Trying to Ride the Steepest DH Track in the World

Рет қаралды 276,229

4 жыл бұрын

The first time I rode the Champery Downhill Mountain Bike track was easily the scariest day of my life...and it's time for some redemption. Equipped with my brand new Scott Gambler, I headed out with the person that actually built the track to take on the steepest race track that has ever been on the circuit. Disagree? Let me know in the comments!
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Пікірлер: 470

@ben.g05_63 4 жыл бұрын

“he snapped his leg in half” is not what i wanted to hear right before i go riding 😂

@clarkpark 4 жыл бұрын

“My wife does this all the time... by herself” goals

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Sure is 👍

@elliottglynn5055 4 жыл бұрын

rode it this summer... my brake pads were literally smoking at the bottom

@charleygaines5112 4 жыл бұрын

Elliott Glynn I did to I had to replace my rotors

@rcfux 4 жыл бұрын

...I had to replace my underwear....

@matejmanceta1794 4 жыл бұрын

Tou mean coward lever pads???

@oanatudor1339 3 жыл бұрын

Holy crap

@laszloodler7760 2 жыл бұрын

where is this DH track?

@Twitch0331 4 жыл бұрын

This is me on blue trails! "This downhill is SO steep!" 🥶🥶🤣🤣👍👍

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Hahaha

@akronyme 4 жыл бұрын

@@PaulThePunter and @James Long try the blue in Morgins bike park just near champery, never seen a blue as steep and technical ;) Nice video BTW, I'm always impressed how you are trying and trying again, great motivation!

@fillfreakin2245 4 жыл бұрын

You're right about gopro POV footage never looking very steep. You really have to look at some of the other cues to even grasp how steep some of that is. But on the bonus side, you do get to see that it's actually rideable, because it flattens it out to just the features themselves, which mostly look like big berms and a bunch of mostly medium sized drops. The problem is letting your mind see it that way in person so you can let go of the brakes enough to get the necessary speed, and knowing when and how much to brake to keep your speed in check - a pretty fine line by the looks of it. Right on, nice progressing!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@Marty000 4 жыл бұрын

I think I’m getting the go pro effect, it looks not that bad 😂

@kevinh4631 4 жыл бұрын

That set f trails looked like a blast, lots of variety and skill building Terrain. Total confidence booster when you get to the bottom I’d think.

@philthorley5229 4 жыл бұрын

Omg .....cracking video Paul, massive kudos for just dropping into some of those sections 👏👏

@hobmarg 4 жыл бұрын

Great vid Paul, huge fan of the races from that track and it was cool to see POV of those sections spliced with race footage. 1000m drop on a DH race track is insane! Over double many tracks today!!

@toddjohnston5504 4 жыл бұрын

Dude.. that was sick!! Good job, I was feeling it just watching!

@geneh2972 4 жыл бұрын

Nice quality video. The couple look like a nice ppl lending their patience and expertise to guide you down.

@WaechterDerNacht 4 жыл бұрын

All the time during this video i heard Tracey Hannah in my head saying "Sing, sing, sing.... keep singing Paul!" :-P

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Haha yup!

@jereddennis4110 4 жыл бұрын

“....Another one bites the dust “

@WaechterDerNacht 4 жыл бұрын

@@jereddennis4110 that one is good... You also could change some words... "...bike trail to the danger zone"

@jereddennis4110 4 жыл бұрын

Philip Wächter yeah definitely looked steep even on GoPro!!

@MTB_Nephi 4 жыл бұрын

Yeah 👍 i remember that

@bull3tfr0g 4 жыл бұрын

Makes me wish i had trails like this closer to home. Looks epic, great job on challenging yourself bro.

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers Tim 😂

@mattdeso1672 4 жыл бұрын

That looks terrifying steep, even with the wide angle lens flattening it out. I can feel the sweaty palms and puckering.

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Haha nice

@justintownsend7400 4 жыл бұрын

This video made my hands and feet sweaty. Love your channel

@CharlesChristolini 4 жыл бұрын

My brain while watching this video. "Paul, just send it! You can do it!"

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Haha thanks for the cheers :)

@colindixon9543 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome, shows how some talent and great coaching speeds progression. That was still scary from my sofa.

