DH - Freeride Video with the Bulldog

[Curtis Newkirk]

Hi all,

Just put together a 2.5 minute video with some of the DH stuff Bennett and I did this last summer. Unfortunately, we didn't have a video camera for most of our runs, but we brought it on a few. I have got to say, the riding here is amazing almost everywhere. My two favorite spots are Lac Blanc and Portes du Soleil - both in France.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcGjqzHCM4s

Lac Blanc is less than an hours drive from our home. It has five main DH and Freeride runs and each one is unique and special in its own way. What makes this place so cool is, of all things, the dirt. It packs in such a way that it does not get rutted or have bad braking bumps. The berms and jumps are silky smooth and very fast. The trails each being very different is really cool too. The names of the trails tells you what you get: Les Flow, Le Roots (lots of super technical root sections and a blast), Les Phat (freeride with wooden "North Shore" sections, and Les Nuts (which is a pretty nutty DH trail)

Portes du Soleil is a downhill and skiiers dream. Thirteen resorts - all linked together - with only one lift ticket needed. The region offers 400 miles of marked runs and about 230 lifts in total, spread over 14 valleys and about 400 square miles. Loads of variety. Tons of downhill and freeride trails, pump tracks, 4X tracks, skills tracks, you name it, its here. All spread out near Mont Blanc and split over the southern Swiss-French border. A rider could go there for two or three weeks and not have to run the same trail twice. We went there for three days and I think cover 5-10% of the place. In the video, PDS is the one where B and I are on top of a mountain with clouds underneath us.

Anyway, enjoy the vid and if any of you DHers want to come to Switzerland next summer ping me up!