Vertical body movement is essential in bermed corners ↕️
That's because bermed corners tend to generate more power.
The berm provides lots of support, allowing you to go faster (assuming your line and angle are good). But with that, comes more centrifugal force.
All that force has to go somewhere. If we don't deal with it, we get spat out, lose front wheel grip, get over-compressed, or have to resort to heavy braking.
But if we sink down (compress) in the first half of the turn, we absorb that force and help the tyres find grip. That allows us to press downwards (extend) in the second half of the turn and accelerate out.
But stand tall on approach to set yourself up! If you come in hot and too low you'll not be able to sink down low enough to absorb the energy generated in the turn. THEN you'll be able to stand TALL again to generate speed out of the turn.
#mtblife #mountainbiking #mtb #enduromtb #mtbscotland #mtbdownhill #mtbuk #coaching #sportscoach
British Cycling
Canyon
Endura
Bell Bike Helmets
28 students from the University of Georgia, here to learn about life in the CNPA 🧐
We enjoyed a great couple of days hiking to beautiful places, discussing tricky topics and meeting wonderful people. Thanks to the team for turning up with truckloads of enthusiasm, kindness and great questions.
Also shoutout to @glenmorelodge for being a great base, @dellofabernethy for a welcome diversion at the end of our Ryvoan walk and @cairngormsnationalpark for supplying some handy resources.
And of course to @universityofga for inviting me to deliver as part of your Discover Abroad programme.
Best wishes to the students for the remainder of the trip and your degree course.
#cairngormsnationalpark #cairngorms #birdinguk #mtb #mountainbiking #skitouring ##munrobagging #roamresponsibly #rewilding
@cairngormsconnect
@cairngorms_capercaillie
@rspb
@rothiemurchus
Awesome day recently guiding Emily out on the plateau 😎
Started a bit dreich, but turned into a way more sunny day than either of us dared to hope for. Wildflowers, temperature inversion, great scenery, rare snow buntings at our feet and two of Britain's highest summits 🏔️🏔️
#cairngormsnationalpark #cairngorms #birdinguk #hikinguk #birdwatching #munrobagging #mountaineering #hikingadventures #botany #scotlandexplore
Explore some of Scotland's last remaining ancient pine forest 🌲
Martin, Patrick and Barbara joined me in Abernethy forest a while back, to learn about the conservation of the wonderful species there. This was a return visit for Patrick, who has undertaken some pretty full-on journeys of his own.
Great to spend time with people who appreciate wild places 😊
#cairngormsnationalpark #pineforest #cairngorms #birding #birdinguk #birdwatching #hikinguk #boatofgarten
@visitcairngorms @visitaviemore @visitscotland
@kowasportingoptics
@vikingoptical
@cairngormsconnect
Enduro, downhill and e MTBs have big, powerful 4-pot hydraulic brakes 💪
To keep them working smoothly, the 4 pistons inside need cleaning from time.
Problem is, they rarely extend symetrically, which makes cleaning them harder.
So I've packed out 3 of the 4 pistons here with sections of old plastic membership cards.
This means you can isolate one piston at a time for cleaning!
Job done ✅
Does it look sexy and slick? Nope, but it is cheap, effective and recycles stuff ♻️
#mtblife #mtbenduro #mtbscotland #mtbdownhill #mtbuk #mtb #mtbrider #mtbdownhill #recycle #sustainability #mountainbiking #mechanicproblems
For safe, efficient backcountry skiing, you need reliable, well-attached climbing skins 🧐
Some of the best climbing skins (@contour_skins) use a mid-tacky glue. This is awesome, but needs care in damp conditions. You can use a hat, glove or small pack towel to dry the ski bases before attaching skins. Or you could try a mini squeegee instead (sometimes sold for grouting or clearing windows). This is small, cheap and could also work for de-icing frozen skins. Plus, it doesn't leave you with wet kit!
#backcountryskiing
#skitouring #skimountaineering #thinkwinter #polartravel
Nice lines in the Aonach Bowl today ⛷️
OK, it's not blue skies and miles of powder, but it is Scottish spring skiing! That means wild hills and mountains, challenging weather and get-it-while-you-can ski touring! We finished off this day with a session on ski ropework and snow anchors ⚓
#skitouring #skimountaineering #cairngormsnationalpark #thinkwinter #springskiing #backcountryskiing
What's a steaming tree got to do with avalanches? 💧❄️
Great illustration of water vapour movement under a steep temperature gradient, that's what 🤓
I recorded this a few weeks ago, on a cold, sunny afternoon. There had been a heavy frost the night before, followed by bright sun during the day. I THINK what's happening is the frost on the tree is melting and evaporating quickly in the strong sunshine. But it is almost immediately condensing again into water vapour (which is why we can see it).
The early season snowpack can become very unstable because a similar mechanism is happening within the snow. Cold night + sunny day = steep temperature gradient through the snow. Also, the ground may be humid/unfrozen and the air dry, meaning a strong humidity gradient. These are perfect conditions for water vapour/gas to travel strongly up through the snowpack. BUT it cools quickly and recrystallizes (desublimates?), forming weak 'goblet' or 'facet' crystals BELOW the snow surface. Hence, a 'persistant weak layer' (PWL).
In the same week I recorded this, 2 big avalanches were triggered in the northern Cairngorms (no casualties, thankfully).
#winter #winterskills #snow #avalanche #mountains #mountaineering #skitouring #skimountaineering #scotland #cairngormsnationalpark
Paddling was never just a summer-only thing ❄️
Although it may be harder to get out, there's less time on the water and it's cold, it's still a wonderful way to travel. And with a very ancient history, too.
