You can download the GPS data for our three top tours in Nauders and the Reschen region free of charge in the download area at the bottom of the article.
- Tour 1: Haideralm-X - 25.6 kilometres, 120 vertical metres, 2500 vertical metres, 3:00 h
- Tour 2: Reschen-Loop - 35.4 kilometres, 700 vertical metres, 2860 vertical metres, 5:00 h
- Tour 3: Rossbodenalm - 14.4 kilometres, 890 vertical metres, 3:15 h
"Do you know what's cool about the trails at Lake Reschen?" asks my mate Philip Walder. But it's clear that he wants to give the answer himself anyway.
"These things aren't just called enduro trails. This here is real enduro." The pro rider from Val Venosta/Vinschgau is demonstrating how to tackle the challenging single trails in Val Venosta/Vinschgau. A carpet of roots? Brakes on and over it - with "full suspension" consisting of fork and shock, arm and leg. Rough roots? Nasty holes? Why roll when you can jump? Philip makes it look so easy. I, on the other hand, am struggling not to fail miserably on the Haideralm trail. What I deliver bears at best a distant resemblance to "riding". It's more like a wobbly game of ball maze, that little spruce wood box with the tilting surface on which you have to manoeuvre an iron ball from A to B through a labyrinth. This trail feels like this game of skill to me. Wood and corners wherever you look. A winding, confusing line. Plus countless deep holes just waiting to punish the slightest wrong move with a take-off. So, here on the Haideralm trail, I'm definitely the ball. I've been a lot looser on the bike before. "Don't worry about it", Philip condoles. But his well-intentioned attempt to give me moral support turns into a death blow. "Enduro is just one step below downhill. You have to be able to do something!" Thank you, Philip! Ball sunk!
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to choose the most difficult trail in the area as a warm-up after all. Or was it simply naive to believe that it would be labelled "Flowtrail", even though it clearly says "Enduro" on the label? After all, last year the racers in the European Enduro Series were unanimously positive about how "challenging" and "selective" the stages at the race around the Reschen Pass were. But somehow it didn't really click with me. And now I'm standing there like a helpless drip. "You have to actively ride the trails here", Philip coaches me. "If you ride too hesitantly, the roots and bumps will take you out of the flow and you'll just be reacting. You'll find it much easier here in attack mode!" Sounds obvious, no question. We have now completed the second cable car ride of the day and are back at the Haideralm. With a slight doubt in my stomach, I pimp my suspension in the direction of "ultra forgiving" and mentally prepare myself to show the rest of the 3-country enduro trails my teeth.
The announcement by the local tourism authorities that they wanted to connect the four cable cars around the Reschen Pass with a network of "enduro trails" caused quite a stir in the mountain bike scene almost three years ago. After all, things had become rather quiet around the Reschen Pass in the meantime. This was certainly not due to its high profile, if only because of the region's striking landmark: the church tower of Graun, which juts out of Lake Reschen. But the anti-tank barriers on the Plamort plateau, the view over Lake Reschen and Lake Haider to the Ortler or the Uina gorge - who hasn't seen them? And when it comes to cycling tourism, the Resia Pass itself was ahead of the rest of the Alps for quite some time. In the early noughties, the neighbouring communities in South Tyrol, Tyrol and the Engadine came together to launch the "Dreiländer Rad- und Bikearena". Since then, there has been a cross-border network of signposted MTB routes of all levels of difficulty and a well-functioning shuttle infrastructure. Even multi-day tours with luggage transport are possible without any problems. There is also the turquoise-coloured reservoir and its multi-sports facilities, not to mention the nearby ski lifts. There is no question that the Reschen region has always had a good chance of standing up to competing mountain bike destinations such as the Engadin or Vinschgau. The only thing that was missing for a long time was a sufficient number of trails. And the more mountain biking developed from touring to trail surfing, the more competing destinations such as the nearby Vinschgau Valley and the Reschen Pass managed to steal the show. As harsh as it may sound, for a long time Lake Reschen was little more than a transit point for mountain bikers.
