It was the ultimate test of courage: the steep-walled descent from Mezzocorona. Hans Rey and Wade Simmons even travelled across the Atlantic to Trentino just for this trail. Now, sadly, the historic cable car up there has been closed for good on 14 June.
Find a Transalp route that’s so technically challenging that only a trial champion like Hans “No Way” Rey can really ride it. That was the task set for Uli Stanciu in the late 1990s. It wasn’t that easy, though. After all, how could an advanced, average cyclist possibly judge what was just about rideable for an acrobat like Hans Rey – and what wasn’t?
It was his now wife, Giovanna, who took Stanciu on this trip up Monte Mezzocorona. Actually, it was more for the equally spectacular cable car that winds its way up the vertical rock face and, of course, for the absolutely stunning bird’s-eye view of the Adige Valley from up there. But as they climbed back down the rocky, stepped, winding path through the cliff face – secured only very precariously by a wire rope – the ‘guru’ of Transalp routes was thrilled: ‘This could be just the thing for Hans!’
Hans Rey’s first descent
In the autumn of 1999, the time had come: the trial champion arrived from the USA with a film crew. He’d already filmed the Similaun Glacier Trail and the Hochjoch; the rest of the route was to be kept secret – for fear of encouraging copycats and possibly causing crashes. The Mezzocorona Trail, too, was only granted public permission by the authorities for this one ride by Hans Rey. Of course, he managed it. His conclusion:
A downhill bike can’t handle the tight bends, and with a hardtail you run into power issues. A standard full-suspension bike seems to me to be the happy medium.
His companions, on the other hand, were absolutely thrilled. Among them was the late Glen Jacobs, an Olympic and World Cup course designer, as well as the producer of the Mudcow series:
Mezzocorona is the holy grail of downhill trails. You could hold the world’s most extreme race here!
Uli Stanciu, on the other hand, felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders. After all, that section could easily have ended badly. As it was, however, he too returned to the BIKE editorial office full of enthusiasm: “No other singletrack is as long, as difficult or features such an interesting mix of steps, rock slabs, scree, switchbacks and forest sections! And best of all: you can reach the start by gondola!”
But what really got the BIKE magazine test team of the time going was Stancius’s closing remark:
Anyone who can complete this trail without putting a foot down – just like Hans Rey – can count themselves among the world’s top cyclists!
The BIKE test team in front of their own personal Eiger North Face
Less than 24 hours later, Markus Greber, Christoph Listmann, Holger Meyer, Rainer Gerster and Karl Platt stand at the foot of the mountain in disbelief, gazing up at their very own Eiger North Face. Christoph had quickly rigged his mobile phone camera to his full-face helmet back at home – but now he’s not at all sure whether he should actually use it: “I reckon Stanciu wants to send us to hell.” But the cable car ride only costs 8,000 lire – so they might as well take a look at the whole thing from above.
The creaking and groaning of the old two-person gondolas doesn’t exactly cheer up the lads on their way to the gallows either. At the top, the view down into the sheer abyss – best not to look. They roll 200 metres across the peaceful mountain plateau until a small wooden sign reading ‘Mezzocorona’ points the way into the death zone. The path immediately balances on the edge of a vertical cliff; a thick wire rope is meant to prevent the worst. Rock steps, loose scree and a hairpin bend every 50 metres. These are blocked too. The outermost line looks the easiest – the one right by the precipice. Where the wire rope provides security, you end up pinching your hands in the hairpin bends. If, on the other hand, you ride closer to the rock face, there’s a risk of the handlebars getting caught. Better to have a squashed hand, then. And always position the front wheel precisely! A bit more speed? It takes some effort, but it helps. In the end, the challenge amongst the five is this: who can manage the most hairpin bends in a row without putting a foot down.
It took the lads just under two hours back then to make it back down to the car park – all unharmed. It didn’t feel like a world-champion moment. More like, “Wow, we survived.” But ever since, they still look out of the right-hand side window whenever they’re heading south on the Brenner motorway: “Look, I’ve skied down that sheer cliff face several times.”
Of course, the Mezzocorona Trail didn’t remain a secret. It’s said that the Innsbruck riders used the descent every now and then as a warm-up for longer rides. A few years later, the trail was already being discussed, analysed in detail and expertly categorised in specialist MTB forums.
Incidentally, the old cable car is due to be replaced soon by a 25-person gondola. It is not yet clear whether cyclists will still be allowed on board. But officially, the descent is prohibited for cyclists anyway, as indicated by a ‘No Entry’ sign. However, our FREERIDE colleague Dimitri Lehner, who also rode the trail years later, says:
There’s no such thing as driving pleasure up there. It’s the thrill and the imposing appearance that draw you in. And yes, there’s also that sense of pride when you drive past it in your car these days.
The data for the Mezzocorona descent
- Length: 12.06 kilometres
- Downhill: 732 metres in altitude
- Trail section: 2.52 kilometres
- Trail gradient: 23.96 per cent
More legendary MTB rides:
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor