Photo highlights: You have to see this - the top shots of the month of March

Danger of falling!

BIKE: Riding down a climbing route - are you crazy, Matt?

MATT BOLTON: You have to be a bit crazy. But when you live and mountainbike in Squamish, you get used to steep descents. Years ago, I skied down a shorter climbing route, but now I wanted something higher.

The rock looks high. How high?

I chose the route "Burgers & Fries". 18 metres high, climbing on a 5+ ridge. The rock face is very popular with climbers. Friends built me a wooden ramp, which we placed at the bottom so that I could get out of the rock face alive.

How fast have you become?

I estimate 40 km/h. You want to turn into the rock face as slowly as possible, because after that it's freefall.

What were your biggest concerns?

I couldn't see anything. From the top, I couldn't even see the foot of the wall or the ramp - the rock is that steep. I had to abseil down and mark the rock if I wanted to hit the ramp. The rock was full of pitons, edges and cracks. The line I could ride on was maybe half a metre wide. I had to hit the line exactly. Once I rolled in, there was no turning back - 'do or die' in the literal sense. I've already done a lot of big jumps, train and river gaps, but this stunt was by far the craziest thing I've ever dared to do.

Where did you have more pulse, on the steep descent or when a grizzly bear chased you?

Ha ha, yes, that was a different kind of fear. I was travelling in the Chilcotin Mountains when a grizzly ran towards me. I stopped, spontaneously did the right thing: made myself big, stayed cool. The bear stopped a few metres in front of me, snorted and sniffed, then retreated. I was lucky, but my heart sank with fear.

Matt, are you a bike pro?

I'm supported by Transition Bikes, OneUp Components and Ennef, but I can't make a living from biking. I work for the Squamish district and look after the water supply. By the way: I want to thank the climbers in the photo: YiPik Tang and Adam Lu!

At the top!

She's on a roll... the young Austrian Laura Stigger (24) gave the cross-country elite a run for their money last year with top results. Her victory in Lake Placid and second place in Mont Saint Anne catapulted Laura to second place in the overall ranking. A short film has now been made about the Specialized rider's successful course under the title "Aiming high". You can watch it on Red Bull TV.

Off-road games

Gee Atherton has fallen in love with ridge rides. A dangerous love! The two-time downhill world champion from the UK almost died on one of these first ascents (The Ridge II). For the sixth instalment of the "Ridgeline" series, "G-Man" searched for the ultimate big mountain line in faraway Kazakhstan. Gee to it:

Don't worry. I've been like this my whole bike career. I haven't changed. I have to push myself to my limits. That's just the way I am. Of course, I could have concentrated fully on racing. But I've always been interested in stunts, building crazy stuff, events like the Hardline or Rampage and crazy film projects like 'The Ridge'. The elements have always been in my life. Yes, sometimes that brings injuries, but that's the way it is.

Dreamland

Latsch, Finale, Lake Garda... Nah, give it a rest, thought bike influencer Elias Schwärzler and decided to go on his latest mission "Paradise of Pirates" a slightly different bike location. Oman! Here Elias manuals through a forest of dragon's blood trees. The bizarre trees owe their name to their blood-red resin, which is used as a medicine when dried.

Sunny side

We can't get enough of the most beautiful mountains in the world, the Dolomites. Did you know that the Dolomites used to be called the pale mountains (monti pallidi)? It wasn't until the French geologist Déodat de Dolomieu (1750 - 1801) analysed the predominant rock and named it Dolomite in his honour that the pale mountains were given the name Dolomites. Here, professional biker Kilian Bron races towards the sun.

The Dolomites are the perfect place for me to test my limits and go in search of adventure with friends.

Addiction to the lake

Here you can see the Öschinensee. It lies above Kandersteg, nestled in the rock faces. Thanks to its colour and the spectacular 3000-metre peaks of the Blüemlisalp, this panoramic hill on which the three bikers are standing has become THE Insta-hotspot of the Bernese Oberland. The day before, as part of a three-day traverse of the region from the Rotstockhütte, the women had dragged their bikes up to the Blüemlisalp hut and travelled on to Kandersteg that day. We took the train back to the starting point in Wengen. Conclusion: Three days in the mountains could hardly have been more beautiful.

Stair King

This guy is "on fire", just like his outfit suggests. The 21-year-old Colombian won the last Red Bull Cerro Abajo city downhill series. Now in Valpariso (2 March), Velez led the qualifying by a huge margin. In the final, Velez also pulled out an incredible gap on the first-placed Tomas Slavic. Velez showed impressive style like here on this wallride. But then bad luck struck. First Velez slipped, then he took a heavy fall over a jump and hurt his elbow. We say: get well soon, Juanfer! The next Cerro Abajo will take place at the end of March in Mexico - be sure to watch the livestream!!!!

Until then, read our interview with Fischi: Urban downhill Cerro Abajo 2025: Johannes Fischbach: "Like the last straw!

You might also be interested in

• The best photos in January
• The best photos of February
• Interview with bike adventurer Elias Schwärzler