Freeride Mountain Biking French alps Chamonix 2018

this is our newest video

A trip with our enduro mountain bikes to the French alps

Diving Egypt Marsa Shagra Eco Village - Red Sea diving Safari

one week of diving only in Marsa Shagra, Egypt

This video is the short version for the RSDS video competition 1/2018

Here´s the long version:

Diving in Maldives - Robinson Club Noonu

Skitouring Jan 2018

Here´s some videos we made in the french alps during a very warm period in January 2018 after lots of rain

October 2017, some impressions from our trip to Zanzibar. 

There are some very nice scuba diving videos about this area on youtube. However, these are the best pictures I got from 10 dives due to a very poor visibility. Zanzibar is the largest group of islands off east Africa. The archipelago is about 40 km off the Tanzanian coast. The Island has been a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania since 1964. The official languages are Swahili and English. Almost all of the local inhabitants are Muslims. We stayed at the "Green and Blue Ocean Lodge", an eco-friendly, authentic "zanzibar-styled" boutique lodge with an excellent cuisine situated on the north-eastern side of the main island of Unguja. Big Thanks to Alois and his crew!!! Mossi, one of the waiters in the restaurant took us on a a walk through the village of Kigomani and the fish market where he was born and which surrounds the hotel. From the restaurants open-air terrace you can watch the local kids playing in the sea, fishermen going out or coming back, repairing their boats and nets or even the celebration of a traditional wedding so you get a bit of this african flavour. The dive center "Dive Point Zanzibar" is a 10-30 Minutes boat ride away (depending on tides) located in another hotel up the coast. These guys are very professional and nice.Thank you to Adam, Rama, Abou, Hamisi and everybody else!! Zanzibar has a typical tropical climate thanks to its location slightly south of the equator. Off the coast lies Mnemba Island with its Atoll, a photogenic place to snorkel and scuba dive. Unfortunately it is the only place every dive center and provider of snorkeling trips in this area ever goes to so it is very crowded with people and boats. From an ecological or ethical point of view this is actually good because in this way the bigger part of the atoll stays untouched by divers and snorkelers and only has to deal with the local fishermen who spearfish and netfish around the atoll for a living. Of course coral bleaching is a problem and the quantity of fish is mediocre... Some reefs (especially further up the coast towards Nungwi are in better shape though) Maybe I am just spoiled but IMHO there are better places in the world to go scuba diving to. So if you want to relax in a very nice boutique hotel with an authentic african surrounding and very outstanding food, if you seek calmness and recreation and avoid beach partying and mass tourism this might be a place to go. But if you are an experienced enthusiastic (or spoiled...) scuba diver you might google for another destination.

Ice Climbing and Ski touring Wildspitze in Pitztal Austria

So my knee is okay-ish again...

We went to Tyrolia, Austria in February for 4 days of blue bird waterfall ice climbing and some nice ski touring.
We stayed at the Biohotel Stillebach - right in the middle of Pitztal where there´s quite a few waterfalls nearby ( even walking distance)

On the first day we had to get used to all the equipment and procedures again, it´s just so different from rock climbing but we  got used to it quite fast and it felt like there hadn´t been such a long pause due to injuries and whatnot.

We climbed the "Luibiskogelfall", then teh "Klockelefall", then we hiked uo on skis to 2200m to the fantastic "Piösmesfälle" and on the last day we took the Pitztal Glacier express to 3100 m and did the "Wildspitze", at 3690 m the second highst summit in all of Austria.

Conditions were fantastic, skies were blue and we were almost all alone on the glacier...

Check out the video:

Off The Beaten Track - A Dirtbike Adventure In Laos

When I was asked to go on a trip to northern Laos  on Enduro bikes I did not even know where Laos was.
We spent eight days on a round trip in northern Laos starting in Luang Prabang, riding alongside the Mekong River, getting close to the Myanmar, Chinese and Vietnamese frontiers. We rode up to 200 km a day and stayed overnight at small homestays and small hotels.
This film is a kind of documentary with no demand for completeness to show the country and culture in every detail but a motorcycle video diary of this fantastic trip.

It was a guided tour organised by "Offroad Laos Adventures", a business run by Charly, a Frenchman and dirtbike enthusiast with  a great love for this country, it's people and nature.

Laos is a landlocked country in South East Asia and shares borders with China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Since 1975 it is ruled by a communist government  and continues to rely on foreign aid from western governments and NGOs and more and more from the People's Republic of China. It is rated as one of the least developed countries in East Asia, with more than 75% of people living on less than two US dollars a day. More than three quarters of the population still live as subsistence farmers. In recent years tourism  has become one of the main generators of foreign income.

The population is very laid-back but the Lao national character is a complex combination of culture, environment and religion, which is mainly Buddhism and animism.
Some 150 ethnic sub-groups within 50 primary ethnicities are officially recognised.
The landscape is dominated by rivers and mountains, folding the country into a series of often spectacular ridges and valleys, rivers and mountain passes.
Laos was affected very badly by the Indochina and Vietnam wars, being known as the "most bombed country" in the world.


