HISS 2018 - the 'Official Ride Report(s)

[Mickdb1]

Called in to Colgatt campsite. Chappy was getting the pool ready.
Left yer a drink Simon. Yer may have to share with Polly as 1 bottle of that stuff is too much for most men.

[daveuprite]

Chris (Motobreaks) and Kritichris set off on their road bikes this morning. They're staying in Tarbes tonight and judging by the weather today they will be drenched by now and making good use of their hotel room's hairdryer.

I've got all their camping stuff plus Chris's WRF250 in the back of my van, along with my Beta 450 and kit. Matt will be loading his 500EXC aboard tomorrow morning and we'll be on our way. Hope to be at Collegats late afternoon / early evening.

Hoping to take a pic of the Van of Dreams in the morning rammed to the gunnels with off-roaders and booze.

A manana, amigos...

dave R

[Simon_100]

Another fantastic week at the HISS comes to an abrupt end with a rainy weekend. Thanks to all of you boys and girls for coming and making such fun.

The new 'territory' did get a little attention form the 'Big' boys and proved a great challenge, with an new AT needing to be winched out of a rut about as big as a Landrover ...

Meanwhile by Friday the snow relented enough for the 'Small' contingent to go over 2,000 metres while the 'Big' assembly went off on a jolly to Andorra - all together now, "I like shopping, shopping is fun!"



Have a great journey home everyone ... and see you all in September!

Regs

Simon

[daveuprite]

HISS Catalunya May 2018 - The Nobs' Story

So everything packed on board for my fourth visit to the HISS at La Pobla De Segur. There are three bikes somewhere in there, believe it or not, plus at least one kitchen sink:





After about 5 hours of motorway it's good to get to the border and up into the twisties:





Even in a loaded van this is an entertaining drive:





Then the two Chris'es, riding to Spain on road bikes, phoned us to say that Triumph Chris had decked it on a corner ahead of us. Ambulance and police sorted but the bike's stator cover was mangled and both rider and bike would need recovering. So we scooped up Triumph Chris, locked his stricken bike to the armco and went back for it later when we had unloaded our crap at the camp site.

Finally our den for the week was built and ready for habitation:









And my personal crib all prepared for a drunken slob to live in it:



OUT ON THE TRAILS

Back to one of my favourite routes up into the mountains:





Joined this year by Matt on his 500EXC and Steve on his 400EXC:





On previous September visits, the trail over the top was straightforward, but not in mid-May. Eventually the snow stopped us:











So we had a good old thrash down into the valley below:





And made prats of ourselves (of course):



Back at base, the two Chris'es had been shopping and couldn't even sit upright:



My number plate sustained a little damage but luckily it was still clearly legible:



After helping to get the broken Trumpet to a dealership for repairs, eventually Motobreaks Chris was free to join us up in the sierras:





This is the dam at the southern end of Pobla lake emptying out, taken from a fair way up:



Managed to get a shot of this pretty fella before it flew off:





A few creative bodges / repairs after the occasional lie down. Amazing what you can sort out with a 13mm spanner:







Into the Boumort National Park, helpful signs point out the wildlife you might see:



Including the infamous Fagina, which we thought we sniffed out, but never got to see:



Vultures followed us wherever they could, drawn by the orange KTMs and the potential for a stranded rider...





This abandoned house had a stunning view over the valley beneath:







I began indulging my passion for paleontology by building a beast on the front of the Beta:



On the last day we had another go at getting over the top of the peaks near Saint Quiri, this time joined by Phil on another KTM400EXC:



And got a bit further this time, after 4 days of melt. But the drifts defeated us again, just 150 metres from the top. Then the cloud came down and it was time to head back into the woods:







Had a play on some great hills and the sun came back out:



So we dropped into the next valley and decided to have a go at the Fillia pass. After a great half hour ascent of gravelly switchbacks we were faced with an avalanche in our way:





One mistake and a 45 degree slope of ice would claim bike and/or rider:







So we dug a path through and push/pulled each bike across one by one (video to follow). Looking back at it from a distance, this big avalanche looked tiny. Anyway we got through and were able to carry on, wondering what would come next:





Forded this stream and when I went back across I hit a rock and fell into 2 feet of freezing mountain water, which made the ride home lovely and warm and comfortable. (Video to follow):





Then we were diverted by another snow drift blocking the track and Phil managed to find us a way out. We bashed back down to the valley floor and road back to the campsite by road, nursing a bruised hand, aching backs, a swollen knee and four moderate cases of mental illness.

Didn't stop us giving Mr Estrella and Mr Vino Blanco some mouth to mouth on our last night:



Time to wrestle the tents back into their bags on Saturday morning. Triumph successfully repaired and all the enduros tucked away in the Van of Dreams:





The End

[daveuprite]

Matt in the Snow at about 2100 metres:

[daveuprite]

Digging a way across the avalanche:

[daveuprite]

Sherpa Fencing and Edmund Hillarious drag the first bike across:

[daveuprite]

Crossing the Fillia valley stream. Sadly there is no footage of me falling in. Which means it basically didn't happen. And that I must have been imagining the freezing cold wet crutch and bruised hand that I rode home with. Amazing how powerful one's imagination can be...

[media] [/media]

[daveuprite]

How to cross a stream if you are three nobs:

[chunky butt]

Great ride report and photos there dave, glad you had a good time...