Spice up the adventure: a cycling-skiing journey on the Isle of Beauty

At this stage, are we talking about ritual or routine?
For three consecutive years, our half-dozen merry fellows have met in March to cross some mountains by bike-ski. A fine team formed on the fly in 2024 for a plunge into the unknown: we did not all know each other, and while each of us was accustomed to bivouac adventures, our respective bike-ski experiences were limited to day trips. Our grand first was then a ten-day crossing in the Southern Alps, from Nice to Guillestre. A Dantean weather had stopped our progress, but the desire to resume where we had stopped was obvious to all. Promise kept, the following year, we crossed the Southern Alps again, from Briançon to Menton, mostly on the Italian side this time. While the route resembled a return match, it did not mark the end of our little collective. After two such successful editions, the appointment was almost already made for the following year. And ideas for destinations were not lacking: by establishing plans A, B, C… our chief organizer — aka Seb — has enough to occupy our Marches for the next ten years. A routine that suits us well, then.

Among the many possible destinations, Corsica was unanimous. While skiing the island’s peaks was a dream for all of us, doing it by bike-ski seemed to require an improbable alignment of planets. In recent years, milder winters, during which the rain-snow limit rises more and more, drastically reduce the number of skiable days in these massifs. You have to be reactive and fast, almost opportunistic, to catch the rare interesting slots. With a team of seven people with varied personal and professional constraints and our bike-ski travel speed, we are the opposite of this spontaneity. During our first two trips, the destination was almost decided in the last days. This third edition was no exception to the rule: while the snow conditions seemed excellent — even exceptional — this year, the weather conditions remained much more uncertain, if not very disturbed. Until the day before departure, a serious doubt hung over our project. The insular dimension accentuates this feeling of all or nothing: once there, we will have to deal with the elements, with no escape. Despite everything, optimism prevailed and we took the ferry to Corsica, believing in our lucky star. Whatever will be, will be, our usual mantra!
Sunday, March 8, we land in Ajaccio. The sun is shining… only on the coast