AlpPacker WWII Alpine Liberation
Join us as we retrace the liberation of the Alps, starting from the Col des Saisies and riding trails so steeped in history that the soldier’s journey becomes our own.
We’re currently updating this page, it’ll get better as the week goes on – thanks for your patience!! Our AlpPacker North page is good to go if you’d like a taste.
AlpPacker WWII Alpine Liberation Journey
On July 31st 1944, a BBC radio announcer declared “the gardener is watering his lettuces”. A thousand kilometres away, 400 French resistance fighters heard the message and mobilised for something totally unprecedented in the history of WWII at that point.
At the same time, 78 B17 bombers and an escort of P51 Mustangs from the US 388th Bomb Group were fueling up for their part in history.
What followed was a daring broad daylight, mountain-top delivery of nearly 900 cases of arms, ammunition and essential supplies to the col des Saisies. There was also some chewing gum, if the stories are to be believed.
Hidden Trails
The col overlooks the entrance to the Tarentaise Valley and today, some 80 years later, the same trails used by the resistance fighters to disperse, hide and then utilise these weapons help to make up a network of singletrack whose density, variety and sheer mind blowing quality make for one of the world’s great hidden mountain biking destinations.
Join us as we retrace the liberation of the Alps, starting from the Col des Saisies and riding trails so steeped in history that the soldier’s journey becomes our own. Great rides need many things, from the best trails and scenery to some good friends to ride with.
Here at BikeVillage we believe that the narrative, the journey, is also key to a truly magical life experience and never is this more tangible than when we get to share the trails with those who have trodden them before us, to feel the lives lived and died where we now roam.
Alpine singletrack adventures
This is a one week singletrack journey through the Alps of the French-Italian border south of Mt Blanc. We’ll ride the very finest trails in search of the hidden history of the liberation of the Alps.
We’ll stay in iconic locations close to the fiercest battles and immerse ourselves in the mountain culture that shaped the resistance movement in the Tarentaise valley.
