New MTB trails near Cologne: Grand opening of the Himmelsleitern on Saturday

"Ladder to heaven" may sound a little exaggerated. The two new, official trails for mountain bikers start at an altitude of 205 metres and are each just 350 to 400 metres long. However, if you consider how much voluntary work has gone into these two lines, plus the skills area and designated uphill route, then even bikers used to the Alps will nod in recognition: okay, the name fits.

The Glessener Höhe near Pulheim in North Rhine-Westphalia is an open-cast mining spoil tip that has been renaturalised since 1970 and towers 80 metres above the surrounding, rather flat land of the Rhine-Erft district. So it's no wonder that many people come here, less than 20 kilometres from Cologne city centre, to relax. Also because of the view. These range from the summit cross to the Düsseldorf television tower and across the Cologne Bay, Bergisches Land and the Siebengebirge mountains with Drachenfels, Petersberg and Grosser Ölberg.

User pressure is naturally high and mountain bikers were less and less welcome in the neighbouring Königsdorf Forest nature reserve. So they founded a DIMB IG Erft, entered into negotiations with the relevant authorities and finally received permission to build in autumn 2024:

Two trails can be built in the steep flank of the old spoil tip and a skills area. Volunteers were also quickly found - so the shovelling work could begin in November last year. So much for the good news.

The bad news: The spoil heap consists of sandy, friable soil. Especially on a steep slope, it is virtually impossible to form anything that could withstand the next rain, let alone the compression pressure of a mountain bike tyre. So earth containing clay had to be hauled up the mountain on foot: 50 tonnes - bucket by bucket. This was then raked under the existing sandy soil - metre by metre. This continued until the mixture could actually be moulded into sturdy berms. So, with this knowledge, please let the name "Himmelsleiter" (ladder to heaven) sink in again - doesn't it?

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However, the name is actually a little more banal: there is already a staircase built into the mountain near the trails with a total of 397 steps that climbs up to the summit cross of the Glessener Höhe, and it is already called Himmelsleiter. Probably because its construction was a similar Sisyphus task. So this effective name was simply adopted. And this is what they are now, the new trails, which will be officially opened on Saturday 30 August 2025 at 12 noon:

Trail 1: Glessener Welle

• Length: 400 metres
• Difficulty: easy (blue)

The "blue" trail is easy to roll along its entire length. Lots of bends, but also waves and kickers (which more experienced bikers can also jump over) and a shorter root section increase the fun factor. You can also branch off onto a jump line in the first bend of the trail. Here you jump over the actual trail twice and reach a larger gap before being led back to the regular blue trail.

Trail 2: Devil's ladder

• Length: 350 metres
• Difficulty: medium (red)

The Devil's Ladder has two entrances: the easiest way for less experienced bikers is via the one with the earth step. Braver riders, on the other hand, can drop into the trail via an approximately 50-centimetre-high wooden ramp and return to the main trail via an extra bend. Compared to the blue line, it is less winding here, but steeper, more natural and more varied. In the lower section, you have to cross a water channel - either by jumping or over a wooden bridge.

Skill Area: Foxhole

Above the two trail entrances, there is a starting platform from which you can push off onto an easy circuit with various exercise elements: These include tables, wooden drops, stone fields and roots. This skill area is suitable for beginners and children, but also for advanced riders to hone their riding technique skills. The Fuchsbau is still being shovelled on the opening date. It will therefore be closed on 30 August.

The Uphill

Both trails lead into a forest path that leads directly back up to the trail entrances at the Himmelsleiter refuge.

All information about the trails, opening times and the grand opening ceremony can be found here: dimb.de/trails/himmelsleiter-trails-erftkreis