Any other feedback on the route would be most helpful, as it looks great on paper. I’ve seen on the website you can hire a guide for the route which makes me think it may be trickier than it seems?
Cheers, Ian
Howdy, Has anybody done this lift assisted 10,000m downhill tour yet? I’m looking to do it sometime in September with a group of mates from the UK. I’ve got the single trail map and the davos bike brochure. Is the navigation easy? I’ve ridden some of the singletrack there before but as I’ll mainly be leading the group I want to be sure the main route is easy to follow. Don’t want to end up missing a load of the single trail and following a road down. That would not make me popular.
I've just seen this now.
I know the area very well and have done nearly all the trails on the Bahnentour and I can say that unless you know the area pretty well and are pretty quick making the whole tour in a day will be very difficult.
I will probably lead a more realistic "bahnentour" in the Davos area during the autumn. I don't know the exact dates yet but check out the calendar on www.swissalpinadventure.com and join or facebook group and you'll get details of the event to your facebook stream when its planned.
Hey,
I've done all the routes that make up the Bergbahn tour, the trail is pretty easy to follow but get the map. Also, be aware, the guide to the tour that the tourist office has produced is printed incorrectly.
It's very tough to make the tour in one day, you need to be "on it" the biggest problem is that the lifts stop for lunch, so if you miss that last one up you have to wait in Davos for one hour.
You must be on the 08:20 funicular from Davos to the Parsenn, changing to the chair at the moment is an arse as it takes one bike every other chair. At weekends I've seen upto 30 bikers trying to use it to make the tour. Still sep/oct should be quieter.
Here's a quick guide:
Section 1: Weissfluhjoch to Chorbschorn to Glaris. Dead easy to find, straight ahead off the chair to saddle turn left. At strela pass continue on high path to Chorbschorn, nice descent, tricky (for me)
Section2: Rinerhorn to Abirugg to Davos to Parsenn lift. Again easy route to find, easy but fun descent.
Section 3:Parsenn to Strela to Davos. Start as section 1, but at Strela pass head down via Fulsenweg, confusing as a big sign on the route says no downhill bikes.....but it is marked on the map - I have always assumed this to mean trail bikes are ok Back up Parsenn
Section 4: Weissfluhjoch to Meierhofertali to Wolfgang to Klosters. This time off the chair, straight ahead to the saddle then right, then down the Meierhofertalli, accross the Panorammaweg, then a tricky section down to the lake. If you need to make up time you can go to Klosters on the road (shhhhh), but better is off road
Section 5: Gotschangrat - Schwarzsee - Goschnaboden (mid station) - Laret - Klosters
Brilliant section, though the first downhill is in my opinion the hardest. Then you get a really good, fairly easy section that really flows via Gotschnaboden to Laret but here watch out for horses - the local ride school uses some of this path. Then repeat section 4 off road to Klosters.
Section 6: Gotschna to Serneuser Schwendi to Klosters. Um, tedious. Unless I'm doing the wrong path, this is straight forward fire trail, though variations can be made. At the bottom head for Klosters Dorf.
Section 7: Madrisa to Klosters Dorf: Swiss bike Masters route. Rocky road, slippy and dull.
Section 8: Madrisa to Saas: Fireroad. Dull.
Sections 1 - 5 are all brilliant, varid and will entertain you massively. Section 6 - 8 are ok but nothing special. Just completes the route, but by this time you'll be knackered and needing an easier route.
Have fun, I (or I should say we) live in Davos and when you come out, if you fancy meeting up and running through the route on the map, let me know. I have done all these routes, but I'm not good enough to do all in one day... No matter how far you get though, it'll be awesome!
Patrick
For section 3 there are actually two paths. Unless things have changed lately the single trail is bike verbot during the season and you are supposed to go down the rocky fire road. It doesn't matter if you have a DH bike or an XC bike.
Having said that I do use the single trail, but only if there are no hikers around.
Yup, that is exactly what you are supposed to do - except the singletrack is the one described in the Davos Klosters literature and it's marked on the Swiss singletrail map. I always wonder if that sign is supposed to be there or not? It only came into being when they brought in the guest card free lifts system.
Just because a trail is shown on the singletrail map does not mean you are allowed to ride it. I was up there a few years ago and rode that trail one week and there was no sign, the weekend after the bike verbot sign had been put up.
I discussed it with the organisers of the Grisha trailRIDE last year and they said that technically you are supposed to use the fire road. The marked points scoring trail on the Grisha maps for that section was the fire road. Lets see (hope) if that changes next week.
Excellent, thanks for the good advice Patrick and Eire. Heads up on the route is much appreciated.
I think we’ll just go for it and push to get it done in one day. Sounds like a good challenge and if we don’t make it we’ll finish it off the next day. Doesn’t sound too technical for our group then, just a lot to do in 1 day. Hopefully it will be as good as the trail we rode out to Sertig from Davos earlier in the year. That was awesome. The rest of the lifts were still closed then though.
I’ve found the single trail maps very difficult to follow. Even in Flims yesterday on the Runca Trail I wasn’t exactly sure we were on the right path.
Ian