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers Colin!

@MrJordanmclachlan 4 жыл бұрын

Love this. You sound like I would on literally any of the stuff you usually smash through... "Drop me like a stone. Oh..."

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Haha yup!

@andrest2003 4 жыл бұрын

I can feel the heat of your brakes sick video sick track !

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

What do you reckon, is the normal GoPro effect a bit less on this?? Thanks for watching and just check if you're subscribed...are you?

@Stopadoodledoo 4 жыл бұрын

Paul The Punter definite gopro effect, especially on the slab which looks like nothing on the video but is just bonkers in reality. I ended up in the catch netting first tie down, upside down, in hysterics. There are steeper trails but this one is steep for a long, long time.

@cougar231000 3 жыл бұрын

@@Stopadoodledoo what tracks are steeper?

@Stopadoodledoo 3 жыл бұрын

@@cougar231000 I've ridden down Champery and it does have some damned steep sections; I ended up in the bright orange catch netting at one point (much to my mate's amusement). There's probably steeper trails on Le Pleney in Morzine (naughty trails that we aren't supposed to ride) but not quite as prolonged. The scariest, steepest trail I have tried to ride was the one in this video, at Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire; that was just bonkers: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hMCodr2kuMeqcmg.html

@selder03 4 жыл бұрын

Don't know why. But this has been one of my favorite episodes to watch so far. The progression is amazing. PUNT!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers Scott! It's always nice to see some good things at the end :)

@JakeOlsonTheSnake 4 жыл бұрын

great video, Paul! Kudos for sticking with it

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers Jake!

@chimps4gimps 4 жыл бұрын

Solid effort! Well done for not dying 👊🏼

@TheHeyoo 4 жыл бұрын

Paul, well done! Scott bikes look great and that track was beastly!

@kentweyers1845 4 жыл бұрын

That track is mental!! Even with the GoPro effect, it looks steep, real steep.

@vivianfaithfull4748 4 жыл бұрын

Great work mate. Yes it did translate on screen how steep it is so fair play to you.

@jonibz1456 4 жыл бұрын

I tried to do this about 4 years ago on a 130mm trail bike, i have no idea what i was thinking, and was lucky to make it to the half way point. was good to see how you progressed with some encouragement.

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

You're insane! Hahaha

@rich196611 4 жыл бұрын

That looks crazy scary! Great video

@essexhertsmtb 4 жыл бұрын

Great vid Paul - having ridden it a few times it is comically steep. You look down and it’s just a ridiculous hill full of catch netting! Its well built though so I imagine really good riders can get it to flow. Kudus to Ben and his crew who have been trail building out there for years and are givers of stoke if you ever run into them!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

So true, I think comically steep is a pretty apt way of describing how it is too.

@cambike 4 жыл бұрын

Well done, crazy steep, scary as lines..... You ou did us proud

@mrs8171 4 жыл бұрын

Man that is a CRAZY course. You did well!

@kirkland0074 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the vid it was awesome and I just subscribed to the channel. One question I noticed no dropper post lever, did you ride this without a dropper post???

@BigDescent 4 жыл бұрын

WOW... looks steeeeep af. Great progression dude!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers my friend 🤙

@IthacaDon 4 жыл бұрын

I am very impressed with how much better you did at the end. I have had so many days ruined because I lost confidence and never recovered. And pointing out the obvious, those trails are even harder when you were going slow and had no momentum to clear some of the drops. Well done Paul. Question. Could you even ride those trails with your enduro bike?

@stephancobb13 4 жыл бұрын

That trail looks wicked!!!....REALLY STEEP!....Reminds of hill here in Inkster, Michigan(where i live now) called "Dead man's hill".

@benspear 4 жыл бұрын

Hands down the strongest GoPro effect I've ever seen. This track HAS to be seen to be believed. Kudos for lapping it! I got down it once (just) but super keen to return.

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Nice work Ben 👌

@nickcummins3084 4 жыл бұрын

cool video Paul, riding with people better than you is a good way to progress your own riding

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Sure is!

