For a very, very brief moment, I considered refusing the glass of champagne. But - oh, never mind! That little bit of decadence doesn't do the trick any more. We doze on softly padded lounge loungers under palm trees. I've only just put my dessert plate to one side. With the icing sugar of the fluffy Kaiserschmarrn still on my lips, I sip from my glass. The Ganischger brothers have really served up everything their menu has to offer on the terrace of the Gardoné-Alm. Good, there's something to celebrate after all: the opening of the new circuit around the Latemar. With the new cable car in Nova Ponente/Deutschnofen, there are now three lifts to help you round the Dolomite massif. This saves a total of 3000 metres of ascent. And that's a good thing, because the energy saved is urgently needed for the three super trail descents on this tour.
You have been able to ride around the rock bastion above the Val d'Ega for some time, but what was missing was a challenging trail version. Biking veteran "Krauti" has now finally realised this on the occasion of the cable car opening. The native of Lower Austria, whose real name is Gerhard Krautwurst, got stuck in the South Tyrolean Dolomites 20 years ago because of love. It wasn't long before he learnt about the region's trail potential as a bike guide and eventually founded "Krauti's Bike Academy". This was followed by numerous map projects and now his new trail circuit around the 2842 metre high Latemar.
The meeting point is the car park at the new cable car in Deutschnofen. Of course, I haven't travelled alone to the opening ceremony. There are ten other freeriders and enduro riders in the lift queue with me. Among them were the two Germans Johannes Fischbach, Guido Tschugg and World Cup rider Greta Weithaler. 15 minutes later, we have left 550 metres of altitude behind us and push our bikes out of the gondola near the Carezza Pass. The famous Vajolet Towers tower into the sky in front of us. But the path doesn't stay at panoramic altitude for long. It soon plunges purposefully into the pine forest. It doesn't take long for my front tyre to get stuck in the mud up to the hub with a loud "Pflaaaatsch". Krauti hadn't considered this when scouting. That even in South Tyrol it can rain for several days at a time. But after the bog holes, the 571 to Soraga becomes a dream path: full of bends, it swings between the trees down into Val di Fassa. A quick cappuccino in a bar, then we roll along the valley floor to Ronchi, where the gondola to Alpe Lusia swings us back up to 2200 metres. And now the highlight: after a short carrying section, my personal trail favourite awaits under the Forcella Pozil: the 622. It's not just its numbering that reminds us of Lake Garda. At first, the path meanders through the gravel fields, narrow and rough, but always in rideable bends. Then a huge, green funnel of lush meadows opens up, where the trail gently swings out. Finally, we shoot down a high-speed forest track without meeting a soul. Energised by this downhill rush, we take the cycle path at racing speed to the next lift to Predazzo. Quick, before the lift man takes his lunch break! We can't get to Gardoné without the cable car.
It's already afternoon when we heave our bums out of the lounge loungers at the Palmen-Alm and swing straight into the four-seater chair. Once again, we head directly to the foot of the Latemar, below the Reiterjoch. With the incredible panorama of the Trentino Dolomites behind us and the view over the Isarco Valley in front of us, we cruise into the grand finale: the narrow trails via Obereggen and Lake Carezza back to Nova Levante. The last flow section alone easily earns the title "Supertrail".
