Mountain biking holidays
Altitude Adventure is owned and run by Angela and Ian. We live to ride and we ride to live. This is our passion. Welcome to our world.
We are the Pyrenees Mtb specialists... We live here all year, constantly exploring to ensure you only ride the best most epic trails!
For a great idea of the riding here why not take a look at the biking gallery by clicking on the "Gallery" option in the menu.
Gravity Enduro Weekends - £350 for long weekend
We organise long weekend trips (arrive Thurs, depart Monday) to some of the best gravity enduros you will ever ride on amazing trails. The Enduro of Grandvalira (Andorra), the Vallnord MaxiAvalanche and the Catalan Enduro series.
*** 2012 Enduro weekend dates ***. These weekends are in high demand so get your place booked early to avoid disappointment.
25th March - The Enduro de Salines de Macanet, Macanet de Cabrenys, Spain. Click on the title for a link to videos.
31st March/1st April - The Enduro Des Chateaux, Ille sur Tete. Stages on both Sat and Sunday. Click on the title for a link to videos.
10th June - Castle Roc enduro, Thuir. 8 stages on the Sun. Click on the title for a link to videos.
23/24 June - MaxiAvalanche, Vallnord, Andorra. If you have ridden the Mega then try the Maxi and if you are planning to ride the Mega then this is the perfect training. Entries open 16th Jan...You need to be quick. Price £550 for week (Monday to Monday) or £350 for long weekend (Thursday to Monday). Not including entry to the race. Our price includes all accommodation and meals. Transport to and from the event. Mechanical support. Organisational support.
1st July - Enduro de Grandvalira, Andorra. Chairlift uplift. 6 stages on Sat and Sun. Click on the title for a link to videos.
Early Nov - Enduro de Prades, Prades. 5 stages on the Sun. Tough and technical. Click on the title for a link to videos.
For a taste of the action click here.
Price includes accommodation and meals, support and advice. Price doesn't include flights, transfers and entry fees (we can help with entry forms).
Adventure Trails trips - £450 per week
This area which takes in the Cerdagne and Capcir valleys is singletrack heaven and lends itself perfectly to classic trail riding with about 400km of marked VTT trails and endless unmarked trails, that's where our local knowledge comes in. We live here permenantly and work with the locals on developing the trail network. We know routes to suit everyone from short steady rides to all day adventures. With singletrack descents of over 20km available to play on, you are sure to finish every day with a huge grin. Welcome to our playground!!
Altitude Assisted trips - £550 per week
We offer you the opportunity to ride our favourite trail descents ... How about, the descent to Olette twice in one day (2600m of singletrack downhill). The Ridge of Doom, the descent de Yann and the Scorpion Tail uplift linked or the Garrotxes trilology of the Noissetiers, the Apache Indian and Auiguatibia (translates as "hot water" and is pretty apt!). The maximum downhill time with minimum effort on the ups! We'll uplift you to (as near as possible) the start of some truely classic gravity trails.
Then you take advantage of the Telecabine uplift systems in the nearby bike parks of La Molina , Les Angles and Cedric Gracia's Vall Nord Bike Park giving classic alpine free ride conditions. We mix the uplift and bikepark days to suit your tastes.
For these trips we recommend all riders have an understanding of bike park riding and wear rider protection.
To run these weeks or long weekends we require a minimum group of 6 riders. The price for the week is £550 per person or £80 per day for short breaks. Price does not include lift passes which are in the region of 20euros a day.
Altitude Assisted trips are available from mid June to the end of September.
Summit to Sea trips- £550 per week
A mountain biking holiday with a difference. Have you ever fancied going on a journey knowing that every descent is going to be a classic and that every day will be full of amazing trails and sights. We did too! Luckily for us we can see the Med' from our base in the mountains and it gave us the idea of a multi-day trip through the mountains to the sea. After a number of voyages of discovery we have come up with a journey which will challenge you physically and technically all along its 200km route. Total climbing 5920m, total descent 7485m.
The Summit to Sea trips are run at any time in the season for a group of 6 or more riders. The trip takes place as part of your week with us. A Saturday arrival is followed by a Sunday warm-up ride and equipment check. Monday we depart from the "Mouli" starting right away with a 1hr 45minute singletrack rollercoaster descent. For the next 4 days we climb and descend (always descending on testing singletrack trail) to finish at a beautiful beach at the end of the mountains. Each night is spent in a mountain gite with tasty meals to fill you up ready for the next days epic installment. On Thursday evening we return to our mountain base for a celebration dinner. Friday is then a choice of a well earned day off at the hot springs or doing one of a number of day off activities... or even another ride for those who can't get enough.
You can read more about our voyage of discovery "here" on our News Page.
What we offer.
