Georgia
Photo Story: Exploring the Alps on a Eurotrip with Georgia Astle & Kirsten van Horne – Pinkbike
[jʊroʊ tɹɪp] [06|06|2024] [ 47° 16′ 09” | 11° 24′ 15” ]
[ Two Canadians exploring the Alps. A story about great trails,
pistachio icecream, whipoff jumps and an unreliable British car ]
[Words | Kirsten van Horne || Photos | Moritz Ablinger]
Team British Columbia.
50° 7′ 19” N | -122° 57′ 15” E
EWS Throwback
46° 28′ 37” N | 11° 46′ 16” E
The first day was spent in Canazei, an iconic small town in central Italy where Georgia had raced an Enduro World Cup a few years before. A tram from downtown took them up to some rolling meadows at the base of the grand Dolomite Mountains. The views were impressive and the trail down was a great combination of rocky tech and fast loamy single track. All parts combined, it made for a great day in the Italian Alps and got everyone excited for the following day’s adventure and the potential of riding some scree chutes.
As loose as it gets.
46° 32′ 16” N | 10° 08′ 11” E
The next day was an early morning wake up after a night of intense storms, however the clouds were parting and the sun came beaming through. The goal of the day was to ride down some picture perfect scree chutes and get a taste for European freeriding! The mountains still held a decent amount of snow and the ridges that looked like a freerider’s dream would’ve only been snow free for a week by that time, making the ground quite packed down. Unfortunately this meant that the scree was not as playful as originally hoped but it was still well worth the hike up and these freeride athletes had a blast on the way down! The day of riding came to an end but with sights set on yet another adventure for the next day it was back in the car and on to the next town.
The rolling Basecamp.
46° 54′ 19” N | 11° 05′ 51” E
You might wonder what drives one to choose a 35yo vehicle for a roadtrip through the Alps and across countless mountain passes. And to be honest, there’s probably no rational reason for this. But at least this thing looks good, with a rooftop tent on top of it, right? The only issue was that the alternator of the old British Diva broke just 2 days before the start of the trip. Somehow Moritz managed to fit in a spare part from an old German tractor, just in time. And that’s all part of the experience, right?
Waking up with an incredible mountain view was truly hard to beat, with the morning sun dipping the scenery into a warm light after a night that was slightly colder than expected.
No bears up here.
46° 42′ 10” N | 12° 20′ 58” E
In comparison to the province of British Columbia, Italy is quite small yet the daily drives always took a bit longer than expected. Not because of the distance but due to how steep and windy the roads are in order to get around all the towering mountains where the towns are nestled into. After three impressively steep mountain passes and a whole lot of pulling over to let cars and motorcyclists overtake, the crew finally arrived in Sexten, Italy. Another quaint town and a great spot to start their next outing, this time on the enduro bikes!
A quick Gondola bump from town got them starting their pedal just about at 2000 meters. However the first 10 pedals were not sounding great for Kirsten’s bike, a seized idler pulley was throwing a spanner in the works of the mission. With no chain lube or grease around the logical next option was to use the tasty pesto that had been packed along to have with lunch. It worked flawlessly and so began the undulating traverse along Monte Elmo ridge.
It worked flawlessly and so began the undulating traverse along Monte Elmo ridge. The track lays on the Austria and Italy border. Along the way there were plenty of old bunkers and trenches from the war that could be spotted. The Canadian education system provides a brief overview of the long history of wars in Europe, but being able to see actual evidence really brought the textbook information to life.It was a fantastic time on the trail and the views of the grand Dolimite peaks across the valley were nothing short of impressive. A 20 km afternoon ride got the team to a secluded camp spot next to a small lake where they spent the night. The next day was more descending through tiny Italian villages nestled throughout the hills. Once at the cars it was on to the next town.
The track lies on the Austria and Italy border. Along the way there were plenty of old bunkers and trenches from the war that could be spotted. The Canadian education system provides a brief overview of the long history of wars in Europe, but being able to see actual artefacts really brought the textbook information to life. It was a fantastic time on the trail and the views of the grand Dolomite peaks across the valley were nothing short of impressive. A 20 km afternoon ride got the team to a secluded camp spot next to a small lake where they spent the night. The next day was all downhill, the track descended through the alpine, forests, and many small Italian villages.
Big Hits & Cold Toes.
46° 58′ 02” N | 11° 00′ 25” E
With Crankworx Innsbruck drawing near, there was time for a quick sunrise pedal the next day before making the drive over to Innsbruck.
Grande Finale.
47° 16′ 09” N | 11° 24′ 15” E
There would be no better way to cap off such a memorable week than with a good ol Whipoff on one of the most photographed, iconic jump that overlooks the Innsbruck valley and the Nordkette Range. It’s always an exciting time riding a new jump and the crowd being there to cheer the riders on as they figure out the jump makes it even better. The Whipoff goes on for roughly two hours as riders attempt to get their bike as sideways as possible and then back for a seamless landing. From practice to judged riding then to finals, the girls progressed effortlessly and were having a blast riding in trains with the other athletes. The last few whips were the deciding point letting Georgia take the win with Kirsten close behind in second.
One champagne shower later and it was off to find a real shower before heading back to camp.
The Gear.
47° 16′ 09” N | 11° 24′ 15” E
Both girls had their ABUS HiDrop helmets for the days in the bikepark, as well as ABUS Cliffhanger’s for the long pedaling day. Georgia rides a Devinci Chainsaw DH set up full 27.5” for bike park laps & the Crankworx Whipoff, her enduro set up is a mullet 170mm Chainsaw for pedaling. Kirsten’s Trek Slash Mullet is her tool of choice for the long climbs in the Dolomites, and her full 27.5” Trek Session for the jumps and park.
And Bruno? Bruno’s a 1989 Range Rover Classic. 2.4 TD VM, for those who want to know the details. First registered in Gorizia, Italy. Later sold to Firenze and Viterbo, where Moritz imported him to Austria in 2020. We would not say he’s never having issues, the transmission is leaking a bit, but all in all he runs smoothly for the almost 200k km on the clock.