Gravel bikepacking across the Himalayas to the Enduro Ratnange race in the Solukhumbu region of Nepal was one of the better rides to a race I’ve ever done.
The three-day, 280 km ride from Kathmandu to Solukhumbu began Monday morning, leaving the chaos and fumes of the city behind. My Kona Ouroboros was lightly loaded for the journey across the Himalayas, following the old trekking route toward Everest through the village of Jiri. I’ve ridden this route four times before, and it has quickly become one of my go-to training rides when I’m looking for three hard, back-to-back days on the bike.
The route traverses four high mountain passes, all between 2,700 and 3,500 meters, with drops into 1,500-meter valleys in between. Nights are spent in traditional teahouses perched on top of passes, providing some altitude training, while the days are filled with long climbs and descents through remote and culturally fascinating Himalayan landscapes.
The first half of the ride to Jiri was smooth sailing for the gravel bike, while the second half was full of rough cobblestones and rocky terrain that had the Ouroboros right on its limits. At one point I was well ahead of schedule and opted to explore what looked like a shortcut. The locals all said the road would connect, but it didn’t, leaving me on a rugged high-mountain trail. Probably the first gravel bike to ever be in that part of Nepal. Luckily, my 2.25 Maxxis Aspen ST tires and a short 50 mm Fox fork helped soak up the ruggedness. Underbiking was common in the second half of the journey, but I was content with the bike choice.
Reaching Solukhumbu on Wednesday evening, I met up with the crew from Himalayan Singletrack, and we headed up Ratnange Mountain to our Sherpa homestay at 2,700 meters. This would be our basecamp for the next five nights, fully immersed in Sherpa culture and eating plenty of tasty local dishes based around potatoes, local vegetables, and fresh meat. On Thursday morning, the third season of Enduro Ratnange kicked off with local monks blessing us during the race briefing before we headed up the mountain for Stage 1 on Ratnange Ridge.
During the COVID lockdowns, my friend Tangi and I spent four months riding in this area, locating trails, cleaning them, and creating new ones. Over the past four years, Tangi — along with the local community and the Phaplu MTB Club — has developed this into Nepal’s best trail system, with more than 15 different trails dropping off the ridge. The highlights are the views from the top, with Everest, Kanchenjunga, and a slew of other massive Himalayan giants providing the race backdrop. Between the quality of riding, local culture, rich history, Himalayan views, and peaceful ambience, Solukhumbu has quickly become my favourite riding destination outside of Canada. It’s no wonder Sir Edmund Hillary spent so much time in this area in the decades after summiting Everest.
This year the race had a great format, with one to two stages per day, which riders could ride as many times as they liked, with the catch being that you had to get back up under your own power. This played well to my XC background, as many enduro riders grew tired and only rode each stage once.
The climb to the race start was challenging in the thin air (2,700–3,300 m) and on the steep Himalayan dirt roads. My tactic was to ride each stage once at an easy pace to scout lines, then head back up for a second or third descent until I had a fast, clean run. Combined with the altitude and my local knowledge from years of visiting the area, I was able to surprise a few people on my Kona Hei Hei XC bike, placing 7th in the Elite division on the opening day.
Over the four days, I continued to improve as other riders began to fade. Going into the final Stage 6, there were just nine seconds separating me from a top-five finish.
The final run was gravity-heavy, with almost no pedalling and a number of big drops that pushed my 120 mm of suspension to its limit. I took three runs at it, pushing the Hei Hei as hard as I could, but in the end only gained a single second on fifth place, landing me 6th overall once the dust settled. It was a nice surprise to finish so high on the leaderboard behind three European pros and two of Nepal’s best riders.
Once the adrenaline faded, the week totalled over 35 hours and 17,000 vertical meters of climbing between the gravel ride to the race and four days of enduro racing. I can’t think of a more entertaining way to log a big week of base miles, and I’m already looking forward to returning next year — maybe with a bit more suspension.
Currently, I’m in the middle of three rest days here in Phaplu, soaking up some extra oxygen at 2,400 meters before heading to Chiwong Monastery at 2,950 meters. This will be the basecamp for the second half of this high-altitude training camp. Days will be spent riding some of my favourite trails in the region and exploring new ones. Mornings will be spent hanging out with the monks, and evenings reserved for soaking in the views as the monastery clings to a cliff high above the Solukhumbu Valley.
