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08/21/2008
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Roam
- Shooting with The Collective in Morocco
Words and photos ~ Chris
Winter.
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The date was set and the plan was in place: October 12, we’d meet in Marrakech,
Morocco. Marrakech? Morocco? Instantly, visions of Indiana Jones running through
crowded, narrow, dusty streets with a band of bandits chasing him came to mind.
The day arrived and we stepped off the plane into blinding sunshine and into the
unknown; a mysterious place where the riding was said to be great.
Welcome to Marrakech. Photo ~ Chris Winter - ridebig.com
1000 Year-Old Chaos
He started faintly, almost in a whisper, but it grew quickly until he was fully
charging on the mic. It was still dark outside; my clock read 4:30am. The call
from the mosque kept going for what seemed like forever - a prayer that grew into
a hypnotic wail cast at high volume from minarets throughout the walled city.
I rolled over and tried to get back to sleep and cruelly smiled as I remembered
how close Darcy and Darren’s rooftop room was to one of the loud speakers.
Welcome to Marrakech, I thought.
We were staying in a sick abode called a riad. The riad is a traditional Moroccan
home where several extended families live together, with rooms and balconies surrounding
a common courtyard and rooftop patios. Europeans have been buying these old riads
and transforming them into trendy hotels. Finding our riad was an adventure; picture
an endless maze of narrow alleyways with no apparent structure and doors every
5-10 feet with no signs anywhere. Each door was different and the walls a consistent
ochre colour. When you’d find your door, often so small you’d have
to crouch down to enter, it would open into an oasis with orange trees, fountains,
pillows and your home away from the madness of Marrakech. Our riad was just steps
from the famous Djemaa el-Fna square, one of the world’s greatest urban
spectacles ripe with snake charmers, spice dealers, tooth dealers, performing
actors and musicians, outdoor vendors and more – a la Raiders of the Lost
Ark. We spent a few amazing days exploring Marrakech before heading out to ride.
A Shepherd, his Goats and a Road Gap.
The first zone that we traveled to was on the southern end of the High Atlas mountain
range, North Africa’s largest peaks, and just up from the small city of
Ouarzazate. Ouarzazate is famous as the setting of the film Laurence of Arabia
and as the gateway to the Sahara desert. For the first few days we drove around
in our Land Rovers looking for terrain. The landscape was arid and large, with
endless jaw-dropping ridges and big mountain lines. In the late afternoons and
evenings the African light would fire hard, exposing seemingly endless nugs. And
that was a challenge: a line would be firing in perfect light, then another line
would appear while the first one would fade away quickly. They were like mushrooms,
popping up everywhere. For a day and a half we drove, scoped, shot a few short
lines, scoped some more. It was good, but we weren’t really getting our
teeth into anything.
Then it appeared. Shandro saw it first. I couldn’t really understand what
he was describing as he pointed to a mountainside. We descended a twisty gravel
road into a bone-dry riverbed to take a closer look and I could finally see what
he was describing. It was a road gap, a healthy launcher in a spectacular setting.
Upon closer inspection it was unanimously sanctioned by the riders; it was doable
but definitely technical. The approach was a downhill roll-in, off an angled downhill
lip which would have the riders about 25 feet above the deck. They would have
to sail 20-plus feet to the tranny which was a steep 50-foot long off-camber shelf
with a ball-bearing surface. Basically as soon as you land you’d have to
lock it up, throw it sideways and hang on tight as you’d be booking it right
away. “Look’s good. The air’s pretty minor,” said Shandro,
”it’s the technical and unpredictable run out that’s sketchy.
We’ll be hauling ass coming down this landing ramp.” That and the
fact that we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere made this jump difficult.
It might have been easy for these riders at home, but here in the middle of Morocco
the factors where different.
Thomas Vanderham drawing a crowd. Photo ~ Chris Winter - ridebig.com
We spent the good part of a day getting the landing zone cleared and finding the
best camera angles. The next day we continued to work on the landing and the tranny
at the bottom of it. The riders carefully identified the hazards and challenges
of the jump; the wind, which could change your trajectory mid-flight, the off-camber
landing and the tranny at the bottom of the landing were all a little dodgy.
