First we ride in the Upper Swiss Valais with its typical Germanic style villages and dream singletracks. We dip a toe into Italy through wild, steep sided valleys to finish in St. Moritz the capital of the Engadine region of Switzerland. Nestled at 1800m, this beautiful village shows influences from its nearby neighbours, with the Italian and Austrian borders close by… but more importantly for bikers, next door in Italy is the legendary Livigno valley!
We offer you a unique challenge on this stage, designed for experienced, fit bikers, with long ‘carry bike’ sections and technical descents, this trip is for those who love wild mountains and unlimited untamed raw singletrack !With fifteen valleys and more than twelve mountain passes over 2000m to cross we head east… A beautiful region with the influences of three countries making for a memorable ride, a physical challenge and giving the motivation to keep the pedals turning all the way to Slovenia!
DAY 1 of arrival (Saturday) : ‘Meet and greet’ at Brig train station, in the Swiss Rhône valley for your first night in Switzerland!
DAY 2 (Sunday) : Early morning start with a transfer to the Simplon Pass, next to the Italian border and under the glacier of the Monte Leone (3553m). Our first singletrack leads us along a balcony trail towards the small village of Rosswald overlooking the Swiss Rhône valley. A wild track 90% rideable right to the Saflishpass at 2484m offers an incredible panoramic view over the numerous 4000m summits between Saas Fée and Zermatt and into Italy. The atmosphere is wild and alpine!A short descent on a barely visible trail through a mountain pasture and a short climb leads us to a real goat track above the Binntal valley. The narrow, technical descent to the isolated village of Binn is fantastic way to end the day on a fun rolling trail to make anyone smile !
Ride distance: 35km Uneven positive: 1100m Uneven negative: 1100m Physical difficulty: 3/5 Technical skills: 3/5
DAY 3 (Monday) : We climb the Binntal valley again to the village of Fald at 2409m on a jeep track, followed by a 500m/1 hour ‘carry bike’ section allowing us to reach the Albrunpass at 2409m taking us closer to Italy. Another short 15 minute ‘carry bike’ section enables us to place our wheels on a superb trail crossing alpine pastures at over 2000m. A 350m climb via the Passo del Muretto at 2347m offers an epic varied downhill into the Valle Antigorio where after a long day we will be refuelled with delicious Italian cooking !
Ride distance: 42km Uneven positive: 1700m Uneven negative: 1450m Physical difficulty: 4/5 Technical skills: 4/5
DAY 4 (Tuesday) : After a short transfer we attack the day with a long jeep track climb bringing us to the magnificent lake and valley of Val Toggia and on towards Passo di Giacomo at 2313m to return into Switzerland. The balcony trail of Val Bedretto is a fluid mix of singletrack and jeep track leading us down to the village of Airolo where our minibus awaits to transfer us, avoiding 900m of hard climb. We climb alongside Lago Rittom to climb to Passo del Sol at 2376m. We are alone in this wild landscape! We descend the Valle Santa Maria passing by a balcony trail to finish on a technical singletrack with tight turns all the way to Olivone. Another memorable alpine day !
Ride distance: 45km Uneven positive: 1500m Uneven negative: 1500m Physical difficulty: 4/5 Technical skills: 3/5
DAY 5 (Wednesday) : A transfer allows us to eliminate some climb but with another short 15 minute ‘carry bike’ section we arrive at the Scaletta refuge. Crossing the high altitude Plan de la Greina plateau at 2300m under the Greina Glacier and the Piz (3124m) offers us the sensation of solitude in the mountains which we rarely find these days! A second short ‘carry bike’ section to cross the Passo Diesrut then descend into the Val Lumnezia with its manicured rolling green pastures dotted with beautiful small wooden chalets.
Ride distance: 37km Uneven positive: 1600m Uneven negative: 1700m Physical difficulty: 4/5 Technical skills: 3/5
DAY 6 (Thursday) : From Vals we climb along the Peil valley, closed off by the Fanelhorn Glacier near the isolated Valserberg Pass at 2504m, on a trail which is 85% rideable. The descent into the RheinWald near Nufenen screams a technical challenge at us of 1000m of downhill! At the end of the valley at the Sufner Lake we can make the most of the blissful calm before taking the epic singletrack overhanging the Rhein Gorges which allows us to enter into the Val Ferreira. Two more hours/800m of climb, to reach the top of the valley where we will spend the night at 2000m!
Ride distance: 47km Uneven positive: 1700m Uneven negative: 1500m Physical difficulty: 4/5 Technical skills: 4/5
DAY 7 (Friday) : The day starts with a 400m ‘carry bike’ section on the trail to the Stallerberg Pass at 2578m!! The view from the summit makes this hard start to the morning worthwhile and the incredible downhill to Bivio is the cherry on the cake! A second rideable climb to Lunghin Pass at 2645m puts us on the high altitude plateau of St. Moritz with its three beautiful lakes. Facing us is majestic glacier encrusted summit of the Piz Bernina (4049m). The singletrack descent is very technical and yet also magical and few would be capable of riding it all! The challenge is set… We finish this mythical trip riding alongside the Silser, Sylvaplana and Champfer lakes and finish the day in St. Moritz with a well deserved beer !
Ride distance: 35km Uneven positive: 1600m Uneven negative: 1800m Physical difficulty: 4/5 Technical skills: 4/5
Day 8 : departure day (Saturday) : Group dispersion. Possible transfers to Chamonix and Geneva.
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