Scratching the Valais Surface

Valais, one of 26 cantons in Switzerland, is home to the highest peaks that this country has to offer. In eastern Valais, the locals speak Swiss German whereas in the West people speak French. The main valley is known for its great wines that are grown on the south facing mountainsides. The locals are fond of mountain biking and allow you to take your bike on almost any cable car or public bus that connects the valley floor with the villages higher up.

The high peaks, mountain lakes and glaciers in combination with the great local food provide an amazing setting for our Enduro Week Switzerland. This tour covers some of the best trails the country has to offer.

We love to read about new places to ride and we hope that this article and its amateur pictures will bring some enjoyment to you as well.


On the first day, we use our bus and trailer and head to nearby Chandolin in the Val d Anniviers. Some of their cable cars also run in summer and transport bikes for a small fee. We enjoy the fresh summer morning ride up to almost 2500 meters. From there, we cycle and push our bikes up for a short time.


Having reached the mountain pass, we start the epic descent into the valley. It starts off rather technical but becomes flowier as we ride down to the valley ground.


Day two, we head to the Aletsch area: three villages that are located on a 2000 meter high plateau. The area is well known due to its close proximity to the Alps largest glacier, the massive Aletsch glacier. We use the cable car from the village down in the valley to get up there. Then we start pedaling up for about an hour to reach a long dark tunnel. The one kilometer tunnel was built over 100 years ago to prevent floods in the valley. Today, we can use it to get to the mountain hut where we will have lunch. Luckily, the hut is located just a few meters away from the huge glacier... Then the great descent starts. Initially a bit blocked, it turns into a great, smooth trail that has some rather steep parts and leads us back down into the valley.

Next to this great trail, the area also offers two downhill trails: Fiesch & Bellwald



After two days of high alpine descents, the group decides to check out some of the shorter trails in the region. There is a huge variety that can be found in the area. The sunny, dry and rocky south facing side offers a lot of technical riding whereas the other valley side offers some beautiful needle trails.



Slick rock and natural berms are just some of the fun features on this riding day.


Today, our driver heads back into Val d'Annivers and drives us to the very end of the valley. The next two hours we pedal up the trails of the Grand Raid up to 2700 meters. From here it is mostly pushing and carrying to reach a mountain hut for lunch. The local "Röschti" is amazing and feels like heaven after our 3h ascent.


At almost 3000 meters above sea level, this also our highest point of the day. The downhill takes almost half a day all the way to the valley floor. Most of it is comparatively easy but the end is very demanding, especially after several hours on a bike.



For our last day, we head to Zermatt. A lot has already been written about Zermatt: it is all true, if you are looking for endless riding possibilities alongside huge glaciers, this is the place you want to visit. We started early, took a long lunch break and rode in the evening to avoid the large groups of tourists that can be found on almost every trail.




During this week, we stayed in a chalet between Visp and Sierre. The location has a pool, lounge area, pool table, and barbecue pits all overlooking the valley. It is located directly on the trail that you ride down to the valley floor to start your day. If you want to take a day off, there are lots of places for wine tasting, amazing local restaurants as well as many beautiful villages such as Brig.


Alpine Trails is a bike guiding and shuttling company that specializes in enduro tours in Valais. We are located in Visp in the heart of the Swiss Alps. Our main offering is the described weekly tour above. However, we also run tailored trips as well as weekend trips in the area. With our own van, trailer and driver, we have the flexibility to reach almost any starting point. We do rent bikes and gear in case you do not want to bring your own bike. The tours include airport pick-up as well as accommodation to make sure our guests can focus on what they love most: ride their bike.

www.alpine-trails.ch

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