| Physical | Technical | Fun | Scenery | Singletrack | Rideability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ***** | *** | ***** | ****** | ***** | ***** |
Total Distance 32miles in (5½ hours)
Difficulty: Very Difficult
This ride may be at the other side of Europe, but it is quite simply the best mountain bike route I have had the pleasure to ride. Val Mustair is a little known valley at the eastern tip of Switzerland. Surrounded on three sides by Italy, and the fourth by the uninhabited Swiss National Park, its only connection to Switzerland is via the Ofenpass road. With no outstanding scenery of its own (by Swiss standards) the majority of visitors are simply in transit to Italy. The natives speak the ancient language of Romansch, despite the proximity to Italy (where most of the locals speak German!), and until the 70’s there existed a thriving trade in cross-border cigarette smuggling.
The great benefit to mountain bikers is that Val Mustair never drops below 1300m, with side roads leading up to around 2500m. This gives easy access to the good riding territory above the tree-line, without the need for chair-lifts or multi-hour ascents. Also, unlike most alpine regions the mountains are interspersed with high plateaux and valleys, which also stretch over into Italy. In some places these are “bowling green” grass, and in others the singletrack winds between dwarf conifers, stunted by the harsh winters. Several of the best MTB routes in Switzerland are centred on Val Mustair, and it is rapidly developing into the location for European biking connoisseurs.
This route connects some of the greatest singletrack in Europe, with grandiose scenery more reminiscent of the Canadian Rockies. There are considerable uninteresting road miles on your return, but even this is spruced up by the most unlikely of short cuts – a 4km downhill (one-way) tunnel. 35mph inside a mountain is quite a surreal experience. You also need a reasonable head for heights on this route. Through Valle Alpisella, the route has now been substantially widened, but the drops are still utterly dizzying.
The entire route is contained on Swiss National Survey map number 5017 “Unterengadin”. These are easily obtained locally, or from www.stanfords.co.uk Do not be tempted by the easier to obtain “Kompass Karte” as they are rubbish (yes, really). The best guides for the area are the “bike-explorer” CD-ROM guides of Engadine or Unterengadine. These are crammed with photos, maps, videos, height profiles and “idiot proof” route cards, which make perfect sense even for non-German speakers. These can be found at www.bike-explorer.ch and now also sell overprinted MTB route maps of the area. There are no outlets for bike-explorer in the UK, but there are several Swiss bike shops with online ordering.
Navigating in the Alps is quite easy anyway, as the public footpaths (“Wanderweg”) are all marked with yellow sign posts which give your current altitude, destinations and walking time in hours. Between the yellow posts, these paths are marked by red and white stripes painted onto rocks or buildings.
Mountain biking law in Switzerland is a very grey area. This route is undoubtedly an established MTB classic, and you’ll be fine…. But localised bans are appearing all over Switzerland without warning. One restriction is for certain, there is absolutely no mountain biking allowed in the Swiss National Park. You pass very close to the park boundary, so be careful not to stray into the park unless you are on tarmac.
Within the rest of Switzerland the access laws are decided haphazardly by Canton (county). In Appenzell MTBing is virtually banned, whereas here in Engadine it is positively encouraged, with only a few of the most popular tracks around tourist resorts being off limits. Luckily Engadine is not only the largest Swiss Canton, but contains the best mountain biking. Generally, it is acceptable (but not a legal right) to cycle on almost all footpaths or tracks, although you may want to stick to “Wanderwegs” just for extra assurance. Do not cycle on private tracks or across meadows. This annoys the farmers somewhat.
In Italy no one really seems to either know or care what the law is! So just cycle anywhere that doesn’t say “no”.
There are lots of electric fences, often across the track. Open and close by the insulated hook to prevent shocks. There are also electric gates. Either ride straight through these at moderate speed, or grasp at the yellow (insulated) stripes to open. The cows are utterly tame, and will lick you and your bike given a chance.
There are water troughs almost everywhere and are always drinkable.
There are mountain huts serving food almost everywhere; although this route is remote and only has refreshments at Alp Mora and Livigno.
The Swiss speak so many languages that almost any form of greeting except “Guten Tag” is fine (otherwise they’ll think you’re German). Try “Gruzie”, “Hoy” or “Ciao” in Switzerland and “Buon Giorno” in Italy.
Start the route from a small gravel car park 500m east of the National Park boundary (if you reach numbered car parks then you are in the park). Follow the yellow signs to and through Buffalora (a farm), the track now steepens to climb onto the Jufplan plateau. Follow the track across the Jufplan until it becomes singletrack at the furthest farm / shed at 2289m. The crossing of the Jufplan singletrack towards Val Mora is one of the most magnificent high altitude plains in the Alps.
Soon Val Mora comes into view - a wide flat valley of meadows and conifers, surrounded by vicious peaks. The scene ahead, with huge herds of free-grazing horses and cows is more wild west than eastern Switzerland.
