The 1370 metres in altitude from Santa Caterina to Passo Zebrù are tough, steep and, as the altitude increases, also cold and low in oxygen. With a second battery in the rucksack, this wouldn't be a problem - but we only have one. So Markus and I slip into the back seat of the shuttle bus with the two Lupato brothers. The two Italians are among the international enduro elite and accompany us on the tour without a motor on the bike, but with a shuttle for the first 1000 metres of altitude. Of course, they can't help but grin smugly as we heave our e-bikes onto the bus. They already know the Zebrù trail and are convinced that the battery range will be the least of our problems. At Rifugio Forni, the tarmac road comes to an end and we have to change to a Landrover with a trailer. We continue on a bumpy gravel road to the Rifugio Pizzini at an altitude of 2700 metres, then it's the end of the line.
You can download the GPS data for the Supertrail on Passo Zebru free of charge in the download area below.
Sharp-edged ridges, rocky peaks - the glaciers of Königsspitze, Ortler and Cevedale hang between them like oversized sheets to dry. The remaining 300 metres of ascent to the top of the pass look less dramatic. But the initially seemingly harmless alpine meadow is a tough one: Markus can only scramble over the nasty holes and stones thanks to his riding technique and e-drive. Everyone else pushes. Then we all crank through an empty glacier bed and up the last rock face on a zigzag track. The path is simply too steep for Alex and Denny Lupato, so they throw their bikes over their shoulders. We ride a little further and then enjoy the push-assist.
"Passo Zebrú, 3005 m" says a sign - done. There are said to be bikers who only come up here because of this gigantic view. But the primeval world is also intoxicating: this desert of sharp-edged rocks has so far only been polished by the eternal ice, the now deserted glacier beds on the other side of the valley still radiate icy cold. And our downhill trail runs through the middle of this martial landscape like a fine brushstroke. You can see it first make a few turns, then pick up speed and cut a valley flank far behind until it disappears behind the next valley step. "Now I can't wait to see how you manage that with the e-bike," says Denny and pushes off into the trail behind his brother.
I actually struggle to keep my tyres on track in the mixture of gravel and sand. Steps again and again. We cross snow fields, the brakes squeal. And suddenly the path breaks off downwards: a step in the terrain with a safety rope on the rock face. The damp rock rolls underfoot, the bike pulls on my left arm - I'm glad I can cling to the wire rope with my right hand. The path then flattens out through the moraine landscape. Just don't look to the side, as there's not much room to manoeuvre towards the abyss here. Again and again we have to cross streams. The meltwater has carved several metres deep into the scree here. Sometimes a few wooden planks act as a bridge, sometimes we slide down the small embankments more or less on our bums, hop from stone to stone in the stream to keep our feet halfway dry and then fight our way back up the other side of the embankment. "You're lucky it hasn't rained in the last few days," says Alex, "otherwise these would be raging rivers right now." The trail soon heads towards a sunny valley, first trees, then forest. When we finally reach a gravel road, we meet the first hikers. Do they realise that we feel like we've just come straight from the moon?
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Florentin Vesenbeckh
Editor CvD
