This is unbelievable. I can hardly believe my eyes. Is that really real marble crunching under my tyres? We are pedalling uphill on the gravel road towards the Göflaner Alm. I've already noticed that the path is called the "Marble Path" and that the gravel has a peculiar shimmer. But I wouldn't have thought that the small pebbles were actually marble chips. Quite classy, but fits in perfectly with our plans. Today's destination is the Holy Grail of the Vinschgau Valley: the Holy Hansen. Now even in version 2.0, a wonderful flow trail built by Vinschgau Valley bike enthusiasts for biking guests. That alone is not so unusual. In the huge ski resorts of Austria and Italy, trails are quickly milled into the slopes to boost summer business.
But we are standing in the middle of the forest, in the cosy South Tyrolean Vinschgau Valley. The 70-kilometre-long valley between the Reschen Pass and Meran lives mainly from its apple orchards. Nevertheless, the locals have created a biking paradise here in recent years, which has now become a serious rival to Lake Garda. And one of these trails, for which many bikers from the north love to take the Bolzano/Merano motorway exit, is the Holy Hansen. The trail turns out to be a real treat. A perfect blend of nature trail and detailed handiwork. Berms help to create a sweeping curve experience. And there are long rolling sections that lead into pump track elements. If you want, you can branch off onto smaller jumps. But if you simply follow the main track, there are no nasty surprises to worry about. No stone steps, no sharp-edged boulders, no root carpets - as is often the case in Val Venosta/Vinschgau. For the past four years, Matze Gruber, one of the bike pioneers of Val Venosta/Vinschgau, has been continuously expanding the "HH" in collaboration with the municipality and the nature park administration.
Discussions instead of confrontation have led to the "Trail Tolerance" concept throughout the valley. This is also about bikers and hikers using trails together and showing consideration for each other. But the people of Val Venosta go one step further: only bikers are allowed on the trails at certain times, and there are now descents exclusively for trail bikers. Due to the growth of bike tourism, some of the locals had given it some thought and sat down at a table with community representatives, hunters, nature park representatives and landowners. However, until it came to this, mutual tolerance was not always as great as it is now.
"We've pulled out the peace pipe several times in recent years, stuffed it and smoked it. Because sometimes things got pretty heated," says an original biker who should know. Siegi Weisenhorn is one of the local scene's die-hards. He grew up with seven siblings on a mountain farm at the two-thousand metre mark in the Matsch Valley. He has been travelling on foot and by bike as a guide for 25 years. He also runs an MTB school in Val Venosta/Vinschgau. As all of these tasks are cancelled in the winter months, he just got "bored", which is how he came up with the idea of the tour book. While the snow was piling up outside the front door, Siegi quickly shook 50 tours out of his jersey sleeve and onto paper. Including not only the classic tours of the Vinschgau Valley. But also cross-border tours to the border triangle at the Reschen Pass and the Swiss Engadin with its legendary Val d'Uina.
"The upper Vinschgau Valley in particular, the area from Burgeis to Laas, offers amazing opportunities that have been somewhat neglected until now," says Siegi. The landscape does indeed open up in the upper part of the valley. There are numerous gravel paths that have already been signposted for bikers and allow moderate touring. Or as Siegi puts it: "The best cross-country tours that are easy to ride on a hardtail." However, you can tell that the 50-year-old has just turned 50 and that his personal favourite tours do not lead over the lower, wooded valley flanks. "That's true," he admits, while a soulful grin flits across his face: "The tours I prefer are above the three-thousand metre mark." These are the tours that start in the Upper Venosta Valley. However, he rarely gets up there in his role as a guide. Because where the fun is just beginning for Siegi, his guests from the low mountain ranges are already gasping for oxygen. The bearded man from Vinschgau therefore usually climbs over the three-thousand metre mark in his free time. "He has christened what is already known in Austria and elsewhere as "summit biking". So you have to carry and push your bike here too. But in return, you are rewarded with Kaiserjäger and Alpino trails along the former Ortler front in the Vinschgau Valley. On the Stelvio Pass, you are at an altitude of 2500 to 3200 metres for a long time.
Siegi only recently discovered a pretty tough Ortler tour last autumn. In three and a half days around the highest Italian glacier at 3905 metres above sea level. About half of the 5000 metres in altitude are covered by pushing and carrying. But the experience is definitely worth the effort, says Siegi. But when crossing the Langenferner glacier, don't you have to expect dangerous crevasses in the ice? Such a question can only come from a flatland biker, Siegi seems to think. As a real mountain man from the Venosta Valley, you have of course already played with such "dangers" as a child. But as a trained guide, Siegi can iron out any concerns: "Of course, you need to be sure-footed and have a feel for the mountain. But in return, you can stop off at the legendary Casati hut afterwards."
The routes are more moderate in another of Siegi's favourite areas: the northernmost Vinschgau region, with the Reschen Pass and the Engadin. The new enduro trails around Nauders have already been inaugurated with an international race. The pros were thrilled. But you can also buy a ticket for the four lifts of the three-country enduro tour as a mere mortal. Challenging trails with fantastic views down to Lake Reschen or Lake Haidersee await. There are many exciting tours in Val Venosta/Vinschgau - and exactly one problem: which one to start with?