The singletrack descent into Val Mora, is very much like a much more rideable version of Black Sail pass in the Lakes. Just how Cumbrian passes would be like with a few less boulders – absolutely magnificent. After crossing a ford, fast sweeping singletrack leads you through pine forest to Alp Mora, where you can get fed and watered. Pass through the farmyard at Alp Mora onto their access track. Where this joins the main valley route, take a sharp double-back, following the river downstream. The grassy track passes through meadows and forest and quickly fades into singletrack. This Wanderweg twists through dwarf conifers along the top of the river bank, often with substantial drops.
When you reach the wobbly bridge the scenery changes dramatically…
(Honest, I could ride it, but where do I go at the far end?)
(Perhaps someone’s forgot to build the tunnel)
Val Mora disintegrates into a gorge. The river bed is an enormous swathe of boulders and scree, and enormous gullies fall thousands of metres from the mountain sides, cutting across the route. But despite this, with the help of several hundred logs, the wanderweg remains precariously perched high on the rubble bank. Many UK roads don’t see this level of maintenance, never mind footpaths. And throughout it all, this singletrack (which was only created for walkers) remains RIDEABLE. Every last inch of the way – even the scary bits! This is THE BEST singletrack I’ve ever ridden. Eventually, after 3km of shear delight, it spits you here…
……at the Italian border. No passports, no customs (despite the fact that you are entering the EU), just a small clearing, some boundary stones, a bench and a sign announcing entry to the Stelvio national park.
The border is more than arbitrary, as it sadly also marks the end of the gorge, and the return of double track and trees. Follow the track south for just over a kilometre, at which point it disappears into a lake of boulders. An absolutely enormous flood plane has to be crossed, just be thankful you don’t have to experience the volume of water required to wash all this debris down the mountain. Try very hard to follow the remnants of the track as it winds through this boulder field.
Very soon you realise you are in Italy, as you begin to contact the natives. Everyone seems to wear killer shades, shellsuits and wave their arms when they talk! Also, any cyclist you meet will be dressed in a trade-team top, and will talk enthusiastically to you, even after you’ve indicated that you don’t understand a word. As you reach the Turquoise reservoir of Lago di San Giacomo, you’ll find thousands of picnicking Italians, who have driven their Lancias and Alfas ten miles up an unmade road to get here! Italy seems to be the only country where cars are simultaneous loved and abused. Take the right hand track around the lake head, and pick up the zig-zags climbing up the side valley, signposted Valle Alpisella and Livigno. The climb is relatively straightforward, but with stunning mountain scenery all around. After the summit at 2268m, things get more interesting.
The only thing steeper than the descent itself, which is a real brake burner, is the mind-numbing drop off the edge of the track! Fortunately, this whole stretch of track has been repaired recently, which gives me nightmares as to how scary it was pre-repairs! The long descent will get rims or discs extremely hot, so watch for the possibility of brake fade.
After crossing the rickety “Indiana Jones” bridge, the track widens, but has recently been constructed into a wide track, giving some semblance of safety, despite the fact that the huge drop still remains. On the far side of the valley, an MTB singletrack is being constructed, the only purpose-built XC singletrack I’ve seen in the Alps. I hope it catches on, as it could solve problems in tourist hotspots. At the moment bikes seem to be losing out to ramblers, with bike bans on the increase – and there is more than enough mountain to cope with some extra trials.
After a mile of hanging on to the mountainside, the track drops you at a café / hot dog stand by the reservoir shore. The ride along the lakeside seems to be an exact replica of Fairholmes in the peak district, a mêlée of rambler and bike swerving. Everything from grannies with walking sticks, to kids with stabilisers; all trying to swerve around each other. Get the hell out of there, and into Livigno. Here you have the choice of any of a hundred cafes, all serving superb ice cream. Unfortunately they are all big concrete cafes, where blokes in sharp suits and shades talk endlessly into mobile phones while myriads of Ducatis and Fiats hare recklessly through the main street inches from your seat. Oh well! Perhaps it will get better once the bypass is finished? After about ten minutes of Livigno you’ll want to escape there too.
Take the road north alongside the reservoir. Nearly all of this is gallery (a concrete roof over the road to stop rock falls), so I’d recommend a flashing rear LED - you’ll need one for the tunnel anyway.
Cross through customs, and onto the dam. The tunnel entrance is a few hundred metres beyond the far end.
The tunnel operates one-way only, with traffic light control. The tunnel is downhill in this direction, so you’ll be riding almost as fast as the cars. The sensation is quite bizarre, 35mph or more, cold air, poor lighting and a very small tunnel. With the intense echo in the tunnel, high-speed knobblies almost screech across the tarmac, like a Stuka on full-dive.
After what seems like an eternity, pass through Swiss customs at the far side, and turn right up the Ofenpass. Remember, this is all national park, so you must stay on the tarmac. About 7km of road, with 300m of ascent returns you to your car-parking place, just past the national park eastern boundary.
Last Updated 03-03-2003
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