same run, but this time dropped in much higher at the start of a wide gully. This skibike turned it into a fun half pipe and as the speed increased it just consumed the bumps as if they weren't there. I saw one coming up at speed and thought to myself "surely it won't take this one", I put my weight back as far as I dared and in a blink I was over it and accelerating away, unbelievable.

Unbelievable off-piste performance

On the final run back to base station it occurred to me that I hadn't explored this model's sit down carving ability at all. On an easy, wide and deserted run I finally let it off the leash and wow it was good. I pulled a 180 degree carve, that left me facing uphill, rumour has it that it can do the full 360 degree loop the loop.

180 degree carves are a cinch

After lunch Martin guided me to some wonderful caches of untracked snow, hidden just out of sight of the main pistes. The real highlight was a back mountain descent, leading us through some cross country trails. The experience of looking back up this enormous slope with just two fresh tracks on it was an immense highlight of the year. I don't know why Martin has been so nice to me, last time he was more like a drill sergeant, perhaps he's getting mellowing in his old age or perhaps I have finally made the grade.

Martin has been so nice to me - perhaps I have finally made the grade.

There are further exciting plans for expansion at BullSkate, but now is not the time or place to publicise them. What you need to know is that next season there are going to be a couple of cracking new skibike models to ride at Sorenberg and if you find the one you want like, they'll sell you a brand new one to match it right down to the last bolt. If you don't want or need a whole skibike, there will be still be a range of parts for sale including the latest high lift adapters and not forgetting the unique T-bar friendly BullSkate saddle.

Available separately - the unique T-bar friendly BullSkate saddle

Today we stopped gallivanting and returned to the familiar slopes of Leysin. We have been enjoying the riding so much that we haven't taken many photos or videos. Today we set about redressing the imbalance and I donned SnowBlades to act as camera mule for Carl's GoPro set up.

We started early so that I would be able to ski in something still vaguely resembling snow, yet not too hard for Carl to find an edge. Even by 11 o'clock in the morning it was proving to be a challenge on some South facing runs. I had to adopt what could be best described as a water skier stance; riding down the fall line on just the tails of the tiny 85cm skis to avoid the tips sinking into the mire.

Riding down the fall line on the tails of the tiny 85cm skis

We got some great footage, which will hopefully be released over the next couple of months to entertain you during the dry season.

Leysin might be quite a small resort, but it is perfectly formed. The runs, though limited, are a joy to ride, even in such late season conditions. Earlier in the year there were so many pockets and hollows to explore off-piste and all easily accessible from a chair-lift. There is a rail link from the resort to Geneva airport and the cost of transfer very reasonable compared to the usual shuttle prices.

Accommodation can be found for French prices and the same can be said for the lift pass, we even found a couple of simple eateries that were close to UK prices. However if you have an unquenchable thirst for fine wines and grandiose dining, then yes, Switzerland will eat a big hole in your savings.

Tomorrow Carl and I will head back towards Geneva, possibly taking in one of the ski stations of the Jura mountains en route.

Our first port of call was, Glacier 3000, it is about 30 minutes up the road from Leysin and offers the highest skiing and most challenging runs in the area. The website claimed there was powder to be found, I had my doubts but we decided it was worth a go.

We bought lift passes that covered the neighbouring areas that fall under the Gstaad Mountain Rides banner. There's nothing like kicking off your day with a gentle warm up, but for us the first run was the steep and icy black graded pistes heading off the back of the glacier. The hard snow made this tricky run even harder, but we must be getting better because we both made it down without incident. There appears to be a natural order which dictates that Carl will always be the first to the bottom regardless of the angle of inclination of surface and it has the potential to be a blisteringly quick run in these conditions.

We had hoped to enjoy the off piste bowls to either side of the run, but it too was hard, icy and bumpy. I was prepared to give it another go, but Carl wasn't inspired by the technical challenge "Too many turns" was his terse assessment of the situation.

We headed back down to the car for an early lunch then followed the road towards Gstaad, following the true spirit of the blog we were off to explore were we could skibike in the area and if possible, plant the freestyle skibike flag on another mountain.
We had spotted an interesting looking area called Rougemont and stopped there first, it was a ghost town, the few locals we could find told me that it closed at the weekend. This was a shame as it did indeed have some interesting looking topography and I shall ear mark this area for investigation next season. I was also shown which areas were still open for business, so without out further ado we piled back into the car and headed off.

Heading in the appropriate direction I spotted a slope with skiers and what appeared to be a little bubble gondola. We found the base station, parked up on what appeared to be a surface made from pallets gradually sinking into the mire and set about skibike re-assembly. I can do this in about 3 minutes, but for Carl's skibike with 8 mounting screws to fit, it takes a bit longer.

Carl loves building his skibike - not

Approaching the gondola it turned out to be a mini-chairlift with a cover over the top, no sooner had I gone through the gate than the attendant came rushing out and stopped me. He seemed furious that I would have the audacity to use his lift and grudgingly pointed out where such dastardly inventions as a skibike could be used.