There are also tours to the neighbouring Engadin or to South Tyrol for a more active holiday. They can even be booked with luggage transport from hotel door to hotel door.
Now in its third summer of evolution, the network of 3-country enduro trails has now closed the last gaps. The locals, from trail builders to tourism experts, have done an immense amount of development work. And yet it has only become apparent what potential for mountain biking is still hidden around the Reschen Pass. The latest single trail achievement is the X-shaped connection between the two cable cars to the Haideralm and Schöneben. On the South Tyrolean side of the Reschenpass, there are a good six kilometres as the crow flies between the two cable cars, with 600 metres of altitude difference between the top and bottom stations. Little gradient for quite a lot of distance. And the cross connection from the Haideralm to Schöneben really gets the flow going. The further north you go, the more the gradient of the terrain decreases. In addition to the line chosen by the trail builders, the trail could easily have run in 20 other places. No question, there is still room for decades of development work here. The singletrail potential on the west side of Lake Reschen is far from exhausted.
One station further on, the Schöneben trail turns into a real bike classic. From the junction with the tarmac road into the Rojental valley, there are still a good 300 metres of singletrail to go down to the valley station. But we'll save that for tomorrow. The time is already a little advanced, so we join a route that has been known for years as the Double Bunker Tour. A pleasant, steady climb takes us up a forest road to the Reschner Alm. The mountain forest thins out and, unlike on the Haideralm-X, views of the Reschensee lake open up again and again. The fun begins at the border with Tyrol. The forest track narrows into a single trail. This first leads as a natural trail across an open alpine pasture area, then with built sections and berms down to the Grünsee lake. The shame of the morning is almost forgotten when suddenly a chaos of roots as thick as your forearm overgrows the path. Twenty different lines would certainly be possible here too. But one seems more imposing than the other. And now? Push or accelerate? I decide in favour of the latter and a short time later I'm standing on the shore of the Schwarzsee with a grin and an unexpected adrenaline rush.
The motto "just don't be too timid" also helps on the trails on the Mutzkopf. The somewhat old-fashioned double chairlift near Nauders opens up four enduro trails and can therefore feel like the centrepiece of the 3-Länder Enduro Trails. Descents such as the Gerry Trail are now among the biking classics of the region and have been optimised a little further towards flow every year. Nevertheless, they have not lost their character as challenging enduro trails. Ambitious enduro riders will find a trail area to fill a day here!
On the opposite side of the valley, the valley station of the Bergkastel cable car shines in completely new splendour. In October 2015, a fire almost completely destroyed the old valley station. It remains a mystery to the cable car company how a new valley station, including new suspension cables, was still built in time for the ski season. In any case, it took an immense effort. And so the long-announced trail connection in the direction of Plamort will have to wait a little longer. But the route has plenty of other highlights to offer: the famous anti-tank barriers and gun bunkers, for example, or the famous view over Lake Reschen and Ortler.
Two trail descents, countless roots, blocked sections and lots of dust later, we roll back into the valley station of the Haideralm. Philip is grinning, I'm more shattered than ever, but one insight richer: how much "flow trail" is in it when it says "enduro" is not just a question of riding ability at Lake Reschen, but also of the desire to attack. All right, Haideralm trail. The first lap went to you. But I'll be back...
You can download the GPS data for our three top tours in Nauders and the Reschen region free of charge in the download area at the bottom of the article.
- Tour 1: Haideralm-X - 25.6 kilometres, 120 vertical metres, 2500 vertical metres, 3:00 h
- Tour 2: Reschen-Loop - 35.4 kilometres, 700 vertical metres, 2860 vertical metres, 5:00 h
- Tour 3: Rossbodenalm - 14.4 kilometres, 890 vertical metres, 3:15 h
...
The precinct
The Engadin, Tyrol and South Tyrol meet at the so-called border triangle around Lake Reschen, forming a very diverse, cross-border mountain bike region. There are some well-known classic tours here, such as over the Plamort plateau or through the Uina gorge. On the other hand, the relatively new enduro trails connect the four cable cars around the Reschen Pass and complete the offer.
