I recently moved to Switzerland and I'm planning a long MTB weekend with some friends. I live near Zurich, so thinking of venturing in the opposite direction, towards Verbier or Zermatt. I'll even consider Italy, as long as it's near the border. We're looking to ride natural trails with uplift. We're open to the idea of hiring a guide or joining a group. Any ideas? Thanks!
Davos
Proper alpine riding, so not smashed dh/Bike park runs, yet lift assisted.
I looked for a mate and I and it was about 350CHF for the two of us (not each!) for four nights.
Lift ticket is included in that price, but you pay a tenner a day for bike transport.
If you want decent Bike park then Paganella is worth a look. Pisses over the Austrian parks (although I've not been to Fiss, which is probably good for a day or two).
Davos
Agree, Davos is awesome, but we've already been, so looking to mix things up a bit this time.
If you want decent Bike park then Paganella is worth a look. Pisses over the Austrian parks (although I’ve not been to Fiss, which is probably good for a day or two).
Sounds tempting, but unfortunately it's a 6 hour drive from where I live, so a bit too far 🙁
Well you live in the wrong area....
Five hour drive to Finale from Zürich....
Davos is a great option for natural trails. The lift pass gives you 5 different lifts (including the funicular and 2 in Klosters), and each lift has at least 3 good ways down. It's easy to link them together into a longer tour. The navigation is super easy because there are few junctions. I'm just returned from my first visit, which was one the best weekends of riding ever.
We did more than 60km and about 5000m of descending each day. More is possible if you avoid the flatter / climbing trails.
Most trails are shown on trailforks, and the Davos website has an ok map with some route suggestions.
Reschensee /Vinschgau isn't much further on than Davos... Might not measure up that well against the big mountain riding in Davos, but it's a popular area.
Not been to Lenzerheide, but that has a traditional bike park, and also some longer and more natural ways down the hills. The trail network is more dense than at Davos, which makes navigation a bit trickier.
Trail network at Verbier is big too, with both bike park and natural routes. I haven't yet had the opportunity to explore much.
Zermatt and St Moritz are next in my list.
Do you know any good bike guiding outfits in Zermatt per chance?
Laax and/or Arosa.
No, but then I like maps 😀
There are plenty of trails on trailforks. I'd compare those to the routes from Ride.ch and the 'official' trail maps to make my own itineraries. It takes some time, but knowing the contours before you arrive makes navigation quicker and easier.
A guide us certainly easier and takes some of the stress out of it.
Nothing against maps, but guides are nice for when you want to maximise riding time (no getting lost or taking the long way up) or when you're just feeling lazy :). Plus, I find it's easier to ride 'fast' with guides, as all you need to do is follow, rather than taking a more cautious approach when riding trails blind for the first time.
We did three days riding in Zermatt off the Gornergrat funicular & Sunnega train using a peak pass ticket & following the walking signs.
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Nice, that's very tempting!
Like Snaps said. Take the train to 3000m and ride down. No guide needed.
I think a 3 day pass was about CHF200 a few years ago, you can get a lot of value out of that. We even got priority boarding on the Gornergrat train with bikes and a carriage to ourselves.
There's a good trail from the Rothorn down to Tasch too.
Another option would be Crans to ride Plain Mort, that's a truly epic ride. And you've also got the Italian from Crans and the Brazilian trail on the opposite side of the valley.
You can't go wrong between Verbier and the Rhone valley.
I can recommend Pure Biking Verbier. Two days full riding (Fri pm after arrival, Sat, Sunday am prior to departure).
Pure Biking Verbier for Guided Shredding Fun
Lots of natural trails, very friendly/accommodating guide, stunning scenery. We flew/trained up from Geneva. It was awesome, even on my hardtail.
When I lived in ZH my go to destination would be Graubuenden, every time. Way easier access than most of Valais etc, though I didn't drive and would do trips by train & public transport. It looks like you're inclined to head elsewhere, but if there was one place I could magic myself to this weekend, it would be the early doors train out of town, poring over some dotted lines on the map... I have to say I'm more than a little jealous.
Seriously, I've ridden in all the areas people have mentioned up thread (bar a couple of Alpin's suggestions) and that would be my choice as there are seemingly endless possibilities in that part of the world. In early spring/late autumn I'd get into Ticino though - but whatever you do you can't really go too far wrong.
Tell me more about Ticino, we're going to be in Switzerland / Italy in October possibly and looking for riding options. I've done a little riding around Como, but don't know the area. The Davos lifts are still open at that time, but I'd imagine the weather isn't usually bike friendly.
