"Our smiley faces could not
lie; we loved this place”
Some insane, hardly ridden singletrack
was waiting – something you have to ride
at least once in your biker life! Ludo took us
on the trail that leads below the Rogneux
north face, a beautiful, and in some parts
technical descent. You start in sandy
terrain, get into grassier parts and finally
finish on loamy forest trails; a completely
varied long descent. We stopped halfway
down at a pristine blue Alpine lake just to
make the day even more special. We began
the final descent in the Forêt de la Perche,
a natural bobsled track and a pretty sweet
way to end the tour before a well-deserved
beer at the local bar.
The next day, Ludo decided to take us and
his photographer friend, Laurent Bruchez,
out on a wild adventure (without tents) to
a remote Alpine location in order to catch
the first light of the next morning. It turned
out to be a crazy trip, but the views were
breathtaking.
We started not far from the Verbier
lifts and the Mont Fort hut. Ludo had only
ridden there once before. The trail hangs on
the back of the Bec des Rosses mountain,
which the world’s best riders tackle during
the Freeride World Tour finals every year in
March. You can just imagine how steep the
back of this north face is, making it almost
unrideable for the average rider, but not a
huge problem for the locals. Only carrying
his bike in some parts, Ludo said: “This is
part of the game.”
After an hour and a half of riding, carrying
and pushing, we made it to the spot for
the night: a small pass without much
space for our sleeping bags at an altitude
of 2 648m. Sleeping outside without tents
and marvelling at the stars from such a
height was a proper experience. The next
morning was as perfect as Ludo had hoped:
a pristine, cloudless sky and a spectacular
sunrise over the Combins range, with an
ibex in the distance.
Then time for contemplation was over
as Laurent whipped out his camera and
Ludo rode in the magical light. After a
great session in this magnificent terrain,
we headed back to civilisation. This was
not a piece of cake and required some trial
skills and no fear of heights or exposure.
We finally made it back to Verbier, enjoying
some epic trails all the way down. Ludo’s
parting words were that he likes to feel
small in this vast natural landscape. We
concur. Verbier and the Swiss Alps have
some crazy peaks – you should visit!
www.ludomay.ch
bucket list busting | MTB | 121