Val Müstair: The 3 top tours for e-MTBs
Tour 1: Val Mora circuit
- Length: 57.9 kilometres
- Uphill: 1710 metres in altitude
- Downhill: 1710 metres in depth
- Journey time: 6.5 hours
- Difficulty: 10 per cent of the trail section is difficult, 80 per cent easy
Val Mora tour: Tour description
Even though the wide, lonely high valley gives the tour its name, the Val Mora is just one of many highlights to be experienced on this high mountain tour. The Jufplaun plateau with its endless single trail is also spectacular. Or the rocky path high above the Lago di Livigno. At the end, however, the final, long trail descent through a moss-covered fairytale forest is the icing on the cake.
If you want to save yourself most of the metres in altitude and the already boring asphalt ascent, it's best to take the Postbus up to the Ofen Pass. From its saddle height, the fun begins immediately. A well-maintained mountain bike trail winds through the middle of the national park and turns left towards Alp Buffalora after almost 200 metres. If you want to recharge your batteries, you should do so here before the trail plunges into the lonely expanses of the Swiss National Park. The steepest gravel track then takes you to the Jufplaun plateau and on to the Passo Gallo on a narrow trail.
The trail then winds through a tunnel of mountain pines and rolls over the Italian border towards Lake Livigno. High above the fjord-like, turquoise-blue waters, a trail nestles into the rock, which after a few kilometres leads into a wide valley. Shortly before reaching the shore of Lake Cancano, turn left and follow the torrential stream into the ever-widening Val Mora. Here the path changes to forest floor until it later joins a wide forest track. Follow this slightly uphill to the Döss Radond pass and you can hardly get enough of the scenery on the way there.
At the end, the 1000 metre descent to Santa Maria awaits. If you prefer, you can take it easy on the gravel road. However, the forest trail sections, which branch off from the main route time and again, are highly recommended for fans of challenging enduro trails. They lead through the fairytale forest in a highly entertaining way before returning to the starting point on the tarmac road.
Tour 2: Piz Chavalatsch
- Length: 24.7 kilometres
- Uphill: 867 metres in altitude
- Downhill: 2378 metres in depth
- Journey time: 5 hours
- Difficulty: 70 per cent of the trail is difficult, 10 per cent easy
Piz Chavalatsch: Tour description
Anyone who thinks the Goldsee Trail is the greatest adventure in the Venosta Valley and the Ortler region has not yet been to Piz Chavalatsch. For this 2763 metre-high giant, which towers over the long mountain ridge between the Venosta Valley and the Val Müstair, the Goldsee Trail is just a warm-up. This tour is particularly exciting for e-MTBers who don't just want to test their limits on the descent. While classic bikers have to push and carry several hundred metres in altitude up to the summit, top technicians like Maxi Dickerhoff can ride around 95 percent on an e-MTB. But be careful: Piz Chavalatsch is only suitable for absolute riding technique specialists, even on the downhill:
From Santa Maria, it is best to take the first postbus to the Stelvio Pass (approx. 45 minutes). As a rule, you should have left the steep path up to the Dreisprachenspitze behind you before nine o'clock. From there, the Goldseeweg trail leads down to the Furkelhütte hut, challenging, sometimes exposed and always with an overwhelming Ortler panorama. This is where the real adventure begins.
Instead of descending on well-trodden paths via the Glurnser Alm into the Vinschgau Valley, soon after the hut you branch off to the left from the Goldseeweg towards Piz Chavalatsch. At first, you wind your way uphill on a gentle single trail, then 600 metres uphill on steep alpine paths. Riding technique freaks will have a great time here, less experienced bikers will be delighted with the push assistance. Both groups are rewarded at the summit cross with incredible views of the Ortler and Kaunertal glaciers, across the Vinschgau Valley and to Lake Reschen.
This is followed by around 1,600 metres of trail descent, which is a real challenge. First exposed over a ridge to the Glurnser Köpfl, then on ultra-steep, high-alpine trails through the Rifairscharte to the alp of the same name and from there on technical forest trails back to Val Müstair. A technical trail orgy, without a safety net until the end.
Tour 3: Valbella-Eight
- Length: 39.4 kilometres
- Uphill: 1394 metres in altitude
- Downhill: 1394 metres in depth
- Journey time: 4.5 hours
- Difficulty: 10 per cent of the trail section is difficult, 70 per cent easy
Valbella-Acht: Tour description
If the name Valbella conjures up images of blossoming Alpine pastures, you'd be wrong. The gorge fascinates with rugged cliffs, almost no vegetation and is more reminiscent of Mordor from Lord of the Rings. Fittingly, this high alpine landscape between the Engadin and the Munt da la Bescha rocky ridge is often shrouded in persistent mist. But soon the lovely trails high above the Val Müstair lure us back out from behind the Ofen Pass, and Mordor seems like a brief ghost.
