A pinch of adventure in tour planning
The search for the optimal route depends on various factors. But even beginners don't have to stay at home.
Alpine experience, they say, is necessary to embark on a multi-day tour in the mountains. That's true - but it doesn't fall from a tree. So at some point you have to start gaining this experience. Beginners are therefore best advised to join a guided tour on their first long ride. This saves you having to do all the tour planning, you can enjoy the service of luggage transport and return transfer, you can concentrate on yourself and learn from experienced guides along the way.
guides. Or you can choose a low mountain route where mobile phone reception is guaranteed in an emergency (e.g. Stoneman Arduenna).
For those of you who have already spent several days in adventureland on your bike and know how to manage with just the bare essentials in your rucksack, we have picked out a few exciting new routes with GPS tracks. This saves you having to plan your tour, but you'll have to organise everything else yourself. And as your last mountain bike trip may have been six months ago, we have summarised the most important checkpoints again. The good thing about all this planning work is You're already cranking away in your mind, the recovery begins. It also gives you an overview that can be life-saving during the tour.
The GPS data for the BIKE multi-day tours Trans-Liguria, Bayern-Transalp and Quer durchs Erzgebirge from BIKE 07/2022 at the end of this article. free of charge. Have fun travelling!
Tour planning 1: Trans-Liguria
The tour: 244 km / 8865 m elevation gain / 5 stages
Most people come to Finale Ligure for the perfect combination of mountains, trails, shuttle, pizza and sea. However, word has long since got around that there are even more such trail hotspots hidden in the long Ligurian coastal mountains. So route finder Mathias Marschner from TrailXperience set out to combine as many of these spots as possible in a multi-day tour. He was helped by the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri. The old long-distance hiking trail runs along the mountain ridge that stretches from Tuscany to the French border and serves as the common thread of this five-day stage tour. From the starting point of Finale Ligure, the route leads up to the Melogno shuttle stop, then follows the Via Alta mountain trail westwards. The surface changes from well-maintained to "dilapidated" to the width of a towel. The views vary from the 4000 metre peaks of Piedmont on the right to the sea horizon on the left.
The best thing about this main route are the turn-offs into the valleys, where accommodation and super trails await.
Tour planning 2: Stoneman Arduenna
Forests, meadows, pastures - and: Mountains! Stoneman initiator Roland Stauder would not have chosen the Belgian Ardennes if there were no sporting challenges there. On the 176-kilometre-long giant circuit through Belgium's highlands, there are a total of 3900 metres of elevation gain. The highest point is the 694 metre high Signal de Botrange. More exciting, however, are the trails that wind their way through the High Fens, the largest upland moor in Europe. The Stoneman idea: anyone who completes the route with its eight checkpoints in one day joins the ranks of gold medallists. Those who take two or three days will receive a silver or bronze award, but will have more of the nature of East Belgium and can use the new luggage transport system. The checkpoint season is already underway (15.4.-15.9.22). Roland Stauder himself will even be travelling to the official opening party as a guide!
Tour planning 3: 7-Summits-Transalp
You don't have to buy an outrageously expensive e-MTB just because you don't feel fit enough for a Transalp. The much cheaper alternative is: lift tickets! This seven-day route from Kronburg (just before Landeck) to Lake Garda leaves no cable car unused along the way. You can take the lift a total of 16 times and save energy for the descent. And that's a good thing, because the trails on this crossing of the Alps are really tough. The Frommes trail in Serfaus, the Mutzkopf and Haideralm trails in Nauders, the Bimbam trail in Vinschgau, the Hohe Dieb and the famous city trails of Bolzano and finally the legendary descents down to Lake Molveno await before the final stage through the Sarca Valley to Lake Garda. However, you won't get over these seven Alpine peaks without climbing a few metres in altitude. The route has a total of 487 kilometres and 18,350 metres of descent, but there are still 10,100 metres of ascent.
Tour planning 4: Füssen - Königssee
The idea was born out of necessity, because the borders were closed at the beginning of the coronavirus era: not across the Alps, but right across the entire northern edge of the German Alps. From the Allgäu to Berchtesgaden at Königssee. The result was a dream route, because the Bavarian mountain range is full of touring hotspots: Ammergebirge, Wetterstein, Soierngruppe, Mangfallgebirge, Schliersee, Chiemgau and finally the Berchtesgaden Alps - all in one go! You should plan seven days for this trip. Or you can split the route over several weekends. After all, thanks to the regional train connections to the individual mountain groups, you can get back home relatively quickly. In terms of numbers, this tour can compete with any Transalp route: 394 kilometres and 11,190 metres of elevation gain along the way. Push and carry sections also get in the way from time to time, as well as marvellously beautiful bathing lakes.
