Helicopters, bikes, snow and a mountain!

Tuesday 3rd May 2011

Helicopters, bikes, snow and a mountain! That’s one way to sum up the first edition of the MacAvalanche, which took place on Saturday at Glencoe Mountain Resort in the West Highlands.

Over 100 riders were taken to the summit of the Munro Meall a Bhuridh at 1108m by helicopter. When the air horn went the rider had a running sprint to reach their bikes and then off down the snow they went. Some managed to ride, many ran as the heavy spring snow was tough to stay upright on!

Once they reached the firmer ground a gap opened up with riders such as MtbCut’s Joe Barnes, Liam Moynihan and Red Bull’s Danny MacAskill using their skills to tackle the rocky descent. Barnes gained a lead of almost 500m as he crossed the plateau of the ski resort. As the lead riders hit the final descent down the heather covered slopes and into the finish area, many were still making their way down the snow field above.

See a rider's perspective on YouTube.

The fastest rider was Joe Barnes who descended over 700m vertical in an astonishing time of 10min 59 sec. Neil Donoghue took second place with 12.07 with Danny MacAskill hot on his tail finishing just a second later, Glencoe Mountains sponsored rider Scott Laughland came in 10^th after getting slightly lost! The mass start meant that all categories hit the slopes at the same time, Hannah Barnes, Joe’s sister and fellow MtbCut rider was the first of the women to cross the line.

More photos from the event can be viewed on Glencoe Mountain's Flickr photostream.

« Back to News