We offer the choice of week long holidays or long weekend breaks on an all inclusive basis for meals and drinks and including free airport pickups (Depending on airport and length of stay).
Free guiding every day except Wednesdays and free daily transfers to the area chosen for that days biking.
We can assist with mechanics and bike setup. We have some spares available for purchase.
We have a range of the Scott Genius and Genius LTs available to hire. Prices from 35 euros per day. Contact us for details.
Altitude Adventure are proud to be partners with Scott Sports.
For the 2012 biking season we can offer you the opportunity to test ride the amazing Scott Genius LT. This bike is the perfect "All Mountain" bike offering 110mm of travel for climbing and 180mm of travel for the descents and weighing in at only 14kg!!
For more information on these bikes click here on the Scott website
Altitude Adventure is owned and run by Angela and Ian. We live to ride and we ride to live. This is our passion. Welcome to our world. Our aim is to provide you with a truely memorable holiday and over the past five years we have been perfecting this to ensure that you have an amazing trip.
What we offer.
We offer the choice of week long holidays or long weekend breaks on an all inclusive basis for meals and drinks and including free airport pickups (Depending on airport and length of stay).
Free guiding every day except Wednesdays and free daily transfers to the area chosen for that days biking.
We can assist with mechanics and bike setup. We have some spares available for purchase.
We have a range of the Scott Genius and Genius LTs available to hire. Prices from 35 euros per day. Contact us for details.
Riding Riding Riding Riding .......
Mountain Biking in the Cerdagne and Capcir valleys
Due to the shape of the valleys and the height of the plateau we have an amazing variety of trails on offer, from singletrack descents of awesome proportions, alpine bikeparks and all day rides which are truely epic.
To give a flavour of what is on offer below are details of a few of our favourites.
The Madres Madness
The definitave "all mountain" epic. The Madre translates as "the murderer" to give you an idea of the locals view of this mountain, but to us it provides an all day ride of epic proportions. 700m of climbing both on fire road and mountain singletrack (with a couple of portages thrown in for good measure) gets us to the summit of the Madre 2469m. An exciting "passage" gives us access to the lunch spot with incredible 360 degree views of the surounding mountains and all the way down to the sea. We then start the 25km of trail back down into the valley with over 2200m of descent to reach Olette. The trail varies from rock strewn mountainside to buff flat out singletrack on an old packhourse trail and really is something not to be missed.
Circuit of the Galbe
A classic big mountain day which defines the term "Mountain Biking". This ride has it all. Fantastic sceenery, a big climb and an amazing 1100m singletrack descent. We start at the Ski station of Formigueres and climb up and over the Serra de Mauri (2412m) before descending to a well earned coffee stop at the beautiful Refuge de Camporells. Another climb then leads to the famous Estany de Diable (the devils lake) where we stop for lunch and then start our descent. 1100m of the finest mountain singletrack you will ever ride leads us back down to the valley floor and a well earned beer at the bar in Formigueres to finish. An epic day out!
The Scorpion Tail
This is an amazing ride for switchback and singletrack officionados. Click on Videos to watch the helmet cam footage of this ride. Starting from the “Mouli” or skipping the first climb by transferring to the Col de Llose we cruise the northern Tet valley ridge to our high point at 1800m. From this point on it’s down hill all the way on some of the best singletrack you will ever see. Hairpins by the hundred, tight lines bordered by big drops , flying through forest and traversing open ridgelines this trail has it all, finally exiting into the pretty village of Thues Entre Valls after dropping more than 1400m. Depending on the start point the ride can take up to 4 hours with the final descent taking over an hour and a half!
The Border Crossing
Possibly the hardest one day ride you will ever do! A true epic in evey sense the border crossing starts with a very tough two hour climb followed by a portage to reach the summit of the highest mountain on the border ridge (Puigmal 2910m). That is the easy part done, now for the descent. 2200m of all mountain trail descent to test even the best riders bike handling skills and nerve. The trail descends for 23km into Spain passing the famous mountain sanctury of Nuria before plunging into the ravine of Nuria. After approximately 3 hours of descending we bottom out at the town of Ribas de Freser for a well earned beer and a van transfer back to the Mouli. Due to the nature of the descent which is at least extreme and more, we do not offer this trail to everybody....
The Descent to Olette
Check out the video of this descent featuring Danny Milner from MBR magazine.
This is the classic local ride with our own special trail added on to make it even better. We start the ride from "the Mouli" crossing the valley to Mont Louis and then climbing up throught the Commando firing range (keep your head down!!). Once up we stop for lunch with a spectacular view accross the valley towards the border ridge, before starting the descent. What a trail! the descent starts at just shy of 2000m at the Serre de Clavera and we drop 1400m (about 12km) all on amazing singletrack (including our own cleared trail named 007 as it is a well kept secret) to finish at the bar in Olette. This is a favorite of everyone and people come back again and again just to ride it.