The tour starts in Santa Maria on tarmac and turns right shortly before the Ofen Pass onto a gravel path towards Minschuns, a small ski resort in the Münstertal valley. At Alp da Munt, the route follows a steep cart track, which turns into a single trail after 200 metres in altitude. This trail climbs up to an altitude of 2500 metres to a wide saddle, which marks the highest point of the tour and the entrance to Valbella.
Now the path becomes increasingly rugged, the vegetation more sparse, and soon we find ourselves in the Lord of the Rings landscape described at the beginning. The mountain path is gravelly and runs a hand's breadth along the slope, but mostly remains easy to ride. It goes around the rugged western flanks of the 2773 metre-high Munt da la Bescha before the path bends and winds its way down towards the Ofen Pass.
However, shortly before the motorised hustle and bustle at the pass, the tour turns left onto a forest path, where a few uphill ramps lead up to a gravel path. This leads back past the Alp da Munt and finally into a picture-book single trail, which winds along the sunny slopes of Val Müstairs back to Sta. Maria for the next 15 kilometres. This trail, which has an obligatory cake stop at Alp Champatsch, was only opened up by the locals from Val Müstair a few years ago.
Val Müstair: Area information
The Val Müstair (Münstertal) marks the easternmost point of Switzerland (canton of Graubünden) and borders directly on the Vinschgau in South Tyrol. The borderline is the 2763 metre high Piz Chavalatsch. Val Müstair is separated from the rest of Switzerland by high mountains and the Ofen Pass. This explains the special mentality and independence of the people of Val Müstair. They speak Rhaeto-Romanic among themselves. The valley consists of six municipalities, the main town is Santa Maria.
Trailsharing
To make it easier to co-exist with hikers without bans, the focus here, as everywhere in Graubünden, is on friendly co-existence on the trails. There are also priority rules for particularly exposed and therefore more dangerous routes. On some days and at certain times, the respective trail is reserved for hikers. This has recently been the case for the Umbrail-Val Vau-Val Chava summit tour, for example. Hikers have priority here on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. On the other days, friendly trail sharing applies.
Accommodation
If you want to stay in style, stay at the Hotel Crusch Alba in Santa Maria. Cosy and traditionally furnished, yet with a state-of-the-art wellness area. Monica runs the place together with her daughter Caroline, who serves delicious specialities made from regional ingredients in the evenings. Special tip: the Älpler macaroni made from pasta, potatoes and good Alpine cheese. Info: www.hotel-cruschalba.ch
Recommended and also biker-friendly: Wellness Hotel Liun, Hotel Al Rom in Tschierv and Hotel Helvetia in Müstair. The Alpina B&B, Hotel Chavalatsch, Hotel Hirschen and Villa Stelvio B&B offer favourable accommodation. Campers will find great pitches at Camping Muglin in Müstair (free sauna in the hayloft) and at the Pè da Munt site in Santa Maria (in the larch forest). All bike-friendly accommodation at www.engadin.com
Bike shop and tours
Bike school, guided tours, repairs - for everything to do with biking, it's best to contact the Ride La Val trail school (www.ridelaval.com). Nicole Tschenett and her crew are happy to help. Repairs are carried out by the affiliated bike shop The Bike Patcher in Müstair.
Nightlife and sights
The nightlife in Val Müstair is limited. If you want to go out in the evening, there is honestly only one place to go: the world's smallest whisky bar in Santa Maria. Lord Gunter Sommer stocks 300 exquisite varieties here and even runs a small museum. If the guests are right, it is not uncommon for it to be well past midnight. The convent of St John in Müstair is well worth a visit. Nine sisters live in the Unesco World Heritage Site, Sister Birgitta is even a biker. In all weathers, she does everything on her Stevens e-bike. If you are lucky enough to meet her, you can listen to some fascinating stories. For example, Birgitta is convinced that you don't need to lock up your bike in Val Müstair, because: The poor souls look after it. A visit to the monastery museum is interesting. It shows the history of the monastery from twelve centuries. www.muestair.ch
Postbus
The Postbus has a long tradition in Switzerland. For bikers, public bus transport only has advantages: Firstly, you don't have to book a shuttle because the buses are always equipped with trailers for bikes in summer. Secondly, you travel for free with a guest card and your bike is half price.
Report: On a smuggler's tour in Val Müstair by E-MTB
Monica Canclini-Hedinger thought she had seen it all. She has been running the Hotel Crusch Alba for 40 years - an eighth-generation family business in the centre of Santa Maria in the heart of Val Müstairs. Since then, her guests have naturally included mountain bikers. Increasingly, they are Alpine crossers who ask for rooms and a warm meal on their way south. But last summer, a group of bikers turned up at her reception at ten o'clock in the evening and she couldn't believe her eyes and ears. Seven men, all soaking wet, exhausted and obviously hypothermic. "One of them asked for a place to stay in a thin voice with a Dutch accent, but in my opinion they should have been in the emergency room. But the next morning, they all wanted to go on to Italy." Monica taps her forehead with her left index finger while she pours us her house schnapps with the other hand. "They're crazy, the bikers." The small Swiss valley of Val Müstair is strategically located for Alpine crossers between the Ortler and Ofen Pass. Perfect for the end of a stage. "They usually come from the Heidelberger Hütte in the Engadin and then via S-charl and the Pass da Costainas to us in Val Müstair," says Monica. "But then they want to continue on their way to Lake Garda as quickly as possible," adds the landlady regretfully after a short break. What the people crossing the Alps don't know is something we will find out during our next three days: This valley is probably home to the best trails, most beautiful mountain lakes and most impressive panoramas in the Eastern Alps.