(excerpts from "Lonely Planet Laos")

And another multi pitch in the Aiguilles rouges, The "Aiguille de L´Index":

Just got back from France, Mont Blanc Massif, my favourite place to ski, climb and mountainbike...
Spent one week with our enduro bikes in the hills, using chairlifts and muscle power to get up only to pedal down on the red and black tracks or looking for remote single trails in hidden valleys...

The second week we did some climbing in the Chamonix area, a nice long 450 m / 10 pitches rout called "The cursed lands" and in Flégère climbing the Aiguile de l´index, video and photo will follow...

Here´s some of the filming and picture taking...

2014 is on...


...and my knee is working okayish, I did some ski touring and Ice Climbing, need to take care though, the increasing pain after 2-3 days shows me instantly: "that was a bit too much...slow down..."

In the photo/ video section you´ll find some updates of our trips to Chamonix ane Tyrolia

ok- 2013 is drawing to an end...
my knee is starting to work quite ok . indoor climbing seems to be the way to go to get used to using the knee again for sports activities....

last MRI showed a good healing of the cartilage transplant and a stable cruciate ligament...

So I will increase my rehab and build up muscles so I can maybe start touring again in late spring...

The FreeMoX - svalbard expedition is planned for 2015 now - we´ll see....

my knee job

it´s done.

after having suffered a serious knee injury in december while I was skiing I had my knee surgery 3 days ago. the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) was  torn and the cartilage was missing on a 7cm2 area...

I had a ACL replacement with 2 tendons from my lower leg and a zillion cartilage cells re-implanted ("ACT")

The knee will be properly working in a few months but I cancelled all the activities like downhill biking or skiing and climbing for 2013.

Expedition 2013 is cancelled

Due to a knee injury that happened before Christmas I underwent an arthroscopy on January 10 and I will need to undergo surgery again in march 2013 to have my cruciate ligament done plus a cartilage transplantation. This will make it impossible for me to keep up with the plans for this years trip to Spitzbergen.

A dream shattered....

All the details were already planned. I am really sad.

But anyways - the show must go on and it gives me a lot of time to plan the same - even bigger - expedition for 2014...we will see.......

FREEride 

MOuntaineering

eXpedition

Spitzbergen 2013

(FreeMoXS)
- interne Vorplanung -

Basecamp Skitouren und Freeriden auf Spitzbergen (April 2013)

Ziel der Expedition ist es, aus eigener Kraft auf Ski und Splitboard mit Pulkas in Tagesmarschentfernung des Ortes Longyearbyen Basecamps zu errichten um von diesem aus Skitouren und Freeride-Abfahrten von den umliegenden Gipfeln zu machen.

1. Team:

3-4 Teilnehmer

• Oliver Asbach (Leiter) 42 J.
• Philipp Asbach 23 J.
• Ansgar Schilling 41 J.
• NN

2. Zeitrahmen:

„Trainingslager Wochenende Schwarzwald“ im Winter 2012/13 im Schwarzwald zum Testen von Team, Equipment und eigener Fitness…- Teilnahme zwingend!!!

„Trainingslager Woche Alpen“ Januar/ Februar 2013 in den frz. Alpen als 2. Testlauf, zum Auffrischen Lawinenkunde, erste Hilfe, Bergungen etc.

FREEMoXs: 16-20 Tage im April 2013 (geplant 11.4.-28.4.2013)

• Ankunft, Vorbereitung, Erkundungsfahrt mit Skidoo (2 Tage)
• Expedition mit 2 -3 Basecamps (ca 10-14 Tage)
• Rückkehr, Abgabe des Equipments, Rückflug (1-2 Tage)

3. Klima und Geografie Spitzbergen - Svalbard

Der Archipel liegt nördlich des Polarkreises zwischen 74. und 81. Breitengrad. Ab dem 20. April ist Polartag (24 Stunden Sonne), in den Tagen davor ist es nachts für kurze Zeit dunkel und mehrere Stunden dämmerig. Am 11.4. z.B. geht die Sonne noch um 3:56 morgens auf und um 22:08 unter. Das heißt, wir haben in der ersten Woche noch Dämmerung/ kurze Dunkelheit mit der Möglichkeit vielleicht Polarlichter zu sehen und in der 2. Woche 24 Stunden Sonne, was die Tourenplanung deutlich vereinfacht.

Die Temperaturen steigen im Verlauf des Monats von durchschnittlich -15 auf -5 Grad. Niederschlag fällt immer mal wieder in Form von leichtem Schneefall.

Es handelt sich um eine arktische Wüste (!) daher ist mit viel weniger Schnee als z.B. in den Alpen zu rechnen, der zumal von den starken Winden oftmals verlagert wird. Das Lawinenrisiko ist natürlich auch hier vorhanden, ebenso wie Gletscherspalten, wobei diese (sehr flache Gletscher!) zu dieser Zeit komplett eingeschneit sind.

4. Kurzbeschreibung Spitzbergen

Spitzbergen ist die Hauptinsel des Svalbard-Archipels, einer Inselgruppe im Nordpolarmeer (Arktis), die unter norwegischer Verwaltung unter einem „Gouverneur“ (Sysselmann) steht.

