One Last Ride - The Cassons, Switzerland

The historic Flims cable car to the Cassons (2695m), built in 1956, was scheduled to close last autumn. Kathi Kuypers knew she had to get a crew together for a final ride in this legendary cabin. She brought on local shredder Armin Beeli; always good to have a local boy on board. Next, Trek Gravity Girls teammate Katja Rupf and Trek Factory Enduro rider René Wildhaber – the 'Swiss Muscle'. All were on board for one last ride in the charming red lift.


Enough history lesson. Time to let Kathi speak for herself:

"It’s quite the same feeling to ride rollercoasters and being in love. It’s fun, it’s turning heads and you want more of it. That’s the same feeling I experience when I’m on my bike. Once I’ve tasted trail blood I turn into Edward from Twilight and crave more. I change into a habitual criminal and keep watching out for even more epic trails. Everybody knows that feeling when you hear which stunning trail is missing on your already miles-long bucket list. And then there is the one trail that grabbed the top priority: The Cassonsgrat in Flims, Switzerland. Rare things always trigger the collector in me. I have to have the last one, before it’s gone. Better go now, before it’s too late." 

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The mandatory stop at the Cassons restaurant turned out to be a little language course in Armin’s first language, Rhaeto-Romanic. “Quater cafes fai aschi bien“ means “four coffees please”. He explains that because of the seclusion many places in Switzerland have come up with their own idioms. But, it makes me recall, with a shiver, the dark memories of my Latin time at school.



The journey to the top takes about 40 minutes. The high plateau of Flims’s Flimserstein is impressive. With its bleak chalk walls, the Cassonsgrat is the highest point. In the south you can find Armin’s home, the village of Fidaz.



Finally, let’s ride! It’s 90 minutes of the finest high alpine stuff: rocky, challenging, fun trails. The trails are as good as Armin promised. I have to concentrate super hard to keep pace with my mates as we surf through the powder on the first 200 meters of the trail. Once again, I let myself get carried away by those amazing Swiss trails.









The second part of the trail ends on the Trek Runca Trail. The freeride trail is fun for everybody. With its north shores, rollers and tables, it offers great variety and contrast to the high alpine part. The trail starts at 1842 meters in height and ends in the village of Flims. The trail builders have done a great job creating a unique playground.





The best gift you can give your friends (and yourself) is a day full of adventures. Even if the Cassons cabin is closed down, the Trek Runca trail is still rideable with the Naraus cable car. I can’t wait for the next trail experience.


You can follow the crew here.

Trek Gravity Girls Katja & Kathi

René Wildhaber

Armin Beeli

If you want to know more about Flims / Laax check out the Laax / Flims homepage.

Lee Lau's spot check.

Or the home story from the "Swisstwintowers" and EWS racers Anita and Carolin Gehrig.

Thanks for the pics Gaudenz Danuser / Flims / Laax
GaudenzDanuser.com

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