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Video and Travelogue
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Alpencross Video: 20 minute HD-Video about the Alpencross 2011 Immenstadt - Lake Garda Total Length: 255 miles (410 km) Total Climb: 33,000 ft (10,000 m) |
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Stage 4: Sulden - Madritsch Saddle - Martell Valley - Latsch - Meran - Burgstall Length: 76 km Climb: 2400 Hm |
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Stage 1: Immenstadt - Oberstdorf - Stein Gap - Steeg - Kaisers Length: 58 km Climb: 1720 Hm |
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Stage 5: Burgstall - Bozen - Auer - Grumo - Cles - Lake Tovel Length: 75 km Climb: 750 Hm |
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Stage 2: Kaisers - Almajur Saddle - Pettneu - Strengen - Landeck - Prutz Length: 58 km Climb: 1510 Hm |
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Stage 6: Lake Tovel - Campo Flavona - Gaiarda Pass - Andalo - Molveno Length: 35 km Climb: 1500 Hm |
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Stage 3: Prutz - Pfunds - Nauders - Reschenpass - Prad - Sulden Length: 84 km Climb: 1010 Hm |
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Stage 7: Molveno - S. Lorenzo - Dasindo - Lomasona - Cross of Bondiga - Riva Length: 41 km Climb: 810 Hm |
Basic Rules
To make sure mountain biking remains an accepted Alpine sport you should always be considerate of nature, the local residents, other hikers and your own health.
- Absolute respect for hikers!
- Never leave garbage and other traces!
- Preserve nature and don't be noisy!
- No alcohol!
- Don't drive dangerous routes when you're exhausted!
- Better dismount than risk too much!
- Watch the weather development!
The Goal
After the success of my Alpencross 2010, it was clear that I had to repeat this adventure in 2011. My biking skills and the material had passed the test. The planning of the Transalp 2011 could begin. The goals remained similar, with a few minor adaptions:
- Driving only by bike, not by other means of transport.
- Challenging single trail route with lots of freeride trails.
- To reach this goal I will accept many hours of carrying the bike.
- Choosing a scenic high mountain route.
- Avoiding asphalt as good as possible.
- Spontaneous and flexible planning of stages, no reservations.
- I will start off alone again.
- Duration: about 7 days.
How, Where, When?
How?
This time I wanted to focus even more on challenging trails for the freerider. The route should consist mostly of very difficult stages which require exceptional biking skill, off the popular Transalp routes. However, this means that I would have to carry the bike uphill for several hours a day. The high mountain climbing will almost take as much time as mountain biking. On the other hand I will be rewarded with perfect extreme mountain biking. During my last Transalp especially the challenging routes were the most fun to me. A full suspension bike will be an absolute prerequisite. My Lapierre Zesty bike will be strained to its limit this year.
Since I was forced to travel by myself last year and it had been such an unexpectedly great experience, I wanted to repeat that and go solo again this year. Being alone on such a trip for a week is not everyone's cup of tea. But since I'm around people all the time in my daily routine, a few days of solitude were refreshingly liberating. I was able to be very flexible and listen to my personal needs. I had time to sort out my thoughts and take my mind off the usual things. It would have been difficult anyway to find a companion one can rely on for this kind of adventure.
I wanted to improve my physical preparation this year. Due to an injury the training in 2010 was not perfect. My goal was to be more fit in order to enjoy my journey better. Also, this year's transalp would be much more straining.
Where?
Again, the planning of the route took several weeks. This time it was even more complicated, since most of the route sections were not documented as mountainbike routes anywhere. Studying hiking maps and adapting the route for many weeks is an important part of the Transalp. I enjoy reading maps and puzzling our a route, because anticipation is always my pleasant companion. However, whether or not a pass can be conquered and whether it offers the expected biking experience cannot be fully answered in many cases.
I acquired detailed hiking maps from the German Alps, Tyrole and Southern Tyrole. Trentino/Italy was once again problematic, but after researching in several book stores I finally found a GPS-scaled hiking map of the Brenta mountains with the scale of 1:25,000. I decided for a number of passes, refined the route step by step, and split it into consistent stages in the end by considering the distance and the altitude/climb.
