I feel my way forwards with cautious steps, leaning over the abyss - the view into the depths is almost intoxicating. The noise of the motorway, 1500 metres below us, gets louder. To the south, the view stretches as far as the Apennines, to the north as far as the Dolomites. The location is perfectly chosen for the old cannon position, which the Italians carved into the mountain here long before the First World War. From here, they could see exactly who wanted to pass through the narrow Adige Valley. And if the Pasubio, the last bastion before the Po Valley, had fallen, the Austrians would have had real problems here again on their way to Verona. We are on the eastern side of Monte Baldo, the landmark of Lake Garda. Most mountain bikers only know the lake side of the giant. Its eastern flank seems like another planet to us: green slopes, no bikers, no tourist resorts. Lonely military tracks wind their way up the steep slopes here.
of Fear) is the name of the tour in the Moser Guide that piqued my curiosity. It starts with the cable car from Malcesine to the summit of Monte Baldo, takes a loop around the eastern flanks of the Baldo and ends back at the lake.
But we have another route in our sights: from the cannon position, we can recognise a path that zigzags through a sloping meadow. The map also recognises this path: it ends in Avio. Unfortunately, nobody can tell us whether the path is actually rideable. What we do know is that its line is reminiscent of a typical military track. Probably a shortcut between the valley and Corno della Paura, for soldiers who had to get to the viewpoint quickly without mules and with heavy weapons.
The problem with this trail is that it is very difficult to reach from Lake Garda. You would have to add it to the classic Moser tour and that would mean an extra 1,800 plus 1,500 metres in altitude for this trail. That's clearly too much for a one-day tour. So we take the Brenner motorway into the lower Adige Valley and pass the villages of Avio and Ala by car. You usually only know these places from the motorway signs. Today we are actually taking this exit for the first time. These are forgotten villages with real Italian flair and history. Because these places, south of the front line, were strategically important points for the supply of soldiers, ammunition and food during the war. The barracks, fountains and streets still bear witness to this today. It was anticipated that the enemy might penetrate as far as here, but the Pasubio front held out until the end of the war and the defensive line in these mountains is still well preserved today. For mountain bikers, this means an extensive network of lonely military roads and trails. An undiscovered biker's paradise.
The ascent from Avio to San Valentino is the key to paradise: the trails on the west side of the Adige Valley. This tarmac military road winds its way up an impressive gorge in countless hairpin bends. It seems to have been the main artery for transporting weapons during the war. It is never particularly steep and flattens out again and again along the way. The loaded mules were supposed to rest here while transporting cannons to Corno della Paura. Just like us now. We crank up the road at a relaxed pace and marvel at the effort that went into building the motorway. For kilometre after kilometre, the Alpini engineers carved the road into the rocky slope, bored tunnels and created sweeping hairpin bends. After the village of San Valentino, the road now heads directly towards the rocky outcrop of Corno della Paura before spectacularly threading through two tunnels and emerging into open terrain above the Adige Valley: flowering meadows as far as the eye can see. Our downhill trail winds right through the middle.
The path is perfectly rideable. At least as far as we can see from up here in the open field. After just a few hairpin bends, I can see that the path curves directly towards a forest. Who knows what surprises lie in wait for us.
As soon as the forest has turned off the sunlight, it gets bumpier. Branches and roots lurk under a thick carpet of leaves left behind by the excessively dry winter. Insidious obstacles that take away more and more of our speed. At some point, we only feel our way forwards metre by metre. We only really notice that we are losing altitude because of the warmer temperatures. The trail is never particularly steep, but it is long. So long that we wonder whether we're on the right path at all. On the map, it is marked as a dotted path and you often get stuck somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Not today. The silhouette of Sabbionara Castle appears between the trees - proof that this corner of the Adige Valley was already recognised as strategically important in the Middle Ages. The path circles once around the high walls before it finally leads to a small staircase that spits us out in Avio after all.
That's just the tip of the iceberg, we learn an hour later over a well-earned plate of spaghetti. The landlord of the restaurant knows these mountain flanks very well, having spent half his life here. There are many more such paths here. I'm about to pull the map out of my rucksack, but he prefers to wave us out of the door. "Up there," the man points to the summit of Monte Baldo and then swings a little to the left, "you'll also find an old military road." No such thing, is my first thought. Who would think of hammering a road into this mighty rock face? But the landlord nods. "The soldiers were protected along this route and the quickest way to the top, at Corno."
After this conversation, we asked a few other residents. Some can still remember gruesome war stories from their grandparents. Others knew of other hidden trails that would probably be worthwhile for bikers. We decided to stay a few more days and set off in search of exciting trails.
In the end, we even came across the key to another trail paradise: the Lessini Mountains. But that's another story entirely.
INFO MILITARY TRAILS MONTE BALDO
ARRIVAL
Brenner motorway, exit Ala, Avio. Journey time: by car from Munich 378 km, approx. 3.40 hrs. From Torbole: 30 km, approx. 30 min.
CARDS
Compass map no. 101: Rovereto Monte Pasubio (1:50 000)
GENERAL INFORMATION
www.comune.avio.tn.it
MTB TOURS
1st Corno della Paura 1
Length: 32 km/1500 metres in altitude
Difficulty: ****** (out of 6)
Key section: on the descent just before the forest: rocky passage
Roadbook: Avio - road towards San Valentino - San Valentino - Malga Pizzagrola - Malga Postemon - Colme di Pravecchio - Corno della Paura (short detour) - continue downhill on the gravel road - where the road goes uphill again, turn right to Sentiero 686 - at the junction with a gravel road, follow it downhill - at a bend to the right, follow the path uphill for five metres, then turn right downhill to Castello di Sabbionara - Avio
2nd Corno della Paura 2
Length: 36 km/1600 metres in altitude
Difficulty: ****** (out of 6)
Key point: partly difficult orientation, GPS: www.bike-board.net
Roadbook: Avio - road to San Valentino - San Valentino - Malga Pizzagrola - Malga Postemon - Colme di Pravecchio - Corno della Paura (short detour) - continue downhill on the gravel road - leave path no. 686 (see tour 1) at the junction and continue uphill on the road - at the highest point turn right downhill to Malga Vignola and follow path no. 687 (don't follow the white and red markings - not always easy to find!) - join the gravel road, follow it downhill - in a right-hand bend, follow the path uphill for five metres, then turn right downhill to Castello di Sabbionara - Avio
3rd Madonna della Neve
Length: 27 km/1000 metres in altitude
Difficulty: ****** (out of 6)
Key point: rocky ground
Roadbook: Avio - road towards San Valentino - below the dam wall turn left towards Pra Alpesina - Malga Cola - gravel path 685 - Madonna della Neve - Colonia - path to Avio through the gorge (fantastic scenery) - junction with the road to San Valentino - Avio.
All information about the Monte Baldo mountain bike tours can be found in the free PDF download.
