Voices: Vertriders in the Karwendel

What do you do if you look at a scary line and hear voices beckoning you to ride? Do you drop in? In ‘Voices’, Axel Kreuter from the Vertriders is venturing around his hometrails in the scenic Karwendel mountains near Innsbruck. In the rough terrain, he finds a daunting line down scree and barren rock slabs. Eventually he has to give in to the temptation but the decision to ride may not have been the wisest. Once on his bike and riding, he has to figure out a way to reduce the speed and maneuver himself out of the danger zone.

Axel: The Karwendel mountains are a really scenic and I love exploring new trails after work. As usual, I was with my Vertrider friends Sylvia and Gerhard and we tried to descend into another valley with our bikes. However, the trail was basically destroyed with the wood planks rotten and iron poles sticking out. Only the first part was rideable. But then, on the other side, I noticed a possibility through the rocks. The terrain was pretty rough and it would involve riding through scree and over rocks with no clean run-out. I had long wanted to ride such a line and I was negotiating with myself. As if I had voices in my head. It was getting dark and I knew I only had a few tries left. So I decided to drop in. The speed turned out to be like bad habit, easily acquired and hard to get rid of. As I scrambled into the run-out strewn with boulders, I almost braced myself for impact. No doubt, I was touching my limit here and I was lucky for sure not to get hurt. So well, before you listen to any voices, maybe first check whose they are.

This stuff is at once completely different and eerily similar to the early days of riding on the Shore.