Tour 1: Glacier tour
Length 32 km / 1650 hm
Condition ■ ■ ■ ■
Technology ■ ■ ■
Many metres of elevation gain with great views and many metres of descent on soft meadow and stony forest trails. The long tour has a lot in store - after all, it also circles the entire Bike Republic. We part ways at the car park. Some put on protectors, lift their bikes out of the car and roll over to the Gaislachkogl cable car. We look downright exotic in our traditional touring gear and well-packed rucksacks. There are knee pads in there too, but it's a good 1500 metres uphill before they come into use - and that's WITHOUT lift assistance!
While the others' climbing ambitions today are limited to getting into the gondola, we have a lot of cranking action ahead of us. From Sölden, we head south-east and wind our way up to the foot of the glacier at 2663 metres above sea level. The second part of the tour then takes us high above Sölden far to the north. In the end, we have circumnavigated the entire Sölden Bike Republic, with a good 1600 metres of altitude in our legs, whooped with joy at the soft flow, reminded ourselves to concentrate on rough trails - and taken the odd refreshment stop along the way ...
Two locals are guiding me on this huge glacier tour, and both are called Simon. One, surnamed Scheiber, is a former bike pro, the other, Gstrein, runs a bike hotel. Simon & Simon. As we leave the hustle and bustle of Sölden behind us and soon pedal alone through the forest towards the Gaislachalm, I remember a TV series with the same name featuring a pair of dissimilar brothers. But the two Ötztal Simons are not that different. Both are endurance animals and both throw themselves down the trickiest trails with the cleanest technique. I quickly realise the former as we pedal uphill and they explain the mountain world to me. I can convince myself of the second during the first trail interlude, which serves up sensational fun from the middle station over to the glacier road - and unfortunately ends too quickly.
Instead, we continue on tarmac. We want to get up to the ice. With the glacier always in view, it slowly gets cooler. As we stand in front of the imposing ice, the altimeter reads 2663 metres. But the highest point of the tour is yet to come. After a short descent and a steep ascent, we reach the Rotkogelhütte at 2666 metres. But that's all the metres in altitude. Now there are only a few more metres of descent, so extra weight helps. It's refreshment time!
We then head downhill on gravel tracks to the Giggijoch before finally turning off onto trail no. 7 in Hochsölden. It is peppered with technical passages, but also provides a constant feeling of flow and finally spits us out at the Leiter Alm. Simon & Simon rave about the hearty home cooking and fluffy Kaiserschmarrn. It doesn't help: it's time for a stop!
Further downhill towards Sölden, things get even more varied: playful uphill-downhill slalom through the forest, rough passages, easy flow: it's all there. Just as it should be on the big glacier tour!
Tour 2: Left of the Ache
Length 8.5 km / 670 hm
Condition ■
Technology ■ ■ ■
The people of Sölden call their mountain world to the left of the Ache river the "quiet side". While you can enjoy the gondola ride opposite, bikers can pedal through the mountains here in peace. The Bike Republic Sölden has two sides: an encouraging and a challenging one. In the western glacier area, it is easy to pedal uphill, whereas in the east you have to work hard for the views and descents. And it's quite obvious that most people don't feel like working on holiday. Because on the "quiet side" of the valley, it quickly gets lonely without any lifts. At the beginning, there are still a few hikers, but they get "lost" in the large network of paths.
It's a relaxed ascent, both in terms of the surroundings and the gradient. No crisp climbing, no juicy stitches: The serpentines wind their way pleasantly upwards through the forest. It's quiet, you have time to think about the important things in life: Did Daniel Craig stop off at one of the mountain huts? If so, what did he eat? Part of the James Bond film "Spectre" was shot in Sölden. And as Daniel Craig was banned from skiing for insurance reasons, he went hiking on the quiet side. We are just thinking about whether fat biking would have been an option when the Kleble Alm appears in front of us - and dispels any Bond questions.
It is situated in an extremely idyllic location on a slope at an altitude of 2015 metres and offers a magnificent view of the Ötztal mountains. The aroma of well-portioned Kaiserschmarrn pancakes wafts over from the neighbouring table. But for us, it's just an apricot tart. We have a clear plan and that is to leave room in our stomachs.
We haven't eaten our fill and haven't had our fill for a long time, but the trail is calling. We roll back a little and join the path down to Sölden, which immediately turns out to be quite zippy. Right at the start, a colleague greets us, knocking the dust off his body. It's not Daniel Craig, but a Dutchman. "Everything's okay," he calls out and waves us off reassuringly. He has two Teäre Trail days behind him with "soooo much flow!" He spreads his arms wide and grins. "And here suddenly ...", his face wrinkles and points to the stony steps that have surprised him. The nature trail on the quiet side is quite tricky.
It challenges us just as much. We have to concentrate really hard - not least so as not to miss the turn-off towards Stallwiesalm. We are told that the cuisine there is an absolute must. Our tactic works (and so do we): After a sweet stop at the Kleble Alm, we order some hearty Tyrolean fare.
Well-fuelled, we head back onto the trail, which remains technically tricky: a flying alternation between soft surfing and steep rock and root work. Again and again we cross the gravel track and dive back into the trail. At the bottom, we are flat, shaken and full of impressions and Tyrolean cuisine. The Stille Seite is anything but 08/15: relaxed and delicious with a touch of 007 adventure.
You can download the GPS data for the two MTB tours around Sölden below.
