Mastering Black Trails - Alpine Skills
Stop avoiding the black lines & sail over tricky drop-offs and gaps
Do you freeze up when you approach a tricky drop or jump? Does your body tense, your mind panic and your confidence desert you? And when you do get the better of your fear do you feel you are getting by on pure luck rather than good technique?
If this sounds like you then perhaps our Singletrack Advanced course might be able to help. Our highly experienced coaches will take you through the techniques necessary to fly over drops and jumps and to land feather light and in control.
After your course you will receive a massive boost in confidence on drops and jumps so that riding them with skill and in good style will become second nature. Terrain that's seemingly out of reach today should move well within your grasp.
Great day on Sunday on your Singletrack Advanced course. It was the perfect blend of pushing the boundaries while acknowledging they're there in the first place
Sandy - Woking
Course outline
The skills usually taught and practiced on the Singletrack Advanced course can include:
- Bike Set-up
Pre-ride checks
- Mind Skills
Relaxing on the bike and staying loose
Riding within yourself to stay in control
Positive thinking and visualisation
Dismissing distractions to maintain concentration and commitment
Developing confidence through fundamentals instead of luck
- Drops
Manual dropping large roots and steps (up to 1m)
Wheelie dropping large roots and steps (up to 1m)
Steep committing Rolling drops
- Jumps
Elements of a jump: approach, airtime and landing
Jumping to flat
Jumping to a transition
Tabletops and doubles (up to a bike length)
Is this course right for me?
Please read the following description. If this sounds like you, then you're perfect for this course:
If you have never received any professional mountain bike coaching before, we strongly suggest that you join our two Level 3 Singletrack Improver courses and practice regularly for at least a month to consolidate the learnings before booking this course
- You are already confident and competent in all aspects of our two Level 3 Singletrack Improver courses
- You have significant experience of riding off road, you are a regular mountain biker (at least once a week), and will have tried red and perhaps black graded singletrack trails before at a trail centre or similar venue
- You have your own mountain bike (we have bikes available to hire if your bike is not available)
- You can already ride confidently on steep, narrow singletrack trails with large rocks, root fans, steps, rollable drop-offs and other technical trail features
- You can already execute a proper Weight Shift Manual and can manual drop small rollable drop-offs (up to 50cm) at walking pace. If you are in any doubt please attend a Singletrack Improver course first
- You are confident with carrying speed around flat and off-camber corners using correct technique; leaning the bike underneath you, weighting the pedals for traction and countersteering. If you are in any doubt please attend a Singletrack Improver course first
- You participant in formal exercise more than twice a week, at least two of these sessions is on a bike and and at least one of these sessions is technical mountain biking
- You can ride up steep terrain at a steady pace
- You can ride for at least three hours comfortably
- You are aged 18 and over unless accompanied by an adult also participating on the course
If this sounds a little beyond your current skill and fitness level, please choose our Singletrack Improver course instead or have a look at our choosing the right course FAQ page.
Typical programme
Morning or afternoon sessions are available usually keeping to the following programmes:
Morning programme
- 09:15-09:30 Arrival at course venue
- 09:30-09:45 Course commences, introductions and equipment check
- 09:45-13:00 Singletrack skills coaching and practice
- 13:00 Course ends
Afternoon programme
- 13:45-14:00 Arrival at course venue
- 14:00-14:15 Course commences, introductions and equipment check
- 14:15-17:30 Singletrack skills coaching and practice
- 17:30 Course ends