Tour planning 5: Across the Ore Mountains
The tour: from Seiffen via the Czech Republic and Saxon Switzerland to Dresden - 174 kilometres / 4200 vertical metres / 3 stages
The Ore Mountains are one of Germany's most adventurous and trail-rich low mountain ranges. Especially if you integrate its steep southern slopes on the Czech side into your tour. Here, not only descents of 700 metres down into the Bohemian Basin await, but also privately created trail parks, ridge paths, basalt towers, sandstone table mountains and disused railway bridges in the middle of the wilderness. On the third day of this tour, the route turns north again across the border into Germany, following the Malerweg to Königstein Castle and then the Elbe to the Saxon state capital of Dresden. Enduro specialist André Wagenknecht has scouted out this route together with two mates from Dresden. If you want to ride this tour, you should appreciate a high proportion of trails and have good riding technique skills.
The right time
The snow-free high mountain season is relatively short, from June to mid-September. In between, you should keep an eye on the weather conditions.
"There is no such thing as bad weather, only ..." - Whoever came up with this saying has never been out in the high mountains during the onset of winter, dense fog or thunder and lightning. Experienced mountaineers avoid such situations by not checking the local weather forecast at the starting point, but by observing the general weather situation in their entire tour area weeks in advance.
If low pressure systems are forecast along the planned route, you should postpone the tour if possible, as they can roll over the mountains as a broad wall of heavy thunderstorms, plummeting temperatures and days of rain. Organisers usually go ahead with their tours anyway, but then move the routes to the safer valleys. You should also be careful in spring (snow on the high passes) and in autumn, as the days are much shorter.
The weather service can reliably predict temperature drops 6-10 days in advance. The website alpenvereinaktiv.com, the joint tour portal of the German Alpine Association (DAV), the Austrian Alpine Association (ÖAV) and the South Tyrolean Alpine Association (AVS), offers top forecasts for all mountain groups.
In an emergency: call for help
Adventure means letting go and seeing what happens. But serious situations can arise - you have to be prepared for that.
"If you can only get out of a tricky situation with a lot of luck, then something has gone really wrong," says adventure photographer Dan Milner, who has travelled to every mountain range in the world. The Alps are more densely populated
populated than the Simien Mountains in Ethiopia, for example, but even if you can already see the next village in the valley, the mountains are no playground. Unfortunately, you always have to reckon with a serious accident, and then you should know how to help yourself.
Ideally, there should be at least three of you on tour, you should have a first aid kit to hand and know what to do in the event of an injury (if necessary with the help of the DRK "First Aid" app). Getting help with your mobile phone: From an altitude of 1400 metres, reception in the mountains is usually interrupted. However, every mobile phone has an emergency call function that works even without reception and unlocking. You can find out which button function works on your device in the Settings menu under SOS emergency call. However, the mobile phone then dials the emergency number 112, which is generally valid throughout Europe, and is then forwarded to the relevant rescue coordination centre via detours. The Alpine emergency call is more direct via the free app SOS-EU-ALPwhich the Alpine Club helped to develop. Here too, the position data is automatically transmitted upon activation.
No mobile phone? A very unlikely scenario. But would you know how to call for help in the mountains without a mobile phone? The alpine emergency signal is: send six signals per minute (e.g. with the whistle on your rucksack buckle, flashing your torch or by waving a piece of cloth. If you are heard, the receiver will respond with three signals - then help is on the way.
Organise return transport
Anyone travelling from A to B has to get back somehow. It's best to organise your return transfer in good time.
A person's inner compass seems so calibrated: they simply prefer to head south. In fact, few bikers think of starting their Transalp at Lake Garda and cycling home. Some of the passes in this direction would even be easier to climb, and the return journey could be saved. Of course, you would need a lift to the starting point, but maybe you know someone who wants to go to Lake Garda for the weekend anyway and could give you a lift? Otherwise, there are train connections in both directions and organisers who offer free seats on their groups' shuttle buses. For larger groups in particular, it is also worth booking with one of the many Transalp shuttle companies, such as Bike Shuttle or Transalp Shuttle (also in both directions).
Example: The fastest train connection from Rovereto to Garmisch takes 5 hours 14 minutes. ÖBB price: 38.80 euros plus 12 euros for the bike.
Check route
Impassable paths, huts closed, almost dying of thirst in the high mountains - many a difficult situation can be avoided in advance with good tour planning.
