For the project that I am currently doing I am having to look at a lot of mountain refuges in the Alps, including this one – The Monte Rosa Hut in Switzerland, and it got me thinking I wonder if it is accessible by bike… I live across here (in Grenoble) and was thinking it would be cool to do a couple of trips up to some high alpine refuges (if it is possible).

So I was wondering if it would be possible to make a bit of a list of refuges that may be accessible by bike and have some sweet descents back down and if any of you had any experience of hiking up to some of these. Now obviously most, if not all, will require a lot of hike a bike and will be super technical* with sections that are also not rideable down but I don’t mind as long as in general you think it would be possible/enjoyable on a bike.
*I love some proper technical riding!

Does anyone have any experience riding/hiking up to any refuges and can give some thoughts on trail conditions for bikes then?

Cheers!

There is one that is easy to ride to on Mont Jovet

Does anyone have any experience riding/hiking up to any refuges and can give some thoughts on trail conditions for bikes then?

If you’re into HAB alpine stuff they could be great, the ones we’ve passed in the alps also tend to have busier trails nearby but that’s relative to the deserted areas you find there most of the time. I wouldn’t expect a hut list to correlate with a good riding trails list but they’re nice places to aim for, if you stay there then waking before dawn to leave at a hut at 3000m takes some beating. And you will be up early, it’ll be full of hairy climbers who snore and set off at 3am : )

Getting to/from the Couvercle refuge might be interesting 🙄

Apart from the cable car (that will be quoted later in the thread I’m sure), Kandersteig to the Gemmi Pass was a great Fatbike ride last weekend. Bit of pushing but not so crazy, the descent back from the Gemmi Daubensee to Sunnenbuel was great too.

Now having flashbacks to the “walk” to Couvercle… 😯

That second set of ladders :shudder:

Rachel

Not quite on brief but I have stayed at a refuge on Mulhacen, in Spain, North of Malaga.

Completely bikeable on the way up to the refuge @3000m. Sleep, then push up the last 500m. Really excellent trails on the way down (we had 2k of descending to do back to the hotel!)

Timing is everything in terms of avoiding snow etc

Monte Rosa Hut definitely not.

This is the old hut, but new state of the art one is in the same spot, easiest approach involves crossing a dry glacier with crevasses for about an hour, then a steep zig zag path up a rock face with staircase /ladders near the top which takes another hour. you’d be pretty much pushing and carrying your bike for about 3 hours.

there is a french VTT website which has loads of gpx routes super imposed onto google maps. Pretty sure you can filter extra information (like huts) also fairly sure that all the gpx routes have been ridden so at least you know someone has traveled that way with a bike at some point…

I have it saved as a bookmark somewhere, will try to track it down

As you’re in Grenoble, start by looking at huts in the Ecrin Park. Selle, Soreiller, Glacier Blanc, Temple Ecrin, Pilatte are all ones I’ve been to which were mostly easy walks in (glacier blanc might have had some scrambly bits). #Caveat, I’ve got a crap memory for detail, and was on foot, so don’t blame me#

^ bikes aren’t allowed in the Ecrin park though.

Oh well, er…..Vittorio Emmanuelle hut @2730m was a steady zigzag path walk, it services Gran Paradiso in Aosta valley, Italy. Looks like a WW2 air raid shelter from memory

think you might be able to ride to the Weissmeis 2730m and/or Hohsaas 3068m huts from Saas Grund, most of it is aggregate type road, greatest danger would be people hurtling down on those fat scooter things from kreuzboden. I didn’t actually go to either of them, I was one of those idiots flying down the mountain on a fat scooter (after climbing Weissmeis).

There’s another one down the valley from the Emmanuel II on the same side – do both. Not that far apart though.

Cerces national?regional? Park is beautiful. quite a few huts. start in Nevache and ride round a few huts. ski toured with the wife (Chardonet and Buferre huts) there and it’s a standout memory.

