If there's one thing a good mountain biker has to do once in their life, it's a crossing of the Alps. Excuses such as "I don't know my way around the Alps", "no time" or "I'm not fit enough" are no longer valid since the huge range of transalp organisers have been around.
From the Via Claudia, which is very easy in terms of riding technique and fitness, to the rough Alpine cross over the Western Alps, there is a suitable route for every ability level. If you are short on time, you can now cross the Alps in a weekend. But there is also a variant that crosses the entire Alpine arc from Salzburg to the Mediterranean in 24 days.
Even freeriders no longer have to torture themselves and their heavy equipment with hours of uphill rides, as four organisers now even offer shuttle tours across the Alps. But the best thing about a guided Transalp tour is that you don't have to transport your own luggage. The luggage shuttle is taken care of, as is the return transfer.
You just have to pick the right tour from the huge range on offer, and this list of all Transalp organisers should help you with that. You can find a selection of the 10 best Alpine crossings by mountain bike here:
Panorama classics from easy to difficult
From the easy Via Claudia to Lake Garda, to the panoramic tour through the Dolomites, to the original Heckmair route starting in Oberstdorf. These organisers offer Alpine cross tours of all levels of difficulty with luggage transport and return transfer:
- Allgäu Bikers, www.allgaeu-bikers.de
- Alpencross.ch, www.alpencross.ch
- Alpine event, www.alpenevent.de
- Alps Biketours, www.go-alps.de
- Alps Tours, www.alpstours.eu
- Beitune, www.beitune.de
- Mountain biking, www.bergbiken.de
- Bike Alpin, www.bikealpin.de
- DAV Summit Club, www.dav-summit-club.de
- Airstream, www.mtb-fahrtwind.de
- Go Crazy, www.go-crazy.de
- Joko Biketours, www.joko-bikereisen.de
- Multicycle Tours, www.multicycle-tours.de
- Rock my Trail, www.rockmytrail.de
- Ride Alpine Trails, www.ridealpinetrails.com
- Serac Joe, www.seracjoe.de
- Transalptours, www.transalptours.de
- Top Mountain Tours, www.top-mountain-tours.de
- Ulp Tours, www.ulptours.de
- Lake Garda biking, www.gardaseebiken.com
Freeride/Enduro alpine crossings with lift and shuttle
Wherever you can take the lift or shuttle bus uphill and downhill, this is definitely a worthwhile downhill trail. However, even these enduro transalpine trails are not completely without altitude metres.
- Alpine event, www.alpenevent.de
- Ride Alpine Trails, www.ridealpinetrails.com
- Airstream, www.mtb-fahrtwind.de
- Powder Trails, www.powder-trails.de
- Joko-Biketours, www.joko-bikereisen.de
Trail specialists
The main thing is single trails, but the fun is also honestly fought for. Heavy enduro equipment is out of place on these Alpine cross tours.
- Beitune, www.beitune.de
- Airstream, www.mtb-fahrtwind.de
- Go Crazy, www.go-crazy.de
- Level V, www.level-v.de
Pure Transalp tours for women
Women among themselves does not necessarily mean that it is an easy MTB tour. It's much more about the fact that women don't have to be the first on the mountain and simply have other things to talk about during a Transalp.
- Beitune, www.beitune.de
- DAV Summit Club, www.dav-summit-club.de
Alpine crossings for experienced travellers: Western Alps
If you are planning to tackle the Western Alps, you need to know this: The route doesn't even cross the main ridge, but winds its way southwards along it. This means that higher altitudes are climbed in thinner air. The trails often lead through remote areas and are correspondingly rougher and more dilapidated. So if you don't feel like relaxing on long, challenging descents, you're better off in the Eastern Alps.
- Alps Tours, www.alpstours.eu
- Beitune, www.beitune.de
- Bike Alpin, www.bikealpin.de
- Airstream, www.fahrtwind.de
- Serac Joe, www.seracjoe.de
- Transalptours, www.transalptours.de
- Lukas Stöckli, www.lukasstoeckli.ch
- Powder Trails, www.powder-trails.de
- TrailXperience, www.trailxperience.com
Return shuttles for Transalp self-planners
Taking the train back to the starting point would be the most environmentally friendly option. However, the Italian railway still does not offer daily connections with bike compartments. In contrast, the number of professional return transfer companies has grown. Some tour organisers also fill the buses of their tour groups with individual Alpine crossers. Here is an overview of shuttle providers for cyclists crossing the Alps:
- MTB airstream, www.fahrtwind.de
- Südtirolbike, www.suedtirolbike.info
- Transalp Shuttle, www.transalp-shuttle.com
- Bikeshuttle, www.bikeshuttle.at
- Bus Prenner, www.prenner.it
- Bikeshuttle.it, www.bikeshuttle.it
- Joko Bikereisen, www.joko-bikereisen.de
- No Limits sports holidays, www.nolimits.de
- Sport Shuttle, www.sport-shuttle.de
- Bike shuttle Lake Garda, www.bikeshuttle-gardasee.com
- Ulptours, www.ulptours.de
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
