There really is something for everyone on this tour. At just 34 kilometres in length, the tour to the Kotahornalmen and Karlalm offers everything that mountain biking is all about. From the easy Zillertal cycle path to the challenging single trail, everything is represented. The panoramic views at the foot of the Gerlosstein and on the alpine trail up to the Laberg are fantastic. Along the way, you can stop off several times at the mountain huts or mountain inns. The highlight of this tour, however, is the Gerlosstein cable car, which takes bikers up the 700 metres in altitude to the Gerlossteinalm. This means that this tour is easily manageable for any sporty mountain biker.
From Mayrhofen, the first six kilometres along the Zillertal Cycle Path are a wonderful way to roll in. The route continues gently downhill along the Ziller to Hippach. The subsequent ascent to the Ramsberg is asphalted and has a pleasant gradient, making it easy to pedal along.
From Ramsberg, you first roll 150 metres downhill to the Gerlospass road. After a few metres uphill on the busy connecting road to Gerlos and Pinzgau, you reach the valley station of the Gerlosstein cable car. The forest road up to the mountain station - a toboggan run in winter - is closed to vehicles of all kinds, including mountain bikes. This is where the gondola comes into play. It takes bikers to the Gerlossteinalm at over 1,600 metres in no time at all. The view from the mountain station of the steeply towering Gerlossteinwand is magnificent.
From here, muscle power is required again. A gravel track climbs gently up to the new Kotahornalm. The view over the valley floor some 1,000 metres below is impressive, with the glacier giants of the Zillertal Alps greeting you in the background. After a short descent, you reach the Alte Kotahornalm. The rustic hut clearly shows that it has been exposed to the elements for many decades. The sun has almost burnt the wooden panelling.
After the refreshment stop, the technical challenge of the day begins: the singletrail uphill to the Karlalm has some tricky sections that are only suitable for technical riders, but also some wonderfully flowing sections. From the Karlalm, the trail becomes wider again, but also steeper for a short time.
The long descent then begins at Laberg, initially via the gravel road to the Steinerkogel mountain inn. In the upper hairpin bends, the view to the east is worthwhile. There, the Brandberger Kolm, one of Mayrhofen's local mountains, rises majestically into the sky.
Via Brandberg, you reach the Zillergrund and back to Mayrhofen on lonely little roads.
INFO
Mayrhofen is the largest and probably best-known village in the Zillertal. It is famous in winter for the steepest ski slope in Austria, the Harakiri. In summer, transalpine bikers cross the main Alpine ridge from Mayrhofen via the Pfitscherjoch.
Accommodation
Mayrhofen Tourist Office, Dursterstraße 225, 6290 Mayrhofen,
Tel. 0043/5285/6760, www.mayrhofen.at.
Food + drink
The rustic Alte Kotahornalm is particularly beautiful (see photo). On the descent, be sure to enjoy the fantastic view of the valley from the Steinerkogel mountain inn.
Map
Kompass map "Zillertaler Alpen - Tuxer Alpen", sheet 37, scale 1:50 000. Mayr hiking, cycling, MTB and touring map 1:35 000, sheet 33, Zillertal Alps. Bike map of Zillertal Tourismus GmbH 1:40 000, sheet 2 Zell-Gerlos and rear Zillertal (available from May 2007). Digital: Austrian Fly Map 4.0 of the Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying 1:50,000, www.bev.gv.at
Starting point of the tour
At the beginning of Mayrhofen (at the railway station) turn left to the PM11 Scheulingstraße car park. The tour starts at the crossroads in front of the car park.
