INDECENT EXPOSURE

Snapper James Vincent and a crew of fearless friends tackle a knife-edge alpine ridgeline Knife-edge alpine 

- James Vincent

We all love a bit of singletrack, but this is ridiculous it's barely a tyre's width in places

HIGH UP IN THE MOUNTAINS, TUCKED FAR AWAY FROM ACCESSED MCTHRILLS AND SPILLS, JUMPS AND BERMS of your usual alpine holiday, is a trail so ridiculous, so absurd and so arse-clenching ly nadgery that it genuinely needs to be seen to be believed. I've watched a few pixelated YouTube videos of this particular trail, in a well-guarded location in France, and the soundtracks are a riot of shrieks, whoops and expletives, as numerous riders pit themselves against its outlandish features. Not even the best in the world would be able to ride the whole thing, it takes several hours to get there on top of a healthy dose of van uplift, and in places it's so far beyond exposed that one false move would end in certain tragedy. So why the hell was I drawn to 'Spineology, and why am I so damn excited to finally get to ride it? I reckon a lot of it comes down to risk, and my relationship with it.

It's a long. hot slog to reach the trail, but the magnificent views help distract us

Just because 

As a kid, while my mates were busy building jumps and hucking off whatever they came across, I'd be off trying to pick my way through whatever impossibly technical trail I could find. Which has left me with a distinct lack of jumping ability... As I've grown older and ended up living in the Lake District, I've focused (and thrived) on riding steep and hyper-technical trails. My approach to riding isn't fast, and while some may say it's sketchy AF, I like to think of it as considered and precise. Not quite a 'Danny MacAskill riding along a chain' level of precision. mind you, but still...