I'll be adding guided canoe and kayak days to the website over the next few weeks. See the link in bio to find out more.
#paddlesports #canoeing #seakayaking #seakayakinguk #seakayak #ocean #lakes #cairngormsnationalpark #scotlandexplore #adventure #healthyliving
@peakpaddlesports
@phseakayaks
Great to get feedback from Joe and Mekhi - we had a blast exploring the Northern Corries. And we got blasted 😁
#mountaineering #adventuretravel #scotlandtravel #scotlandexplore #cairngorms #munrobagging #hiking #ThinkWINTER
Great wee surf at Sandend today - blue skies, warm wetsuit and friendly waves 🙂 About 4 rolls, 1 wet exit, 1 boat-bashed head and plenty of rides. About right for a quality practice session!
Wearing a decent (thick) wetsuit and a helmet mentally sets the scene for working on rough water paddling. After all, the goal during a surf session is not distance and views, but getting off-balance, developing boat feel and honing your self-rescue skills.
And be ruthless with your learning goals. I backed off another location this morning because it had a bit too much going on for me. Find a location that gives you the environment and conditions that will help you stay in your 'happy place' - especially if you're paddling solo.
#seakayaking
#kayaking
#surf #surfinglife #surfsup #surfing #learning #coaching #outdoorlearning #education
Peak PS
P&H Sea Kayaks
Palm Equipment
Gul Watersports
RAM Mounts
Over the last few days, hundreds of beautiful Whooper swans have been arriving in Scotland. This marks the end of their 2,500 mile autumn migration south from Iceland.
#birdwatching #birdphotography #ukbirdwatching #cairngormsnationalpark #cairngorms #autumn #scotlandexplore #wildlife
Our local river, the Spey, at 11am yesterday 😮
The beautiful all-timber Broomhill Bridge (in the foreground) has been standing since the late 1800s. It's amazing to think of all the flood events it must have seen in it's time!
So, flooding IS a natural process (albeit climate change is making floods more frequent and extreme). Here in the Spey valley, we are surrounded by the evidence of floods everywhere. Floods bring a huge pulse of organic matter into the river system, redistribute gravel and resculpt the banks. All of this, in the long run, improves the health of the river and surrounding habitats.
Not much comfort if your business, farm or home has been flooded, though. And, thankfully, we're not hearing of any loss of life or injuries.
As far as I know, the Cairngorms National Park are planning to reintroduce beavers very soon. Although events of this scale destroy beaver dams outright, they soon rebuild as the waters subside. And it's fascinating to think how these landscape engineers will improve our river systems over the coming decades. Maybe by damming smaller burns upstream, big downstream events like this will be reduced.
#cairngorms #cairngormsnationalpark #floods #flooding #rewilding #scotlandexplore #scotland #beavers
Summer childcare! We found this large group of Long-tailed tit chicks during a guided wildlife day a few weeks back. We counted over a dozen, so probably a couple of families 😊
A whole variety of FREE guided MTB rides on offer in the Cairngorms tomorrow (24th June 2023).
Sign up @craic_events
#mtb #mountainbiking
#cairngorms #cairngormsnationalpark #carrbridge #boatofgarten #aviemore #scotland #sustainabletravel
Great to find this male crossbill posing in the pine forest near Grantown today.
Super-interesting and more than a little elusive, crossbills are always a star of the show. Tricky to identify though - this individual was showing the characteristics and behaviour of a 'Scottish' crossbill (Loxia scotica). But you'd really need to run a sonogram of his call through a computer to be sure.
Guiding with @fieldguidestours
#scotland #birdinguk #birdwatching #birding #birds #wildlife #cairngorms #cairngormsnationalpark @vikingoptical
@kowasportingoptics
Not what you want to see when gearing up to ski some steeps😳
Sounds like Fritschi will repair, which is great for #sustainability 👍
Fritschi Swiss Bindings
Anything Technical Ltd - Ski and Leisure
#skitouring
#backcountryskiing
#skimountaineering
Nice to come across some Arctic visitors this afternoon 😊
Found this wee group of 14 Brent geese (Branta bernicla hrota) at Burghead today. These guys have made the long journey south from their Arctic breeding grounds in Greenland or Scandinavia.
Very confiding as they fueled up amongst the seaweed ⛽
#burghead #moray #scotland #seakayaking #scottishseakayaking #wilife #birdsphotography #birdwatching
Nice to get some goldie action recently 🦅
This adult Golden eagle was getting mobbed by a couple of gulls. When mobbing a larger raptor, gulls (and other birds) have a very distinctive flight - it almost looks like they are pulling up at the last minute to avoid getting burnt!
And quite rightly too. An adult eagle could easily roll over onto its back and severely injure or even catch another bird by presenting its large killing talons.
This eagle gave the impression that that course of action involved just a bit too much hassle 😁
#birdwatching #birdsofprey #birdinguk #birding #scotlandexplore #scotland #wildlife
Red-breasted mergansers showing off 🥳
It's always nice to capture unusual animal behaviour. And while this isn't unusual per se, it is not commonly seen.
I describe Red-breasted mergansers as 'fish catching ducks', and males have a mad hairstyle and colouring to boot. When they want impress they do this crazy half-submerged, arched-back display.
Here's a whole group of them going for it on the Isle of Harris.
(Kowa 883, 20-60 zoom, Kowa Galaxy S21 digiscope adapter)
#birdwatching #birding #nature #scotland #ducks #birdinguk #birdphotography #hebrides #outerhebrides #westernisles
Kowa Sporting Optics
Viking Optical
Wilderness Scotland
