Switzerland 2018

Our first project in Switzerland was the 16-day Swiss National Alpine Mountain Bike Trail #1:
Length: 670 km (345 km asphalted and 325 km natural surface, of which 68 km single trail), 
Ascents: 24600 m, Descents: 25500 m, Grade: difficult, Fitness level: difficult. 
While the 2017 mountain bike ride through the US Rockies was our longest ever, this one had the steepest and most technically challenging sections. Some of the trail seems more suited to hikers than bikers, especially where there are snowfields, big rocks and steps! Needles to say, we did a lot of walking, pushing, lifting and carrying, especially since we did it unsupported and carried all our gear. The upside was that we explored remote valleys and alpine passes we didn't know existed. 

We started the ride in Scuol in the Engadine valley. 

The small town is famous for its 20+ mineral springs, each containing different combinations of minerals. The fountain below provides potable water on the right and natural carbonated mineral water on the left - straight out of the mountain!

Generally, we climbed over a mountain pass every morning and descended into the next valley in the afternoon to spend the night in a village or an alpine hut.

We were a bit early for riding in the alps (end of June), since spring only just started up here. Lots of water and flowers everywhere! 

This is why Swiss chocolate tastes so amazing: happy cows roaming freely, eating lots of alpine flowers, herbs and grasses, while enjoying a fabulous view!

Or will we eat Yak-chocolate soon?

Some of the easy riding, ....

... a bit more technical, ....

... too steep and ... 

.... just impossible! 

There was still lots of snow on the high passes.

On one occasion they cleared it for us,...

... but mostly we had to unload the gear and carefully take bikes and luggage across separately.

Our first detour was due to a rock fall at the southern side of the Septimer pass. We had to back-track, ride over the Julier Pass on the road and climb the pass from the northern side - just to tick the box! But it was well worth it - what a beautiful valley!

On Alp Flix researchers counted 2,092 different flora species in the alpine moors!

Some sections of the trail were incredibly precipitous. Lucky there was a fence on this one! That small figure in the middle of the photograph is Kirsten.

From Thusis we made a small detour to the spectacular Via Mala, i.e. "bad path". The bridle path through this narrow gorge was originally built by the Romans and was the scene of many tragedies.

The descent into Safien Platz was very steep! 

There are of course mountain bikers who can ride this, but not me.

My favourite day was the Tomülpass - just stunning!

And the local farmer provided some refreshments along the way! The drinks were kept cool in the fountain. 

 

Note the slate roof, which seems to be mandatory in Vals.

In some places the track turned into meadows full of flowers and butterflies.

Our second detour: still too much snow on Pass Maighels. After many hours of crossing slippery snow fields in inadequate shoes, we decided it was getting too steep and risky. The pass itself looked more like a glacier. We had to go back the same way, ride down to the road and tackle the Oberalppass instead.

We spent two days riding the passes at the foot of the Eiger north-face.

The only flat bit on the whole trail - an old airport runway!

Château-d'Œx is the home of the Breitling capsule, which was underneath the Breitling Orbiter 3 when it became the first balloon to fly around the world non-stop. It was piloted by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones. Imagine the two of them living in that for 19 days!

The last day of the Alpine Mountain Bike Trail #1 was described as a "dangerous passage" and "precipitous area of risk", so we decided to opt out and go to my sister's place for a well deserved rest. This of course involved a few day hikes/rides and lots of food!

My favourite dinner in Switzerland: Walnut bread, mozzarella, tomatoes, eggs and olive oil. 

This is a typical alpine hut, ....

... a typical alpine living room with heater and...

... some old style fencing. 

These bells are not as heavy as they look. I found this one - the cow obviously got sick of it!

The forests were full of strawberries and blueberries, small but with much more flavour than the ones from the shop!

The return trip was definitely less challenging and included some touristy destinations. Kirsten's favourite cheese comes from Gruyère, a medieval town with a castle. We even got serenaded by alp horns in our hotel room! 

Each Gruyère wheel is between 25 and 40 kg - there must be hundreds here!

We had a fondue for lunch on a 30-degree day! But then again, it was free (voucher) and even the wine was included.

This is what cheese looks like on day one.

Free entertainment on top of a mountain, ...  

.. freshwater whales and ....

.... under-water statues.

This was a mountain bike track that is obviously not used very often. We had to crawl through the branches and bash through the blackberries and ferns.

I always wanted to ride the old pebble-stone road leading over the Gotthard Pass. It was surprisingly smooth and heaps of fun because cars use the new road or the tunnel. I love how the centre line is a different colour stone. Imagine the time it took to build this!

Rather than riding on the busy road along the lake, we hopped on a ferry with the bikes ....

... and ended up in Brunnen in a Hotel room with amazing views! A bit of luxury as a finale.

Below a short video of cycling the passes: