God is Art7 August, 2007
Bowing to public pressure we have started to name the trails that we ride rather than trying to describe them using the names of the cols or valleys that they pass through.
This is an awesome freeride descent down some great trails. The initial climb is a bit tough as it starts at 2600m and goes up to nearly 2900m and is fairly steep, possibly all rideable in the dry but it was a bit damp and slippery during our ascent.
Once at the Col there are breathtaking views over the Queyras and over into Italy, well there would normally be, we were in the clouds and could see nothing.
The first section of the descent is great fast singletrack with flowing corners and the odd drainage ditch. The path then steepens a bit and gets more rocky before dropping you out onto a fire road some 1000m below the col, this fire road plus a bit of tarmac take you through the village of Gaudissart and back onto the singletrack. For nearly 10k’s the track then traverses round the hillside with short descents followed by little climbs.
Then finally you get to the descent to aiguilles which is an amazing set of switchbacks, tight but not so tight that they are not flowing, that seem to drop for ever before spitting you out at the village in the heart of the Queyras.
Here is a map of the ride
download it to view in Google Earth