There was no way that Carl wanted to disassemble his skibike yet again, so we found a way to cram it into my tiny sub-compact car and drove off with the hatchback open. In search of the correct uplift, we didn't find the exact lift, but did manage to find the gondola station at Zweisimmen. There weren't any issues with our skibikes, in fact the gondola had hooks you could hang your skibike from.
The down side turned out to be that we were only allowed to go as high as the middle station which serves the mixed use piste where sledges, Yooners and just about anything else goes. It's an easy piste, the only challenge was keeping on the tiny ribbon of snow that remained.

Zweisimmen gondola - skibikes go outside

In order to see what delights the top station could offer, I switched over to blades and headed to the top. The look on the lift operators face when he came over to turf me out at middle station was priceless. From the top station there is a selection of red and blue runs down, nothing as challenging as our early morning black run warm up, but "rules is rules".

Zweisimmen top station - red and blue runs

What a crazy day, jumping in and out of the car, things on the verge of falling apart, no real plan, just two skibike fanatics bouncing along the rural roads of Switzerland frantically in search of a lift that will take us to a pocket of soft snow.
You don't get laughs like this on a package holiday.

No sooner was I back in Geneva before I had to make a quick turnaround and head straight back out. This time it was to meet up with Carl Day and enjoy a few days riding in the Swiss Vaud. Arriving ahead of me on Sunday night, he had already set up a base camp at the Grand Chalet Hotel, in the breathtakingly pretty village of Leysin.

Carl and Mark - a quick skibike photo opportunity

My arrival was somewhat tardy, but we still managed to get in a good few runs on the slushy snow, in what are close to summer time temperatures. The snow has changed so much since I was last here just a few weeks ago, at this rate the resort may close quite soon.

The Swiss Vaud at sunset

To make the most of it, we're going to head over to Glacier 3000 tomorrow in order to seek out some better snow and try the steep runs available there.

Throughout the Alps there are so many resorts and ski stations that it is easy to miss the odd one or two. Leysin was one such resort that almost slipped under the wire. Fortunately I love maps, it was the part of Geography lessons that appealed to me most, I can pick up a map of a known area and immediately recall the sights, sounds and smells associated with it.
Whilst I was pouring over the map for the area around Glacier 3000 that I visited a few days ago, it dawned on me that I had missed out Leysin, Les Mosses and La Lecherette thinking they were part of Les Diablerets. Some research on Google revealed that you could hire SnowScoots in Leysin, it had a gondola and chairlifts, it was looking promising, this had to be worth a second visit to the Vaud.

There was no need for sat nav or maps to find Leysin, it was exactly the same drive along Lac Leman past Montreux to Aigle before heading into the hills that I had so recently made. One left turn and I had quickly arrived in the village of Leysin and headed for the car park at the base of the gondola station.

Marshalls lined up the cars in the car park like the Concours d'elegance at a classic car show, Swiss precision, I love it, so different from the usual parking bun fight. I was able to get a lift ticket almost straight away, slipped into skier mode and went up in the gondola to explore.

I am so glad that I chose to start with skis, the snow was as hard as concrete, I overcooked my first run and ended up doing a neat pirouette on my derrière. The piste map looked like a small area, but when the piste markers start at 150 you know the runs will be long.
I worked my way across to the Brion, Choulet and Solepraz areas, served by tiny 2 seater chairlifts. Had there been two days to explore and not one, I would have checked out the Les Mosses and La Lecherette areas, served by a shuttle bus link.

When the piste markers start at 150 you know the runs will be long

Oddly the snow had a yellow/brown tinge to it, the locals said it was dust from the Sahara brought on the South wind that had settled. Curiously I had noticed the same dust on my car yesterday and blamed it on the high volume of renovation work taking place at the apartment.

Working out where the best off-piste stashes were

Many of the slopes are South facing, I made an assumption that things would have softened nicely by lunch time, so after 11 I headed back to the car. Whilst doing my quick change routine into skibiker mode, a couple of locals stopped to watch me assemble the skibike. They turned out to be downhill mountain bike riders in Summer and were very enthusiastic at my offer of the chance to ride together in future.

My quick change routine into skibiker mode

In the afternoon I focussed on the blue and red runs heading from the top of the chairlift back down to Leysin, carefully working out where the best off-piste stashes were and exploiting them to maximum advantage.
Towards the end of the day all the runs back into town were very heavily scraped, right down to ice. A couple of steep sections were like a recreation of the Battle of the Somme on skis, bodies and kit were scattered about willy nilly. With the smug satisfaction of one who has paid his skiing dues, I nonchalantly picked my lines, taking full use of the run off areas the skiers avoided and made it down without a tumble.

Late afternoon run down - like the Battle of the Somme on skis

Leysin made its name as the location of tuberculosis sanatoria, where patients were lined up on balconies to inhale the pure mountain air in order to speed their recovery. Many of these facilities now provide the perfect place to watch the sun go down with a Gin & Tonic for the contemporary visitor. Even by local standards, which are high, it is a very pretty village, mostly comprised of wooden chalets; some huge and others modest. If I understood the poster correctly, Leysin is now a heritage site and there has been a policy of sustainable development, using locally sourced wood as the favoured building material.

Leysin - very pretty

Today Leysin is a small but perfectly formed little resort, with a good selection of runs, good infrastructure, quick links to Geneva and has proved to be very skibike friendly. What's not to like about that combo?