The easternmost tip of Switzerland has been a place with a lot of through traffic since the Middle Ages. At that time, the valley was populated by muleteers. The Crusch Alba was built in 1540 as a hostel for the traders. Then came the smugglers. Until the middle of the 20th century, cigarettes, coffee and jewellery were smuggled through the valley to Italy. This laid the foundations for this extensive network of trails spanning mountain ridges and countries. And within this historical network, we have put together three large routes. A selection with super trail potential, as the local bikers confirmed to us in advance.
The famous Goldseeweg has a big brother
Just a stone's throw away from the bike hotspot of Vinschgau and two mountain bars from the bike park stronghold of Livigno, we feel like we're in a completely different world here. "Relaxed natural idyll" could be a fitting headline for Val Müstair. To get in the mood, we took the long loop over the Ofen Pass today. So up to the Passo Gallo and then through the wild and romantic Val Mora back to Santa Maria. For the most part, this corresponds to the route that crossers of the Alps also experience when they continue southwards via Val Müstair. Tomorrow, however, a high alpine adventure is on the programme: Piz Chavalatsch. At 2763 metres, this peak rises from the mountain ridge that separates Val Müstair from Vinschgau. Even in Venosta Valley biking circles, this mountain has so far been largely unknown, although it watches over one of the greatest touring classics in the Alps, the Goldseeweg. The reason: Piz Chavalatsch is too uncomfortable for the average biker. At least the last 500 metres up to the summit cross are considered unrideable. At the top, very technical and exposed passages are said to make the descent more difficult. So the crucial question for us is: does "not rideable" mean pushing or carrying? The latter would be fatal and the clear knock-out criterion for an e-MTB tour. We will find out.
We literally fly up the lonely hairpin bends from Val Müstair over the Umbrail Pass to the Stelvio Pass in the Postbus, the local public transport. At the top of the Stelvio, rush hour is buzzing. Noisy motorbikes, shuttle buses from the Vinschgau Valley - all hell breaks loose up here at eight o'clock in the morning. So we quickly take the last steep gravel bends up to the Dreisprachenspitze, and not just to escape the hustle and bustle. The rule is that bikers must have passed the entrance to the Goldseeweg trail by nine o'clock. After that, the trail is reserved for hikers. The caravan on the trail is correspondingly dense. But only as far as the recommended Bimbam junction down into the valley. However, we stay on the Goldseeweg trail and take the dreaded, bumpy rutted track down to the Furkelhütte. However, we don't meet another person for the rest of the tour, because shortly after the hut we follow the turn-off to Piz Chavalatsch. The gravel track quickly mutates into a narrow mountain path. Steep and technical, it crosses the flanks of Piz Chavalatsch. Full concentration and a good sense of balance are required here, while your pulse hammers in your throat. There are some key sections to master, but in between there are always sections that are easy to ride. We also have to carry things, but only over one or two gates. At the end, riding technique specialist Maxi feels he has mastered 95 per cent of the climb in the saddle and summarises: "Perfect E-MTB uphill. That's how it should be." The panorama from the ridge is also spectacular. Almost at eye level, King Ortler congratulates you on your ascent, the view to the north sweeps over Lake Reschen, and Piz Bernina flashes up in the south. Deep below, the endless apple orchards of the Vinschgau Valley on one side and organic farming on the other, the Val Müstair side. And that's where we want to go again. The descent over the Rifairscharte is a tough one. A turn-off to the left follows a high alpine ridge path. The path plunges down the Val Müstair almost in a fall line. 1600 metres of descent, which you can't let out of your sight at any time until you reach the Rifairalm, not even in the slightly softer forest section afterwards. We make it just in time for a huge portion of Älpler macaroni, which Monica serves us in the historic "Fürstenzimmer" of her hotel.
Our third tour tomorrow will focus on the southern slopes of Val Müstairs. These trails bear the signature of the Münstertal locals around Nicci Tschenett, who have dedicated themselves to maintaining the valley's own trails. Nicci herself is unfortunately unable to join us, but she has sent us a GPS track via Monica. "With your e-MTBs, you can not only manage the Valbella, but also the additional loop around the Munt da la Bescha," Monica quotes from Nicci's email, opening her eyes in alarm. But we can reveal this much: The tour didn't end in the emergency room for us either.