Es gibt einen Ort (Longyearbyen) mit ca. 2000 Einwohnern. Longyearbyen ist Universitätsstadt (UNIS) und verfügt über eine moderne Infrastruktur mit diversen Hotels, Geschäften, Kneipen, Restaurants, Kindergärten, einer Schule, einem Kino, einer Tankstelle und einem Hafen. Das Straßennetz ist nur etwa 40 Kilometer lang und stellt keine Verbindung zu einem der anderen Orte auf Spitzbergen her. Schneemobile („Skidoos“, „snoskuter“) und Boote sind daher die Hauptfortbewegungsmittel. Als Tourist bereist man die Insel zu Fuß oder im Winter mit Ski oder Skidoos.

Des Weiteren gibt es mehrere Forschungsstationen und Kohleminen sowie 2 russische Siedlungen (Geisterstadt Pyramiden und Mine Barentsburg)

Die Insel ist von Bergen und Tälern und Gletschern durchzogen und misst 380 km in nord-südlicher und etwa 220 km in west-östlicher Richtung. Höchster Berg ist der Newtontoppen mit 1717m.

5. Ablauf

Nach Ankunft Einchecken im Hotel. Am ersten Tag Komplettieren der Ausrüstung (Leihequipment: Pulkas, Daunenanzüge, Signalmittel, evtl. 2. Gewehr, Lebensmittel), Ausleihen von Snoskutern, Kontakt zu Greendog (Wachhund) und vielleicht eine Schnuppertour am „Hausberg“ hinter dem Ort:

 

Freerider am Hausberg oberhalb von Longyearbyen

Dann erkunden wir mit Schneemobilen in einer 1-2 Tagestour mit evtl. Zeltübernachtung nach Pyramiden oder zur Ostküste die aktuellen Schneeverhältnisse im Zielgebiet.

Am 3. oder 4. Tag dann Abmarsch vom Ort im Team mit Ski, Pulkas und Hund durch die flachen Täler zum Basecamp ca. 15 (-20?) km, abends Ankunft.

Das Basecamp besteht aus 2 Zelten für 2 Mann und 1 Gemeinschafts (-Koch-)zelt, Platz für den Hund, Materialdepot, Klostelle.

Es gibt mehrere mögliche Routenoptionen bzw. mögliche Zielregionen.

Einige habe ich während des diesjährigen Spitzbergen-Trips bereits ausgekundschaftet, es hängt aber sehr von den dann aktuellen Schneeverhältnissen ab, wo genau wir das Basecamp machen.

„Soleietoppen“ – mögliches erstes Basecamp und super zum Einfahren und Testen.

Von hier aus ergeben sich vielzählige Möglichkeiten von weiten 30° Plaisierhängen bis zu steileren felsdurchsetzten Couloirs.

Alles aber im Rahmen von max. 800-1100 hm Differenz zum Camp. (also ca. 2-3 „hike2ride“ Aktionen /Tag)

 

„Grönlandhunde – perfekte Eisbärenwächter“

Je nach Zeitplanung kann man mit Camp weiterziehen und 2-3 Basecamps aufschlagen und so viele verschiedene Features fahren, aber sich auch die wunderschöne Landschaft „erlaufen“.

Abenteuer garantiert – 24/7.

Nach Rückkehr zum Ort und Abgabe des Leihequipments einchecken ins Hotel und heiße Dusche, einige Bierchen in der „Svalbar“ und am nächsten Tag

Rückreise nach Hause…

Bikepark Les Gets

not the best video but here´s what Les Gets is like
Les Gets Video

Nature ride - naturide

the black track in Sixt fer a cheval:
naturide video

another great tour!

this was a fantastic tour with awesome landscapes and a great view of the Mont Blanc massif!

1800 m downhill non stop...with a carry-down passage
Grandes platieres video

French Alps bike videos

here are the videos of our downhill wekk in the Alps:
downhill chamonix video!!!

French Alps Downhill MTB

We just got back from a perfect week of downhill mountain biking in the french Alps - well almost perfect...
One of our group had a very bad fall descending the steep tracks in Chamonix and fractured some ribs and a finger...

 after a 400 m uphill push-and-carry the bikes before going down th black track "naturide"

 mud fight at Les Gets bikepark

 Fantastic view: the Mont Blanc!

 and "chaine des Fiz"

wild capricorns all around..Marmots, chamois all over the place :-)

FreeMoXs 2013

FreeMoXs 2013  

a freerideski mountaineering expedition in spitzbergen....

In April 2013 we will return to the cold coasts of Spitzbergen for a 2 weeks arctic freeriding experience on skis!

Usually this kind of expedition is done with snowmobiles to reach (if not even to climb) the mountains.

We chose the more ecological way: we will start in Longyerabyen pulling all the equipment with pulks to put up basecamp in the mountainous areas south east of Longyearbyen.

Everyday we will hike the surrounding peaks to cut first lines in the snowy faces and the steep couloirs.

We will have to deal with the permanent threat of polar bears living on the island, avalanches not to mention the wind and the cold....

more to come...the planning just started