@fifthpinnedracing 4 жыл бұрын

GoPro Effect was in full swing untill you looked uphill around the 10:30 mark. That looks gnarly! Props to you for conquering this course!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers! I'd say you're pretty spot on there.

@RobinAdamsOsteopath 4 жыл бұрын

Respect to you Paul The Punter - great vid

@mongooseman310 4 жыл бұрын

Wow Kool to see a video of a guy more like the average Joe Mnt Biker hitting a Legendary track and seeing the SDG effect as you let the breaks go Abit more and line choice got better on such a Steep Big Dawg track man. Cheers

@TheMeta6 4 жыл бұрын

I rode this in the summer on an enduro bike. Hands down the steepest thing I've ever ridden and one of the only tracks that I'd have rather been on a downhill bike but i loved it!

@christopherclements5909 4 жыл бұрын

Even on GoPro that looked insane, great riding mate

@caylanwojciechowski8233 4 жыл бұрын

there are levels and world cup downhill tracks are on another level. respect the levels.

@jaykellett7693 4 жыл бұрын

My hands were sweating watching this! Fair play! 🤜

@llullwllallkll 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Paul for taking me along with you!!! ✌️✌️✌️Sobrang nakakatakot!!! ( It's so scary!!! ) ✌️✌️✌️

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

No problem ron!

@josemorenoporras7506 4 жыл бұрын

Totally agree Champery is scary at the first time ,got some heavy action in a few spots...I crash in the worst part,in the steps protected by the green net. My bike flu over that like 30 meters or so,in that moment my first thought was,ok I broke my bike it is impossible it survive that any damage. It was OK at the end. Best thing to do is take Danny Hart video and compare while you are there,then you got speechless, I brake a few times to look at the jumps. There is one jump at the top,the mountain is so steep there,if you take the jump 90º to the right I´m pretty sure you can land on Champery village from the top of the mountain hahaha. Awesome video!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Haha yeah that's exactly how it is!

@ArmaniFlyHigh 4 жыл бұрын

U got to trust the bike and just fly Paul :-)

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Let me know how you got on on this track :)

@dan-5678 4 жыл бұрын

@@PaulThePunter so then if I challenge you to a race down this...?

@rorytippett8345 4 жыл бұрын

Yes he does he has a good bike just ride it. If u are to scared and on the brakes to much u are going to go head over tea kettle

@jpdirt289 4 жыл бұрын

Dude finally a video how I would ride these sick Pro DH trails WOW! I dont know if I will ever but you got the bikes for this, cool video dude! 10,000Ft of descending you can see that shit wow dude insane good job!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers my dude 👌

@michaelwynn7772 4 жыл бұрын

Face your fears and live your dreams, just goes to show what you can achieve. By the end of the day you were starting to shred. 10 out of 10 for effort.

@stewartleese561 4 жыл бұрын

Love the fact you don't make everything and bail on some stuff. BUT you do keep trying. It doesn't make me feel so bad. LOL. Keep up the good videos.

@rayred74 4 жыл бұрын

Well done mate - conquering fears is what I love about moutnainbiking - you sent it bro

@LeandroLiberal 4 жыл бұрын

Maaaaaaate! That's freaking EPIC! That's my training track, love that place, and honestly hats off for riding all the way down. If you ever come back to Switzerland DH or Enduro bike, don't hesitate to hit me up, would be more then welcomed to show you around some more gnarly track, fun but gnarly :P

@arendscholten6835 4 жыл бұрын

Agreed, very steep, looks great though, lots of trail to hold you. Great riding man! I got Two words for you......Diesel Wolf , it is halfway between Whistler and Pemberton. Not sure if it's consistently as steep, but the trail is Hardcore, and extra extra hardcore when it's wet. Cheers!

@siglinde_raw199 4 жыл бұрын

Nice progress on that, dude!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Fabian!

@dadmadforgot4050 4 жыл бұрын

I’m just starting to get into this sport and I’m amazed how good people are!

@bobbygutierrez1519 4 жыл бұрын

Jon Willis watch Red Bull rampage that’s some skill

@WheezyandtheBanditMTB 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome riding - crazy to see steep footage on GoPro! Makes us just want to get out and ride more.

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers my dude!

@ArmTheCreative 4 жыл бұрын

Love the video!!