Several bike guides have already been written about the wide variety of trails in the Venosta Valley. However, none of these books present the tours as clearly as the book "Mountainbiken im Vinschgau" by Siegi Weisenhorn, published by Tappeiner Verlag. The 50 tours it contains are particularly easy to follow thanks to the true-to-life 3D maps from 3D RealityMaps and elevation profiles with ground markings.
The five best mountain bike tours in Val Venosta/Vinschgau
In the Venosta Valley area guide in BIKE 2/2015 we now present the five most beautiful of these tours by Siegi Weisenhorn. You can find all the important information about these tours here. The detailed descriptions of the five tours can be found by clicking on the links to the blue-coloured titles of the respective tours. The GPS tracks and all tours as PDF files can be downloaded at the bottom of the article.
BIKE-Tour 1: Easy Kuntrawant (41.7 km / 725 m elevation gain / 4 h, medium character)
BIKE Tour 2: Covelano, Holy Hansen (28.2 km / 1480 m elevation gain / 5:45 h, medium character)
BIKE Tour 3:
Tibet Trail (10.7 km / 85 m elevation gain / 2:30 h, difficult character)
BIKE-Tour 4: Latsch Nördersberg (22 km / 1200 hm / 3:30 h, character difficult)
BIKE Tour 5:
Three-country enduro (36.5 km / 755 m elevation gain / 3:30 h, difficult character)
INFORMATION VINSCHGAU
Location The 70-kilometre-long Vinschgau Valley stretches from west to east along the Adige River, from the Reschen Pass down to the Merano basin. The valley owes its mild climate to the Ötztal Alps, the Texel Group and the Ortler massif. They shield the valley from bad weather fronts from the north and south. This is also the reason why the bike season starts here in March and doesn't end until November.
Arrival by car The quickest route is via the Brenner motorway to Bolzano-South, then via the MeBo (toll-free) to Merano. Distance from Munich: 315 km, 3:45 h
By train There are good ICE connections to Bolzano, then change to the Venosta Valley railway. To transport your bike, put it in a bag or look out for the designated bike transport on the trains. Info: www.bahn.de and www.vinschgauerbahn.it
Maps and tour information - "Südtirolbike map: Mountainbike Vinschgau", Tappeiner-Verlag, 1:50000, price: 8.50 euros. Tabaccho No. 43-45, scale 1:25000, price 9.90 euros each
- Supertrail Maps "Vinschgau Ost" and "Vinschgau Nord", 1:50000, 16.95 euros each
- Digital map compass "South Tyrol", 29.95 euros
- GPS tours: www.vinschgaubike.com, www.bikereldorado.com, www.sentres.com
- Book: "Mountainbiken im Vinschgau", Siegi Weisenhorn, Tappeiner-Verlag, 50 tours with 3D maps and GPS tracks, 19.90 euros, www.trailsucht.org
Bike infrastructure Guided tours, schools, shuttles: www.vinschgau.net, www.bikehotels.it, www.vinschgaubike.com, www.bikereldorado.com, www.oetzi-bike-academy.com, www.bikeshuttle.it, www.freeride-vinschgau.com
General information Accommodation with special bike services can be found under these umbrella organisations: www.bikehotels.it and www.bike-holidays.com | General information and accommodation is available from the tourist office: www.vinschgau.net
FIVE THINGS NOT TO BE MISSED IN THE VINSCHGAU VALLEY:
1st Trail Trophy Of course, you can also explore the Latsch trails without time pressure, but the atmosphere and action during the legendary Trail Trophy is unrivalled. Normal riders can compete against the participating semi-pros and pros at the end of May 2015. You can also rock the coolest trails in the central Vinschgau Valley. Info: www.trailtrophy.eu
2nd Stelvio Pass There are shuttle services that take bikers to the Stilfserjoch and thus to the start of the Tibet or Goldsee Trail. But you should have conquered the legendary 48 hairpin bends under your own steam at least once in your life. After all, at 2757 metres above sea level, the Stelvio Pass is the second highest asphalted pass in the Alps. It is best to choose the car-free day on 29 August 2015 for this. info: www.stelviopark.bz.it
3. hut flair The Venosta Valley is blessed with countless alpine and mountain huts, which of course offer the whole repertoire of South Tyrolean delicacies. The Tarscher Alm, Latscher Alm and Marzoner Alm, for example, are hard to reach but in a marvellous location. Highlights, if only because of the altitude, are the Sesvenna and Zufall huts at the end of the Martell Valley. Info: www.suedtirol.info
4th Strawberry Festival in Martell Hard to believe, but true: in the Martell Valley, strawberries are grown up to an altitude of 1700 metres,
raspberries and other fruits are grown up to an altitude of 1700 metres. The berries have a particularly intense flavour due to the altitude and dryness. There is even a big strawberry festival in Val Martello at the end of June. If you try your way through all the creative and delicious desserts, cakes and dumplings, you can then head for the Stilfserjoch to burn off the calories. Info: www.erdbeerfest.it
5. three countries without a passport No sooner had the three-country enduro course on the Reschen Pass been completed than the European Enduro Series was just around the corner. Since then, this stop has been an integral part of the racing series. The absolute elite of this sport will be competing here again on 25/26 July 2015. Last year, Frenchman Jérôme Clementz flew most elegantly over the challenging root trails. This year, the Germans Ludwig Döhl, André Wagenknecht and Markus Reiser will also be competing. Info: www.enduroseries.eu
You can read this article or the entire BIKE 2/2015 issue in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or buy the issue in the DK shop reorder:
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Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