Even the most meticulously mapped out tour can look completely different the very next day. Especially in the mountains, paths are exposed to the forces of nature: Mudslides, storms and downpours can make important sections of the route impassable from one day to the next. That's why you should never simply download a GPS track and set off at random. If a tour description is more than a year old, a hut may no longer be open or a lift may have been closed. That's why it's always important to check a route carefully in advance. Above all, check that it makes sense: Is the route fully mapped? Does an ascent perhaps lead up a steep trail instead of along the gravel tracks next to it? Are all the planned paths intact? You should make detailed enquiries about high mountain sections, passages through narrow valleys and regions that were affected by heavy snowfall or storms in autumn and winter. Either via the Alpine Association or the local tourism organisation.
When studying the map for your tour planning, pay attention to these points that could become important en route: Are there shelter options in high mountain passages or sensible detours in bad weather? Water refuelling facilities? You will see: In the end, you will know the route better than your GPS device.
GPS and mobile phones are highly reliable helpers in everyday life. In the mountains, however, the connection sometimes breaks down - that's when your own instincts come into play.
8 mistakes and how to avoid them
BIKE travel editor Gitta Beimfohr lists the most important points for successful tour planning:
Mistake 1: Setting off without an overview and knowledge - GPS has revolutionised touring, but also leads to more frequent mountain accidents.
Choose a tour, download the track and off you go! Anyone who spends so little time planning their own tour not only has no idea what kind of landscapes they are painstakingly winding their way through - they also make the mountain rescuers' faces flush with anger. After all, mountain sports enthusiasts should always know where they are, what terrain they are dealing with and how they can free themselves from it in an emergency. Topographical maps - whether on paper or digital - provide the necessary overview.
Mistake 2: Following external GPS data - created by hobby bikers and corrected by algorithms. Tracks from tour portals should be checked!
Anyone who has ever loaded a track into a tour portal will see that the algorithm intervenes with "route improvements". However, there is not yet an algorithm that can determine the rideability of a route. So it happens that tracks for bikers end in via ferratas or bike park routes lead uphill. You should therefore check every metre of the track on your screen at home for logic, gradient and trail condition. Advantage: You will already have the overview knowledge described in point 1!
Mistake 3: Crooked rucksack, pinching crease in the seat cushion - Don't wait until the next break to correct it.
"Oh, I'll adjust the harness at the top of the pass" - what works on a one-day tour can become an ordeal on a multi-day trip. Especially on the first day, when you're still nervous and want to finally get going, you often find that there is still room for optimisation in your equipment. Eliminate the problem as soon as you feel a tugging sensation. A tense neck or sore skin can get out of hand - the latter can at least be prevented with buttock cream.
Mistake 4: Not planning accommodation in advance - The search for alternatives can be painful.
Let's see how far we get. Or: there's a hut up there at the pass. Sure, you couldn't wish for more freedom on a tour. It's just a shame if you reach the hut you've spotted on the map just before a thunderstorm and the door is locked because the building is being renovated. Thanks to the internet, you can now check all accommodation for seasonal periods in advance. The same also applies to paths that might be buried!
Mistake 5: Taking too long, too frequent or incorrect breaks - If you don't find your rhythm, you will tire more quickly on long climbs.
It is best to plan possible rest and refreshment stops when planning the stage (research opening times on the internet!). You shouldn't take more than two snack breaks and one stop at a mountain hut, as each longer stop will cause the blood to rush into your legs and your muscles will need to be revitalised. This tires you out quickly.
Mistake 6: Be careful, last descent - The most painful crashes rarely happen on blocked trails, but where you take it easy.
A long day in the saddle and now just the flow trail down to your accommodation - with these thoughts in your head, your concentration and body tension start to wane. All it takes is one wrong root and the front wheel will snap. As with skiing, tiredness and a loss of concentration in the afternoon are the most common reasons for serious falls. Therefore, always keep your body tension until the end!
Mistake 7: Forgetting sun cream - If you burn your arms on the first day, you'll be sweating in your long-sleeved jersey the following days.
It sounds almost silly, but the sun in the high mountains burns more strongly on the exposed arms, and once the skin is burnt there, holding the handlebars in the sun is no longer fun. Then only long sleeves can help to avoid deeper burns, which can lead to heat build-up at 30 degrees in the shade at the height of summer.
Mistake 8: No spare brake pads - Long, alpine descents and rainy weather cause astonishing wear on the brake pads.
Even if you have just had the bike serviced and had new brake pads fitted especially for the tour: The descents in the Alps are long and the sand is coarse. If there is also a downpour or a mud fight, the stoppers will be sanded away. And it is very unlikely that you will be able to buy suitable pads anywhere in the mountain village. In an emergency, the chances are greater if you ask other bikers along the way.
The GPS data for the multi-day tours presented here from BIKE 7/2022 can be downloaded here:
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
