Lenze-Ride Off Track

It's no secret that the World Cup travels all over the globe to some pretty amazing locations. This year alone we have already been to the foothills of the Pyrenees, the Australian jungles, the Scottish Highlands, and the steeps of Austria. While all of these locations have epic riding nearby, they simply do not have it straight out of the venue, and by that I mean literally sharing the same hillside and lift system with the World Cup race tracks. This weekend, however, brings us to Lenzerheide, high in the Swiss Alps, and with it an extensive trail network in all directions as far as the eye can see. Add to that a valley full of chair lifts and gondolas, and you can go on an all-day epic in the high alpine right from the top or bottom of the downhill track.




Knowing there was lots on offer here and wanting to explore a bit before the workload of the World Cup weekend set in, I made sure to set some time aside to explore some of the high peaks of Lenzerheide to see what the other trails on this big mountain were made of. Along for the ride came my twin brother, also a talented photographer who is currently in transit while moving from Taiwan to Germany, and who also shares a love of riding high above the tree line. So with cameras and trail maps in hand, we loaded our bikes onto the tram at Bergstation Scharmoin and headed to the 2865 meter summit of Parpaner Rothorn. A massive 1100 meters above the finish of this weekend's World Cup.




From the top, we were treated to some epic views once the morning fog finally blew out, and far below we could see a ribbon of singletrack snaking its way through a massive valley and around a hanging lake. After a quick hike a bike, some loose scree switchbacks and a mini snow field, we were on our way. Overnight rain had dampened the soil just enough to hold the loose rock and scree together, and besides the occasional slippery grass corner, it was pretty much hero dirt all the way down.



























Originally we had planned only to do one lap on this day, and to save further exploration until after the World Cup, but after descending the 1100 meters down to the valley floor we knew we had to head back up for another go. From the tram, we had spotted a trail that was not featured on the map, and from our point of view high overhead, it looked promising. Lots of steep switchbacks and an exposed ridge line fed into an open pasture full of bright flowers and cows, and from there we knew we would be able to pick up the steep wooded singletrack that would take us back into town. Of course being the Alps, a little weather had decided to move in and we would have to make our way through some fog before the sun (and a rainbow) finally reemerged.

















When all was said and done we were able to descend 2200 meters on beautiful singletrack with views for miles and thanks to the extensive lift system we barely had to pedal up the hill at all. Considering this was just one lift and one valley out of the eleven that make up the whole region, from Chur to Lenzeheide and beyond, I cannot imagine what other gems are hidden up in those big hills.

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MENTIONS: @davetrump / @general-lee

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