@MTB_Nephi 4 жыл бұрын

I feel with you every Seconds 😜😜 o.m.g. amazing 🙈🙈 very very steep. Unbelievable. Very Brave of you, to Ride down there.👍👍🤙🤙

@powhana6019 4 жыл бұрын

I flew from the US to ride Champerey. The exposure is super intimidating

@garymoser7584 4 жыл бұрын

Those are some badass trails!!!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Sure are!

@woodwrow78 4 жыл бұрын

looks gnarly you did it though i think i would have pooped myself. Good go another sweet vid

@CodyWBrown 4 жыл бұрын

I wonder who Ben pissed off at SCOTT bad enough that he had to ride with you at Champery

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Haha no idea 😂

@jvlienj 4 жыл бұрын

You say "in France" you mean in Switzerland xD, hope my friends from chocolate's country didn't hear that. And in fact it is like that in all of europe for ski slopes and mtb tracks.

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Ahhh well played....it's just so close to the border! But this was foreshadowing for my other videos from France to explain the grading. Really I should have said Europe as you say.

@rabitoblanco 4 жыл бұрын

haha, we were getting to Grenoble and saw signs for Chambery and thought it was Champery--my son was SO excited to visit, until we realized we were another 4ish hours away!

@jvlienj 4 жыл бұрын

@@rabitoblanco Champery is not Chambéry !

@Spitfire194 4 жыл бұрын

You are awesome Paul! Proud of you!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers Kevin!

@asdfgoogle 4 жыл бұрын

I don't mind trails like this at all! It looks fun! As long as there aren't large (small to people who are good at them. lol) jumps or drops of more than one or two feet, I'll ride about anything.

@arloridesbikes9921 4 жыл бұрын

This has some insane go pro effect

@cybersub 4 жыл бұрын

Hey Paul, if you are still in Switzerland there is a magic place to ride near Champery. It's call "les Renards" (the Fox) situated betwin Bex and Barboleuse (40 minutes by car from Champery). When you ride there you take the train from Bevieux station to Barboleuse station for the lift, five minutes of pedling on a little road call "les renards" then you connect plenty of increadible trails. Ask Ben i'm shure he know the place.

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Ahhh I'm sure he does know that and is probably riding it now! I've ridden Dorenaz many years ago (sorry if I spelt it wrong) so I am keen to check it out. As always, never enough time with these things. Thanks though!

@Scottbenwalker 4 жыл бұрын

Bex is one of my favorite spots!!! I wanted to take Paul down the Mythique Chable to show him some steeps in Bex but maybe next time.

@lewissandell1 4 жыл бұрын

amazing to see

@timquain5341 4 жыл бұрын

Loved it! Have you ridden Queenstown Skyline Bike Park? It's my local. Does this compare? Your footage does still make it look steep.

@ALLINCLUSIVE2k 4 жыл бұрын

scientists say "if its steep on GOPRO its actually a wall"

@andrewlovell9930 4 жыл бұрын

Good job man!

@nathanbull7790 4 жыл бұрын

Some scenery there!

@peterhilgersom9370 4 жыл бұрын

'Just stay home and watch Netflix Ben'. Summing up these crazy trails!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Haha he was having none of it!

@ygerber 4 жыл бұрын

I rode this with some friends earlier this summer. 10min before the beginning of the track it started to rain like hell. One of my friend kept saying "it's raining grip lads!". Few corner later he layed in the middle of the forest with a dislocated shoulder. Had to walk half of the track down. It was sooo slippery. You basically had to jump from tree to tree because it was unwalkable in the rain. Nuts

@flarix17 4 жыл бұрын

Nicely done the Gopro effect was super evident in this one!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Sure was eh??

@JoshuaClarked 4 жыл бұрын

Yeah especially when Ben was way up on the berm and Paul was looking back up toward him you get a sense of how huge that angle is. Crazy!

@kimandersen3588 4 жыл бұрын

Speed is your friend on a bike like that. Keep pushing on 🤘

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

ok!

@kimandersen3588 4 жыл бұрын

Its not hate, i totally get where youre at in the process.