In principle, there are tours of all levels of difficulty and for every requirement. However, the most rewarding tours are relatively challenging. On the classic tours, climbs of more than 1000 metres in altitude are not uncommon. There are often root carpets on the trail tours. A spirited pace is definitely advisable here.
Arrival
By car via the Inntal motorway to Landeck and on to Nauders or the Reschen Pass.
From Munich 200 kilometres, travel time 3 hours.
Best time to travel
The microclimate in the border triangle is clearly characterised by the main Alpine ridge. The much-praised lack of precipitation in Val Venosta/Vinschgau therefore only applies to a limited extent here. Most of the pass crossings on the rewarding tours clearly exceed the 2000 metre mark and are therefore not rideable until June at the earliest. The enduro trails on the Reschen Pass are of course free of snow much earlier and can be ridden well from the beginning of May. The only restrictions here are the operating times of the cable cars. The Mutzkopf cable car in Nauders usually opens in mid-May, the others follow at the beginning of June. Info: www.3länderenduro.com
Shuttle service
- Südtirol Bike, Siegi Weisenhorn, Tel. 0039/328/5624345, www.suedtirolbike.info
- Freeride Vinschgau, Heiko Paulmichl, Tel. 0039/348/0427229, www.freeride-vinschgau.com
- Bikeshuttle Prenner, tel. 0039/335/5438690, www.prenner.it
- Cable cars: All cable cars open in the summer season transport bikes without any problems. A single day ticket is valid for all four cable cars and costs a fair 25 euros. Information on opening times: www.3länderenduro.com
Bike shops / hire
- Sport Tenne St. Valentin auf der Haide, Hauptstraße 27, Tel. 0039/0473/634722
- Sport Tenne Mals, Bahnhofstraße 6, Tel. 0039/0473/830560, www.sport-tenne.com
Maps / Tour literature
- There is a matching map set of the region: MTB set "Around the Reschenpass", consisting of three maps at a scale of 1:35000, price: 4.90 euros (per sheet). Available on site.
- Tabacco maps, sheets 044 and 043, scale: 1:25000
- Supertrail-Map "Vinschgau Nord" (1:50000), price 21 Euro, www.supertrail-map.com
- More tours in the region on the Internet: www.trails.de
Accommodation
There is accommodation in every category in the region. However, two hotels have been recognised for their bike-friendly service:
- Alpen Comfort Hotel Central in Nauders, tel. 0043/5473/872210, www.hotel-central.at. The hotelier Harry Ploner was one of the first hotel hosts ever to cycle and enjoys taking his guests on tours himself.
- Active & Wellness Hotel Zentral in Prad am Stilfserjoch (Vinschgau), Tel. 0039/0473/616008, www.zentral.it
Tours in the surrounding area are also organised and guided by shuttle from this hotel.
General information
- Resia Pass holiday region, I-39027 Graun, Tel. 0039/0473/633101, www.reschenpass.it
- Nauders Tourismus, A-6543 Nauders, Tel. 0043/50/225400, www.nauders.com
SCENE SPECIALS
An overview of the latest trails and general scene news can be found on the Dreiländer-Trails Facebook page: www.facebook.com/3LEnduroTrails
Alutech Green Days
The mountain bike opening of the 3-Länder Enduro Trails takes place in mid-May at the Mutzkopf cable car in Nauders and has now achieved cult status. Info: www.facebook.com/MTBGreenDays/
3-Country Enduro Race
The enduro race on the Reschen Pass has become an integral part of the event calendar. In 2015, it took place as part of the European Enduro Series, but became an independent race in 2016 when the series was cancelled. You can find information at www.3laenderenduro.com
Suzuki Nine Knights MTB 5-10 September 2016
The sixth edition of the legendary freeride and dirt jump contest also made a stop at Lake Reschen. For the five-day event, course builders such as Andi Wittman, Andi Brewi and Sam Reynolds transformed the Haideralm into a huge freeride knight's castle. In addition to invited pro riders, there were also some wildcards for amateur and pro riders, which were determined via an online video contest.
You can also read the BIKE 10/2016 issue in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or in the DK shop order:
