Iconic MTB trails: The ‘lost places’ that mountain bikers once discovered in the Alps

​Just as gravel cyclists today seek out ‘lost places’, mountain bikers once explored the Alps – always on the hunt for the best trail and the greatest adventure. And it was with these iconic rides that the journey began in the 1990s.

​It is highly unlikely that a mountain biker who has ever cycled up the Pasubio or through the Dolomites would start a war. Admittedly, it is precisely the military roads dating from the First World War that are particularly enjoyable to cycle along in the Alps; they cling spectacularly to vertical rock faces and usually lead to the most beautiful vantage points. But in doing so, you also pass right up close to old positions, tunnels and shell craters where thousands of soldiers lost their lives. Military cemeteries, peaks blown to pieces and monuments along what was once the front line serve as a constant reminder of how brutal – and ultimately how senseless – wars have always been and still are.

Moser Guides led tours into the Alpine battlefields

Rides steeped in history have always held a special appeal for us cyclists. Initially, because a certain Elmar Moser introduced us to the best military roads in his Moser-BIKE Guides. Later, the aim was to discover trails that Moser hadn’t yet revealed. When the first cable cars finally opened their doors to mountain bikers, a whole new world of possibilities suddenly opened up. Here we showcase six true milestones in alpine cycling – a tribute to which we’ll be adding one more ride every Sunday on bike-magazin.de.

​1. Eisjöchl – the ultimate peak for cyclists

• ​Length: 90 kilometres
• Ascent: 2,980 metres in altitude
• Level of difficulty ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
• The gradients and the total length of the climb make this a challenging ride. In terms of riding difficulty, only S1 sections are to be expected.

​2,400 metres of elevation gain in one go! Steep, steeper and increasingly difficult to pedal: the 2,909-metre-high Eisjöchl in South Tyrol has been one of the toughest MTB challenges in the Alps since the 1990s. Before the cable cars came along, the challenge was to find the toughest, longest climbs in the Alps and conquer them with as few dismounts and breaks as possible. Even today, only the fittest can claim to have ‘ridden the Eisjöchl in its entirety’. The ascent begins with steep tarmac ramps and nerve-wracking tunnels.

After that, the hairpin bends pile up on rocky ground at the head of the valley. As the air grows increasingly thin, the wind blows ever more sharply and high-alpine scree lies in wait, hairpin bends with gradients of up to 20 per cent lurk over the final 1,000 metres of ascent. It easily takes four to five hours just to complete the ascent here. At the top, due to the altitude, you must expect icy gusts, showers or patches of remaining snow. However, since 2022, you can warm up again near the pass: the Stettiner Hut, which was destroyed by an avalanche, has been rebuilt as a state-of-the-art facility with 80 guest beds. The Eisjöchl can be tackled from either side, but as a day trip, the route is generally recommended starting from Naturns. Verdict: A must-do once in a lifetime for any true Alpine cyclist. Find out more about the route, including the elevation profile.

What’s on the itinerary today?

​The 2,909-metre-high pass from the Passeier Valley to the Schnalstal is part of the Merano High-Altitude Trail and is therefore well maintained. Above the Lazinser Alm, it is even paved with stone slabs. The sharp-edged drainage channels, which once made cycling rather unpleasant and caused punctures, have now been levelled out!

2. Pasubio: The Road of the 52 Tunnels

• Length: 27.9 kilometres
• Ascent: 1,169 metres
• Level of difficulty: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
• After Tremalzo, probably the most popular route from the Moser Guide, Volume 3 ‘Lake Garda’ (1990)

“What’s the Pasubio doing in the guide? It’s not even on Lake Garda,” BIKE editor-in-chief Uli Stanciu asked Elmar Moser when the latter published his first “Volume 3” in 1990. “Don’t ask, just ride this route, then you’ll know,” was the reply. Indeed, this route sparked a real craze amongst Moser’s followers. But not for long. After two mountain bikers had fallen to their deaths, the route was closed to cyclists in 1994. Anyone who rode it anyway was fined by the Carabinieri at the exit of the last tunnel. Getting caught cost a 400-D-Mark fine. So the route soon faded into obscurity. But one person who still remembers the route well is Uli Stanciu: “From the Passo Pian delle Fugazze (1,162 m), you pedal up the Strada degli Erol towards Rifugio Papa. Right in the middle of a vertical rock face – that’s quite spectacular. But the descent through the tunnels really took the biscuit. Not because the route was particularly great to cycle – the tunnels are pitch-black and as rugged as the Val d’Uina. Even in between, we didn’t dare go very fast, because the 300-metre drop could only be guessed at in the fog. No, it’s the tunnels themselves that give you goosebumps. One even twists downhill like a corkscrew. “It’s incredible what structures people were capable of building during the First World War.” How Uli Stanciu experienced his first ride on the Strada delle 52 Gallerie during a thunderstorm, He describes it here.

​What's on the itinerary for today?

The tunnel path is still off-limits to cyclists – risk of falling! It’s better to leave your bike at the entrance and explore the upper part of the Strada on foot. Ideally when visibility is good.

3. Monte Sole Trail in Vinschgau

• ​Length: 6 kilometres
• Downhill: 880 metres in altitude
• Level of difficulty ■ ■ ■ ■
• Enduro trail from St. Martin via the Annaberger Böden to Goldrain in the Vinschgau Valley.

​When Holger Meyer returned from the Vinschgau Valley with this trail discovery, we launched the ‘Supertrail’ series in BIKE in 2008. The result was that the trail was closed off just a few months later. A farmer had been annoyed by a few rowdy cyclists. No one had ever seen such a long trail accessible by cable car before. Holger: “We treated ourselves to a leisurely cappuccino at the cable car station. We’d never have done that if we’d still had to pedal the 1,000 metres of elevation gain up to St. Martin. It was pure luxury: gliding uphill, checking out the long trail and then – totally mad – just doing the whole thing again?” Holger Meyer recalls his first time driving it.

What’s on the itinerary for today?

​The trail has reopened, but the upper section has been rerouted. Cable car: open to cyclists from 7 am to 9 am and 3 pm to 7 pm. The suspension bridge is now closed as a result. Please follow the diversion via path no. 5 (S3).

4. Lake Ledro: 136-bend trail

• ​Length: 30 kilometres
• Ascent: 1,378 metres
• Level of difficulty ■ ■ ■
• By shifting your weight to the rear wheel, you can ride through smoothly from the 6th hairpin bend onwards (though you might be a bit too close to the rock at the top). Should you fall, you’ll land in the soft grass.

​A gold-rush atmosphere in the 2000s: who could find a trail around Lake Garda that wasn’t already in the Moser Guide? Marco Toniolo, then a BIKE tour writer, discovered the ultimate challenge on the slopes of Monte Stino by Lake Idro. The front line also ran through here during the First World War, which is why the mountains surrounding this pretty little lake are interconnected by countless military tracks. On Monte Stino, however, the path winds through so many tight hairpin bends that Toniolo simply counted them during the 1,100-metre descent: 136 switchbacks! It’s much easier, though – you simply count the bends you didn’t manage to take. Toniolo’s advice back then: “You really ought to be able to master hairpin bends in your sleep, because on Monte Stino that’s the difference between heaven and hell.” For a more detailed description.

​What's the trail up to today?

Still accessible by car: Lake Iseo is a 45-minute drive west of Riva del Garda. The Baitoni campsite is situated on its northern shore. From there, it’s an easy start to the climb.

​5. Mont Chaberton – King of the Alps

• ​Length: 32.3 kilometres
• Ascent: 1,945 metres
• Level of difficulty ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
• The ascent from Claviere and the first 130 metres of descent from the Col are only recommended for those in good physical condition and with the skills to tackle blocked paths.

​It is not known who was the first to complete this route in the Val di Susa – which is surprising, as the 3,131-metre-high Mont Chaberton is considered the highest point in the Alps that can be cycled to. And a summit at that! But back then, people probably assumed that further summit discoveries would follow. Yet that was it – and to be honest, even in the age of e-MTBs, one could hardly say that Mont Chaberton was fully rideable. Its ascent stretched 13 kilometres in length, climbing nearly 1,900 metres in altitude. Steep, boulder-strewn, crumbly and, in places, exposed.

We faced steep, scree-covered hairpin bends where, with too much thrust, the front wheel would simply slip out and the rear wheel would spin. The ‘split rock’ was the crux of the route. Here, the military track – which had been reduced to nothing more than a narrow ledge – wound its way through a rock formation. A safety rope in the rock face helped with the crossing. However, in 2017 and 2019, mudslides occurred, burying large sections of the track. Since then, it has no longer been possible to ascend from Fenils. But there are, of course, reasons why cyclists still struggle their way up here from Claviere: for one thing, the panoramic view from the summit is unbeatable, but the main attraction is the ‘Crown of the Cottian King’. In 1898, the Italians blasted away the summit of the mountain to install eight huge gun turrets here, creating Europe’s highest military fortress. A complex that was used against France during the Second World War and which you can now climb around. More information.

What’s on the itinerary for today?

​The path from Fenils has not yet been repaired following the mudslides of 2017 and 2019. Consequently, for the time being, only a return trip to and from Claviere is possible.

​6. Mezzorona – the wall

• ​Length: 12 kilometres
• Downhill: 732 metres in altitude
• Level of difficulty ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
• There’s no such thing as riding enjoyment on the Mezzocorona. It’s the thrill and the imposing looks that draw you in (says BIKE editor Dimitri Lehner, who also rode the trail later on).

​It was THE test of courage in the late 90s. Originally, Uli Stanciu had been looking for a Transalp route that would push trial legend Hans Rey to his limits. The challenge was: “Anyone who can complete this trail without putting a foot down, just like Hans Rey, can count themselves amongst the world’s top cyclists!” And who wouldn’t have wanted that back then? However, once there, a few of them probably had second thoughts. Standing in Mezzocorona in front of this sheer cliff face, almost 900 metres high, one realises there’s no room for uncontrolled braking manoeuvres. Yet this cable car, creaking its way almost vertically upwards, was quite a sight. It was already carrying bikes back then! The trail itself can be described as: steep, rocky steps, loose scree, a blocked hairpin bend every 50 metres – and: a precipice. Where a wire rope provides safety, you end up pinching your hands in the hairpin bends. A bit more speed is said to have helped. The fact is: anyone who’s made it to the top has, ever since, looked out proudly of the side window from the Brenner motorway and said: “I once rode that trail on that cliff face.” Following in Hans Rey’s footsteps, the The BIKE test team, with their pockets pretty full, at Mezzocorona. Among them were: Markus Greber, Christoph Listmann, Holger Meyer, Rainer Gerster and a still rather young Karl Platt.

​What’s on the itinerary for today?

The ‘No Bikes’ sign is still there, but the charming cable car was unfortunately dismantled in July this year. It is due to be replaced by a 25-person gondola in the near future.