The rifugio Coldai above Alleghe in the Italian Dolomites is a great location, bikeable from the valley and gives access to great trails. I was there, not biking, late summer 2014 and saw quite a lot of bikers.

link here

Am I the only one who saw ‘refugees’ here? I had a mountain rescue team trying to reach syrians at the top of an alp by on fat bikes in my head.

There you go, that’s just one little section of the rock face approach section to the Monte Rosa hut.

That’s after you’ve crossed this glacier (from right to left). It’s massive and riddled with cravasses and moraine.

@ianfitx – this is the website you are talking about I think, I use it a bit 🙂 http://www.singletrack.fr/sentiers/sentiers.php

cheers for all the suggestions so far, gives me plenty of research to do!

I’ ve spent some time doing some research around fhe Eiger – sadly not much fo share. You can stay at Cabin Mont Fort in Verbier but its not really high Alpine and is about a 10 min flatish pedal from top lift. You could try an email to WhiteRoom as at one stage they where proposing a 1 week holiday using huts. Trail Addiction have also used huts on single night stays. Both around Haute Savoie/Les Arcs area.

It’s not super high at 2458m but the Cabane du Fénestral is do-able if you’re fit…
Last year we hiked the “Tour du Grand Chavelard” from a car park called The Eyrie which is a moderately scary drive from Fully in Switzerland. Whilst we were descending to the Col du Fénestral for a beer at the refuge a mountainbiker came past us which was impressive as we’d passed him on the way up the road/track a little while beforehand.

There is an infrequent bus to the Eyrie, I don’t know if you can put a bike in it…

They have a website:
Cabane

Here’s some info on the route but it’s in French. As you live in Grenoble maybe that won’t be a problem?
Grand Chavelard

Lots in the Samoens/Sixt area.

Grenarion – amazing 1000m descent back to the valley (2.5 hr push up to it though)

Top of the DMC in Flaine to Refuges des sales to Sixt. 2500m descent!

or half way down turn right up to Alfred Wills refuge, then another amazing descent to the Fonts refuge

Also Bostan/Vogealle on the other side of the Valley…

Yeah you won’t be able to make that Monte Rossa hut by bike. In August 2014 we stayed in the Rifugio Capanna Regina Margherita which is the hut further down the mountain and that was some serious terrain, even for walking. We didn’t see any bikes in the three days we were there.

There was a place north of Bergamo we stayed in though which was bike friendly. Some serious extended climbs which went right to the top of the mountain with a decent refuge there. I’ll see if I can go through my photos and find the place.

EDIT: Found it http://www.percorsimtbvalbrembana.it/rif-curograve—lago-barbellino—lizzola.html

http://www.antoniocuro.it/en/

I’d reiterate the Gran Paradiso hut as mentioned above. The snow was relatively poor when we ski toured there and consequently walked a great deal of the vertical up a path which would be very bike-able on the way down.

What about the huts on the haute route as I believe that is done by bike in the summer isn’t it? Can’t remember who offers the guided mtb tour.

One thing that you are going to have to seriously consider if you want to cycle to a high mountain hut, is effects of altitude. Everyone is different and you’ll not know how your body reacts until you’ve been and done it. The vast majority of people who haven’t done any acclimatising would be struggling to do anything but a steady walk at above 2300m. Chances are that you’ll be off and walking above a certain height just because of the rarefied air. You might be lucky like one of my mates and feel no effects up to 4500m, or unlucky like a mate who get pulmonary oedema if he so much as looks at a big mountain, most likely somewhere inbetween. I recall being out of breath and taking a few rests climbing those ^ ladders to the monte rosa, they’re at about 2500m i think.

Yes that s it, a quick search had failed to find it (thanks I’ll rebookmark it)

Another 2 you could get too are the Pierre a berard refuge just south of mont buet nr chamonix. Mostly rideable descent to the east but you could push/carry over the col between aiguille salenton and berard and have a longer, quick descent towards the chalets de moede.

There’s also dirt road access to the chalet-hotel de buet (la grenairion) on the other side of buet. Although it would be a boring 1000m slog up zig zag 4×4 tracks through the woods. And then back again…