This year my starting point was Immenstadt (Oberstdorf) in southern Bavaria. Destination was, as always, Lake Garda. The prospect of spending a relaxed day at the beach of Torbole and sitting in a cosy Italian restaurant by the lake at night was an additional motivation.
When?
Especially this year weather would play an important part. Most passes have an altitude of over 6500 ft (2000 m), some of them were higher than 10,000 ft (3000 m). Bad weather would certainly mess up my whole freeride Transalp. Since the peaks would not be snow-free in June, I once again would start in July the soonest. I wanted to determine the departure time as spontaneously as possible, depending on the weather forecast. This way I hoped to avoid rain or snow during my Transalp.
The Route
This tour should not be reproduced! It leads through some areas which are not appropriate for mountain biking.
(Due to several circumstances I had to adapt my route massively. This is a description of the route I actually drove.)
The Transalp starts in Immenstadt. From Oberstdorf I follow a popular route through the Rappenalpen Valley for some time, then I deviate towards the Giant Stone Gap at 7400 ft (2260 m), to test a quite uncommon pass. From there, a difficult trail leads down to Steeg, followed by the ascend to Kaisers.
From Kaisers I follow the Almajur Valley up to the Erlach Alp and then I take the exposed path to the Almajur Saddle. From the Leutkircher Shelter a steep trail leads down towards Pettneu. The route through the Stanz Valley to Landeck and then along the Inn Valley Bike Trail towards Pfunds is quite unspectacular.
From Pfunds to Nauders it is recommended to take the public bus, because the street has many tunnels, bends and heavy traffic. From Nauders I continue using the bike and cross the Reschenpass, followed by a steep bicycle lane down into the Vinschgau valley. Past Glurns I follow the valley to Prad, then I fork off into the Sulden Valley. I follow the valley along the Ortler mountains to Sulden.
The trail up to the Madritsch Saddle (10,300 ft/3145 m) is steep and difficult. The Madrisch Saddle is the highest point of my tour. I descend on a challenging trail through the Martell Valley until I reach the Zufall Shelter. From there I follow the Martell Valley Trail down into the Vinschgau again and then I take the bike lane along the Via Claudia Augusta to Meran.
From Meran past Bozen to Grumo I follow the Etsch Valley Bike Lane. In Grumo I get on a train that takes me back to the northern part of the Brenta mountains. At Tuenno the road leads into the Tovel Valley and ascends up to Lake Tovel.
From the lake the trail continues to lead uphill past the Flavona Shelter into the very impressing area of the Flavona Plain. After passing the Gaiarda Pass, I take a small and steep path down to the Spora Shelter, and from there further down to Andalo and Molveno.
The Brenta mountains now lie behind me. From Molveno I reach San Lorenzo, Villa Banale, Bleggio Inferiore and Dasindo. Then my track leads me through the Lomasona Valley up and across a ridge with the Cross of Bondiga at 2900 ft (885 m). Then a quite challenging freeride trail takes me down to Arco and to Lake Garda.
Total length: 410 km
Total climb: 10.000 Hm
The journey will have seven stages with an average distance of 35 miles (57 km) and an average climb of 4700 ft (1430 m) per day.
Some parts of the route are extremely challenging, straining and can only be tried by mountain bikers with lots of Alpine experience. If you try this, you mustn't have a problem with carrying your bike uphill through difficult terrain for many hours. Many of the downhill trails can only be ridden by people who have freeride experience. Some of the passes are described as impossible in the mountain bike community.
Return Trip
Since the German Train decided to not transport bicycles from Rovereto to Germany anymore in 2011, I had to look for alternatives.
For example, you could take the Italian train up to the Brenner (online schedule at Trenitalia
). From the Brenner you have 2 possibilities: You can continue with another train, since bike transport from Brenner to Germany is possible. If you only want to get to Bavaria and save some money, you can also ride 25 miles (40 km) downhill to Innsbruck (fork off to the old Roman road in Matrei), and get the very cheap Bavaria Train Ticket in Innsbruck to continue.
You can also book a bike shuttle. There are several companies offering the service to transport you together with your bike from Lake Garda to Austria or Southern Bavaria to the destination of your choice. The whole thing will cost around 100 EUR.
