5 Volcanos in 5 Days in Ecuador with Alban Aubert
We just completed a cool and exhausting trip to some of the famous Ecuadorian volcanos with Swiss Freerider Alban Aubert and photographer Patrice Schreyer.
Our goal was to ride each volcano from between 16000 to 17000 ft, about 5000 meters. The idea was to drive as high as we could with a 4×4 vehicle, then hike to the Refugios/ mountain huts, spend the nights at high altitude and then climb a bit further in the morning before descending into the low lands.
India Adventure to the Mysterious Roop Kund Lake
The Spell of Roop Kund Indian Himalayas Oct. 2011 by Hans Rey & Carmen Rey The last thing I pictured myself doing, if I could reach the mysterious Roop Kund Lake in the remote Uttarakhand region in India's Himalayan Range was crash face first into a pile of muddy human bones. Well, that is exactly what happened. I had paid tribute and my respects at the little shrine only minutes before, a necessary precaution since I have had my interesting experiences with bones and spirits in the past. Was it coincidence, an accident or a spell from the gods that suddenly pulled my front wheel from underneath me and made me go down faster than the speed of light? I might have been delirious from the lack of oxygen at 5000meter/16400ft. when I followed Joscha down the footpath to the shore of the tiny alpine lake and all of a sudden realized that the many human bones reported there, weren't just in the lake, but everywhere, all around us, even on the shore where we were at that moment riding. That very second my front wheel felt like it was yanked from beneath me and I crashed hard, face first in the wet mud! In the process hitting a huge boulder that had bones and skulls laid on top just like a sacrificial altar. I immediately jumped to my knees, partly freaked out and partly shocked, it was then that I realized I had landed face first on top of countless bones.Hans Rey at Singltrek Pod Smrkem
trail-busters.cz
At the end of July 2011 an inconspicuous camper crossed the German Czech border. If you did not notice several dozen colourful stickers covering the back of this RV you would hardly guess that it was driven by a mountain biking legend into the Czech Republic.
See story and photos here: http://trail-busters.com/trail.php?x=75
URGE Cape Verde Event
I once read somewhere an adventure doesn’t start until something unforeseen happens during a journey. Well let me say that it didn’t take long for this adventure to embark. When I arrived at LAX airport to start my trip to Paris, where I was supposed to meet the rest of our 20 some people on our team before we continued together to the Cape Verde islands off the west coast of Africa; I realized that I had forgotten my backpack with my passport, money, phone and computer on the porch of my house, 1 hour and 20 minutes away! Help!! ...