@bikemad 4 жыл бұрын

Well paul after this those rock rolls in squamish will be a walk in the park!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Haha that's what Ben kept saying 😂

@welfarestates8465 4 жыл бұрын

What an amazing video

@angelospapadopoulos8242 4 жыл бұрын

I’m going there in summer and I can’t wait to ride this trail

@MrTonka 4 жыл бұрын

I know what you mean by individually, the features are doable. But string them all together and things fail to process in my brain. That's my problem on steep trails as well. Give me one and i'm good. Make a line of them and my mind revolts. haha Loved seeing you pick up speed with each successive lap. Nice work!

@stevefox6753 4 жыл бұрын

Great video Paul, you definitely got a lot faster!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers Steve! Guess it's the bike 💁‍♂️

@stevefox6753 4 жыл бұрын

@@PaulThePunter oh yeah that'll be it, haha.

@JB50713 4 жыл бұрын

Hard to believe how easy the pros make it look all the time. Insane!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Right???

@jmdelecea001 4 жыл бұрын

Heey question here!! Was she using a ransom with DH setup??? In love with your gambler!! Awesome video!! Cheers!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Perhaps she was....Yeah the Gambler is the DH bike of dreams 👌

@FatGuyBiking 4 жыл бұрын

The best part of a track like this is everything else is going to seem tame now in comparison. You'll be Gwinning(Did I just make that up?) up in no time.

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Oooo maybe!

@BigMan-cu2dw 4 жыл бұрын

2:05 my brakes 😂

@derekjarman1638 4 жыл бұрын

Nice job Paul! If it looks steep in the video - it must be really steep!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers Derek!!!

@petersilie2432 4 жыл бұрын

Ok, so this needs to be on my bucket list.

@MikeKoPhotography 4 жыл бұрын

Holy crap! Even with GoPro effect looks steep as heck!

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

There ya go!

@diegoarranz2518 4 жыл бұрын

3:07 Ive been looking for that race run for years!! Is it possible for You Paul to upload it??

@theonlyjasonkirk 4 жыл бұрын

Respect for pushing on.

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers Jason

@liammulligan1279 Жыл бұрын

You were probably the best at what you were doing with these videos

@julesowen-jones9815 4 жыл бұрын

Well Paul you did much better on one run than I did in five on a blue where I almost died at least once every run.

@jennalohr7767 4 жыл бұрын

dude this trail is gnarly ash

@michaeljosephocampo8732 4 жыл бұрын

Yeah another watch your video Paul. Greeting from Philippines.

@daveandmerlin 4 жыл бұрын

That's a steep track for sure Paul !! You must ride a place called La Grave ! Really steep and fast trails starting at 3200 m . It would make a great video

@Magromancer 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome video Paul!!! would love to see how steep these trails are in person one day. I have a question though, I’ve seen you tackle some pretty steep trails at Whistler and I was wondering how they stack up to this place? I know that this place is incredibly steep but would love to hear what you think of them.

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

This is just more intense and for longer. There are usually flatter bits on the trails around here, but Champery is nooooon stop!

@Magromancer 4 жыл бұрын

Paul The Punter thanks for the reply and info :)

@frankthetankricard 4 жыл бұрын

That trail looks bonkers. Once I was riding down a mountain and wandered off the trail somehow. There was a path going down where I ended up and I said fuck it, I won't push the bike back up, I'll just go this way. Well it turned out to be too steep to even walk the bike down. There was no chance of using any front brake because I couldn't lean back far enough not to go otb. On some sections I had to slide down on my arse while using the bike to dig into the ground and slow me down. Hard to tell from camera but this trail looks somewhat close to that so I say kudos for having enough control to go down, even if you walked some parts and went slow. Yeah, some parts are certainly easier to clear at speed but people fail to realize that these are not individual features but chained together and you can't stop midway and correct your approach.

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers Frank, look forward to some of that meatloaf.

@j-dmontreuil1437 4 жыл бұрын

Will you do a more detailed review on this gambler? This is my dream bike right now 😁

@PaulThePunter 4 жыл бұрын

Well J-D I am sponsored, so I actually cannot do official reviews. But take this for what you will given I am paid to use this bike - It's fricking awesome. I love it.