Vid - Freeshredding in Italy with Big Mountain

I can't think of a better way to kick Spring showers than a DH trip to the Riviera!

easy, going to south tyrol around easter. the bolzano area has some awesome riding and the weather is usually around 20-25° :) lot's of cheap gondolas connecting the main valley with the remote villages in the mountains + century old steep singletrack from the times when there were no gondolas…

easy, going to south tyrol around easter. the bolzano area has some awesome riding and the weather is usually around 20-25° :) lot's of cheap gondolas connecting the main valley with the remote villages in the mountains + century old steep singletrack from the times when there were no gondolas…

Yep I stand by what I said. I definitely wouldn't have
thought of that.

Any chance you can provide more specifics on where this Italian Riviera trail riding was filmed. Awesome vid and we are planning a family trip to Italy for next year. If I could get out for a spin on that kind of Italian trail, it would be a big plus!

Thanks for your insight.

most looked like the finale ligure area. you can have shuttle days there for 35eur/day:

www.finalefreeride.com

(there are some other shuttle companies there, but these guys build the most trails there, so support them)

then there is some riding in the backcountry avaiable through these guys:

http://www.rivierabike.co.uk/

both should be cheaper then going with big mountain.

I'm looking at doing this trip with my wife in May.

Can anyone who has gone on it compare the technical difficulty of it to specific trails in Whistler/Squamish/Lower Mainland? From the video it looks pretty bermy and flowy, but we're wondering how steep or technical the rest of the trails are?

We just want to make sure we're at the right level for the trip, as it would suck to be in over our heads and slow everyone down.

Thanks in advance!

Most of the trails are relatively smooth; very fast and flowy. There are some rougher technical sections although it's more rock tech than rooty tech and the sections don't last for long. Triora has more technical trails than Finale but being able to ride Shore trails (except Bobsled type trails) will be sufficient for being able to ride in Italy.

Sorry that I can't give a direct trail comparison but I can't think of a reasonable one. Have a great trip!

What type of trails can your wife and you handle at the moment? What would you say is your most challenging trail?

The wife and I had to laugh at the one guide we were with. He knew a few languages and it seemed like most of our group was German. He would go on and on at the start of the trail head in German with all types of hand gestures describing the trail. After he was done explaining, I would ask if it there was any thing we needed to know, he would smile and say…."no, you're from the North Shore"

Thanks, Sparkplug. I take it you had a good time with them? The riding and food look amazing.

Bryan, yes, I was just thinking it would have been better to pose the question in reverse.

The trails that we typically ride are:
- WBP: B-Line, Crank it up, HoD, Ninja Cougar/Karate Monkey/Samurai, Ho Chi minh
- Whistler Valley: Cut yer bars
- Squamish: Credit line, half nelson
- Vancouver: bby mountain, Floppy, Griffen, Bobsled
- PoMo: Bert Flynn

I'm comfortable with the rest of the usual suspects on the North Shore (Ladies, Seventh, Pingu, Pangor, …).

At the end of last season, my wife rode Angry Pirate at WBP and Knobgobbler at Sumas. She had to walk a bit of those trails at the steeper sections, so those would probably be considered harder trails for her.

Are you thinking of going with Big Mountain? If so I would give Chris a call and have a frank conversation with him. I would say, there is going to be a few sections where you will have a few issues, but I'm not sure it will be a big issue for the whole trip. Some of the trails we rode were so butter smooth and yet they would call it a rough trail. However,we did a few trails that had some pretty technical sections. We also did one trail that was pretty gnarly top to bottom though. They have changed the trip up a little bit, so I'm not sure we did the same trails that the present tour might be doing. Also, if the group is of lower skill, the guides will adjust the trail selection accordingly.Seriously though, give Chris a call and talk to him. He will not steer you wrong and he will do his best to make sure your trip is the best one possible. When we went, our whole group knew each other and were of similar skill level, so it made life pretty easy. We,Sparkplug and I have done a total of 4 trips with Big Mountain and they have been some of the best vacations of our lives. We have also met some pretty awesome people through the trips and still maintain friendships today.

If now doesnt turn out to be the time to do the trip, certainly make sure to set it as a goal in the future to do one. Pretty amazing way to see a country and better to be able to share as a couple. We've been to Switzerland and Costa Rica too and they were great trips too. I've yet to hear anything bad about any of his trips. Cheers and if you have any more questions feel free to post here or PM Sparkplug or me.