Black Dog
Named after one of the local Pyrenean semi-wild sheepdogs which took a liking to one of our friends (if you know what I mean), this trail cruises up hill and down dale through some stunning scenery giving a 3ish hour ride on trail which leaves you amazed at it’s quality. A steady climb from the village of Angoustrine gets you up to the start of the first descent which is a technical affair weaving it’s way down through rounded granite boulders until your arms are as pumped as your legs. You pop out into the village of Dorres with it’s Roman hot baths before starting a challenging singletrack climb to the “Chapel de Santa Maria”, perched in a beautiful location overlooking the Cerdagne valley. From here we cruise on some wild singletrack past ancient farmsteads to the top of the descent down to La Tour de Carol on the pass to Andorra. This descent is a mixture of hairpins and flowing trail letting you really open it up. When we hit the bottom we pick up one of the many irrigation canals that traverse the hillsides for some exciting riding back to the awaiting van.
The Madres Madness
This is a small selection of what is on offer. We tailor each weeks riding to the groups desires and abilities and make use of the massive selection of trails available to us to ensure each group is well satisfied. We can also make use of chairlift uplift facilities to access some areas you wouldn’t normally get access to or to play on the downhill courses in the local ski stations.
Our mission is to use our local knowledge to guide you where you would never have guessed trails existed and to give you some idea of the massive variety on offer in this undiscovered area.
The type of mountain biking that we do make our routes of a reasonably high technical standard, therefore we are unable to recommend our holidays to beginner mountain bikers.Many of our routes are day rides and can pass through some great alpine terrain.
If you are booking as a group we will tailor the rides to your groups ability or where possible split groups into differing ability levels. When booking please be honest about your ability level as this helps us to plan your weeks holiday better allowing you to get the most from our local trail knowledge.
All routes are mapped using MemoryMapTM electronic mapping and guiding is offered as a free service by Offroad Training Consultancy trained Guides. At the end of your holiday you can leave with a DVD showing footage of your riding and MemoryMap downloads of the rides you have done.
What we do on our guided rides is up to you. We don’t set out with a specific plan at the beginning of the week. We will make the best use of the massive variety of trails available to us in the Cerdagne and Capcir valleys to ensure that each day gives great riding and a different perspective on the area. Our aim is simply to take you somewhere you may not have found without us. We know the area inside out, where to stop for lunch, where the good views are, where the next drinks stop is.
Based on weeklong holiday guests transfer day being Saturday. We aim to guide rides on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. For long weekend guests not booking the complete chalet, we will provide route plans and suggestions for Saturday riding.
Bikes
We ride and recommend Scott Genius LT and Genius full suspension bikes. For the majority of trails that we ride these types of bike are ideal for your comfort and enjoyment. This does not mean that we see this as a minimum requirement however a good quality front suspension mountain bike should be.
Before coming on holiday we recommend that you have your bike serviced at your local specialist store to ensure that everything is in good working order. Although we have our own workshop your fellow riders will not thank you for delaying their riding whilst you service your bike. For minor repairs you will be welcome to use our workshop and for more major repairs we will arrange assistance through one of the nearby bike shops if possible.
Bike and clothes washing facilities are available.
Riding Level
To get the most out of your holiday we recommend that you should be capable of riding in arduous terrain for a minimum of 2-3 hours. Many of our rides are full day outings and can pass through some spectacular alpine terrain. This does not mean that we are trying to wear you out, we will ride to the ability of the group and ensure that you get the best from your holiday.
The type of mountain biking that we do make our routes of a reasonably high technical standard, therefore we are unable to recommend our holidays to complete beginners.
The minimum age for participation in accompanied rides is 16. All riders under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
We welcome family groups and will be happy to recommend family friendly cycling routes in this area for outings with younger children, or other activities and places to visit for non-cyclists.
Kit
You will be riding daily in a hot environment and we would highly recommend that you use energy or hydrating drinks and carry energy bars. Unless your bike has a lot of bottle cages we would recommend that you carry a hydration pack with about a 2 litre capacity. We use TORQ products and highly recommend them.
Carrying a pack also allows you to carry your other essential trail spares that we would expect you to have (tubes, pump, multi-tool, brake pads, food, waterproof jacket, spare clothes etc).
Please remember to bring a few different sets of riding clothing and a fully waterproof jacket as you will be riding in a high mountain environment. We do not recommend sleeveless riding tops, as they don’t offer much protection from the sun or rocks. We also recommend full finger gloves for extra grip with sweaty hands and protective eyewear.
Remember “No Helmet No Ride” your helmet must be ANSI or Snell approved.
Other Activities
As well as this area offering classic biking from our base in Saint Pierre Dels Forcats there is also the opportunity to take part in many other Alpine activities using local guides...