How many pedal strokes would it take to nail the speed? What kind of pop? As the
riders rolled into the lip over and over and discussed the variables a shepherd,
his dog and fifty or so goats sauntered up the valley as if on cue. What an amazing
sight, a collision of contrast. The shepherd laid his walking stick down and grabbed
a seat on a rock while the goats spread out. The cameras where in position and
silence had fallen on all of us until the call came over the radio. ”OK,
im dropping in 10.” It was Vanderham. He rolled in and silently launched
the air. He overshot the landing by a good 8 feet but stuck it. His bike let out
a big ‘whomp’ when it hit the earth followed by a rush of air as he
accelerated down the steep shelf. The crew erupted into cheers and awe at the
truly epic air. Shandro went next and made it look easy. Hunter, who recently
hada close friend get seriously hurt on a jump with a similar transition, dug
deep and stomped it hard on his Specialized Demo 8 Pro. The goats scattered and
the shepherd seemed unaffected by the whole spectacle - as if he’d seen
this shit before. He grabbed his staff and walked off.
Matt Hunter making friends. Photo ~ Chris Winter - ridebig.com
The Playground
We pulled the Land Rovers over to the side of the road and the crew piled out
for a first look at our next location. It was late afternoon and the scene was
reminiscent of a Tuscan oil painting. The light was filtered through a light mist
with pine trees and red, eroded peaks in the foreground, massive peaks in the
distance with a hilltop town perched on its flanks. It was also like Sedona, Arizona
- except that the minaret in the distance pumping out the daily prayer was definitely
not the US of A.
D'arcy Wittenburg behind the 16mm lens. Photo ~ Chris Winter
- ridebig.com
Right away the crew fanned out and descended into the mini-golf zone like kids
in a toy store. Within minutes lines were being uncovered left, right and center.
“Were mining nugs” photographer Sterling Lorence said as he pinned
it up a small hill to see what was on the other side. “This is a dream
landscape for riding and shooting and the atlas mountains are an amazing backdrop".”
Lorence, one of the most prolific and talented photographers in action sports
was obviously in his element and liking what he saw. “You could blast
off that bush, hit this LZ, snake around that rock and pin it into the hip,”
he said to Vanderham while spinning his hands as if he was holding a mini toy
bike while picturing the line in his mind. Vanderham barely had time to answer
and Lorence would already be on the top of another mound of dirt ten feet away
inspecting the proposed line from another angle.
Chris Winter shoots Sterling Lorence shooting Matt Hunter.
Photo ~ Chris Winter - ridebig.com
Sterl is an integral part of the process of finding good shots. He knows the
riders , knows what looks good on film and he knows how to ride a mountain bike.
The sun was quickly fading and it was decided that we’d get an early start
the next day. The first line that we worked was an extra large step-down, right
hip to step-up with a left hip option. The in-run on the step-down was fast
and straightforward with a “tranny long enough to land a Cessna”
according to Lorence. It was large and wide and buffed. The whole line made
for a beautiful shot: long and dynamic with endless camera angles. Shandro was
hitting it like a knight on his white Trek Session 10, confident and styled
out. He’s known as one of the most technically sound riders in the sport
and that was crystal clear on this line.
Vanderham has an uncanny ability to use his body as a spring. He’d pop
like a gazelle and be sailing considerably higher and further than the other
riders. With his arms extended and ultra smooth style he’d table his RMX
slow and big and land it like he was hopping off a curb. Unreal. Hunter was
hitting it in his no-frills balls to the wall way, big and bold. He’d
chosen an alternate route off the step up where he would land, pin it hard right
and dive into a short and steep chute.
We spent another 5 days shooting in the area and we continued to uncover unreal
lines. We spent a day on a 20-foot high wall ride with a nearly vertical lip
at the top. Another day we shot a step down hip transfer canyon gap with a slightly
offset landing and a 25-foot gap. You could see the landing from the lip and
this inspired confidence in the boys, widening the possibilities.
The final shot was a highlight - a 25-foot table with a big take off. Vanderham
was pumped as he had finally found a jump to work on his moto-whip a la mx star
Bubba Stewart. None of us had really seen anything like it. “I’ve
never found the right jump for this trick. You need speed and a big lip for
a big pop. I can’t believe I found it in Morocco.” Vanderham was
getting his bike nearly 90 degrees on a few jumps. It was sick to watch.
Two weeks later we left the African continent with some of the best mountain
bike footage ever captured. The highly anticipated follow up to The Collective,
dubbed Roam, will be over the top. Mark my words.
Asps, Indy. I hate snakes. Indy’s whip would take care of anything
and save the girl too. Just watch out for the poisoned cherries.
Chris Winter
The Collective
Guiding and Logistics by Big Mountain Bike Adventures
ridebig.com
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