When your traditional New Year’s ski-tour to a mountain hut won’t work because of the weather, then doing it on mountain bikes is arguably a better choice.
Words & Photography Richard Bord
I’ve lived in Annecy, France, for many winters now and I like spending New Year’s Eve high up in the mountains, far from the crowded towns and cities. I love nothing better than ski touring to a hut, meeting a bunch of like-minded guys, setting up the fire, watching the stars and going to bed before midnight to wake up early and enjoy the first day of the year at its best. Yes, but…
Yes, but this time, in the French Alps, the rain cleared all the snow under 2,000m high a few days before New Year, and a strong wind blew at the summits. Then the hot temperatures came. Those who know the mountains a little bit can tell that these are not the best conditions to go out at altitude. The snow was bad and the slopes dangerous.
I still had in mind my escape idea, so along with two friends we decided to go to the South of France and find a sunny place for a mountain bike ride. I knew the weather conditions would be perfect in Provence, around Mount Ventoux, and we thought it was a good challenge to say hi to the ‘Giant of Provence’ with our mountain bikes.
My friend Michel had ridden this 1,909m mountain on a road bike many times and even twice on a mountain bike, but it was the first time for Thibaud and me. And even though Mich is an old guy, we like to keep him around as he still is faster than us… most of the time! Malaucène on the west side of the mountain was our starting point, so we met there early on the morning of the last day in December.
Is it too early for Plan B?
The idea? Pedalling up the southern side of Ventoux, starting with the magnificent Combe Obscure singletrack before joining the 4×4 track just above Bédoin that goes up to the Chalet Reynard, around 6km from the summit. The original plan was to stop above the village of Aurel for the overnight bivvy and then finish the tour of this, the highest summit of the Vaucluse region, the day after with a descent of the north side of the mountain.
A total ride of around 50km, with 2,000m of climbing was planned. A big piece of cake! Yes, but… we didn’t really think about all our stuff to bring with us: tent, sleeping bags, mattress, water, food, tools, warm clothes for the night. By the time we set off we were already two hours late and the sun sets earlier during winter. Oh, did I mention Thibaud didn’t have time to ride much in the weeks before as he was busy enjoying his new mission of being a dad? Yes, you guessed, during the long, painful and way too slow climb, this bunch of tourists really started to think about a plan B.
However, it was sunny and the view cleared up above the huge sea of clouds as we started to get higher. The winter sun was low and we had spring temperatures to enjoy, although the Piste des Graviers Blancs was endless and our arses reminded us how little they’d seen a saddle during ski season. Chalet Reynard (1,417m) seemed to get further away rather than getting closer as were going on, while the summit’s antenna seemed to wave from its snowy perch at over 1,900m. Every 45 minutes I said to Thibaud we’d be at the chalet in 45 minutes…
The truth is that Mont Ventoux is 25km long on its east–west axis and that was exactly the way we were going. To motivate my struggling friend, I told him that Michel was already waiting for us up there with an ice cream. I know it’s bad to lie to people, but it was 3pm and we still had at least two hours of climbing to go. Michel was actually waiting for us a bit further up, sitting on the ground almost asleep, looking at the map to find a plan B. What a team! But for now we had to reach Chalet Reynard as fast as possible to recharge our water for the bivvy and to drink a fresh beer. We finally arrived at 4.45pm, just 15 minutes before the doors were closed for the last day of the year. Tight timing!
A good beer, a blueberry pie that seemed to be the best in the world, a good laugh with two guys we’d met earlier and we were ready to be back in the saddle to search out a good spot for our overnight stay. The magnificent golden sun setting behind the huge sea of clouds stopped us dreamers for a moment. The last sunset of 2021, and one of the best.
Always read the instructions
A few minutes later we were about to find the best spot to bivvy: a flat clearing in the middle of the pine trees, sheltered from the wind, on the south-east side of Ventoux.
After 7h 45m on the saddle, 35km and 1,654m of climbing from Malaucène, it was time to chill out and rest to enjoy the last hours of the year. We set up a fire to get a warmer place for our simple dinner, though we found out later it isn’t really allowed in this area. (Even though we took great care about lighting and extinguishing the fire, please be aware of the laws when you bivvy. Do as we say and not as we did. Regardless, always clean the area when you leave it as if you were never there. Although bivvying is allowed in the forests of Vaucluse in the winter, it is strictly forbidden from the 1st of July to the 15th of September every year.)
As the night wore on and the year faded out, the stars in the sky were really bright and we enjoyed it as much as if we were on the other side of the planet. Adventure can be lived at its fullest and still be as simple as this – close to home, but far from the crowd, with a bunch of good friends.
Bring on the new year!
The morning after, plan B was set: we were going to pedal up to the summit and then ride down the north face. After a good night we were ready for the 500m of vertical climb and we did it at a good pace, thanks to the road being closed to cars. We still had to cross some snowy areas that we really enjoyed, unlike all other roadies who struggled to cross with their thin tyres. Three mountain bikers at the top of the Ventoux, with big loaded bag packs and sleeping bags attached to the handlebars: I think people didn’t notice we were there at all! Finally, the fun part of our trip was about to start. Michel carefully checked the iPhiGénie mapping app to be sure we found the right track. By starting our descent on the north side we would be leaving the sunlight behind as we headed into the shadow, ignoring the sea of clouds that seemed to go beyond infinity to the south. We rode down a bit on the road to join an authorised trail for mountain bikes, and found some good dirt in technical and steep terrain. Happiness!
After a short and sunny lunch break close to the Chalet Liotard, right above the Mont Serein ski area (at 1,400m), we took a hidden track before finally finding the famous MTB N°6 Black trail. Perfectly technical, just as we wanted; sometimes too much as some of the rock slabs were greasy in the frosty air. This track gave us some hard work on our loaded bikes – but that’s all part of the challenge.
We found a good pace and it was awesome! When we crossed the road close to the Maison Forestière des Ramayettes, Michel changed the itinerary to take us onto the southern part. We dove under the climbing cliffs of the Rocher du Midi, on the Combe de Malaval track. After a short but fast bit under the pine trees, we took on a rocky part and said goodbye to the sun for a while as we sunk wheel by wheel into this combe.
The atmosphere was suddenly completely different, big walls looming on both sides of the track. It was getting dark and we soon were passing the mouths of big caves as if we were diving into the heart of Mother Earth. This place is magic!
We finally left this parallel world, hard as it was to stay focused on the bike and on the great things we saw around us. We stopped for a short moment to look at each other: our eyes shining like when kids receive a new gift.
The next hour would be a hard way to head back to reality on the road to Malaucène from Bédoin in the cold and humid fog ruling the valley. Fortunately we found the bar we had been to the day before our trip, and also the pizza maker and his great pizza.
It was time to start our ‘rehab’ of this second long day on the bike after 43km and 1,900m of downhill. We achieved our goal of ending 2021 and starting 2022 with a few simple basics: mountain bike rides, friends, nature and good times!
So, how is mountain biking on Mount Ventoux? We’ll do it again for certain, but this time with a local guide to be sure we explore this amazing area to the maximum.
