They're crazy, the e-bikers - the thoughts of the lift attendant at the valley station of the Carosello 3000 mountain railway are written all over his face. And admittedly, it may look strange to outsiders if you take the gondola up with your motorised vehicle. The man couldn't have known that we would later need all our energy and battery reserves.
MTB legend Hans Rey had promised us 1764 metres of creamy trails. "The best trails in the region packed into a nutshell, easily doable in half a day and with just one battery" - the route that Hans had devised in his part-time home of Livigno sounded very promising. The only exception: the lift transfer. And so we now take the brand new ten-person gondola to the 2750 metre high mountain station and the highest point in Livigno that can be reached by lift.
However, this does not mean that you have escaped civilisation. The eastern side of the Carosello is not for lovers of solitary mountain scenery. The newly created flow trails carve like veins into the barren slopes over which we glide during the ten-minute ascent. And at the top, instead of mountain romance, a tourist arena with children's playgrounds and a panoramic restaurant awaits us. "You'll be surprised, we're about to hit the loneliest smugglers' trails," Hans tries to motivate us, having noticed our puzzled faces.
And indeed, after a few metres, on the western side of the mountain, the tourist spook is over. Only the trail, which hugs the steep mountain flank and winds endlessly down into the lonely Val Federia, is clearly manmade, built by bikers for bikers. The trail ends deep in the valley at Malga Federia, a rustic alpine hut. And this is where the second part of the tour starts, which is sure to tempt even the most hardened E-MTB freaks. An ancient path that was used to smuggle cigarettes and schnapps from the Swiss Engadin over the Chaschauna Pass after the Second World War.
The lower part is still quite tame. But after a few hairpin bends on a steep gravel road, the historic trail shows its teeth up to the highest point. Steep, narrow, blocked. And while Hans rides through the key sections with his usual routine, the trail forces us to dismount from time to time. The ascent takes around 400 metres until the trail leads back downhill into Val Federia after crossing a stream in the middle of the slope.
But the downhill is also not for the faint-hearted. What looks like a gentle flow trail from above turns out to be a steep, exposed slide. But with careful use of the brakes and full concentration, we lurch back to the Malga in time for lunch. The return to civilisation is gradual.
From the lonely Val Federia, we crank up the steep gravel ramps, which are fun to ride thanks to the motor, until we reach the crest of the Carosello massif after about 500 metres of altitude. Fortunately, this time we don't have to pass the gondola area with the noisy tourists, but cross the ridge a few metres above.
On the way there, we didn't have an eye for the panorama, which we can now - at the highest point of the Carosello - enjoy all the better. The Bernina massif to the west and King Ortler to the east are in the foreground as we prepare for another 900 metres of descent. The trails that have recently been carved into the slope here are some of the best flow trails in the Alps. We choose the easy Coast to Coast as an aperitif and then switch to the rougher Enduro for the main course. For dessert, Hans presents us with the Blueberry Line. This playful, winding trail rollercoaster finally takes us back to the starting point.
We are already running on emergency power when we pass the turnstile of the gondola for the second time that day. After all, you don't need a motor downhill. The lift man laughs as he stows our bikes in the cabin. He will soon get used to e-bikers.
