Photo Story: Extra time in Davos

Cedric Tassan is a MET ambassador and global adventurer that loves exploring the world, riding off the beaten track and exploring the trail less travelled. We took a ride with him last autumn high in the Swiss Alps.

Join us as we catch the last trails before a long winter…


Best known for bringing together the leaders of this world, Davos, an upscale resort in the Graubünden region of Switzerland, is also renowned for the quality of its trails and mountain bike routes.

With lifts stay open for bikers and hikers until well into October, keeping summer opening hours, Switzerland offers extra time on the mountain bike season, long after other lifts have stopped turning.


The late season brings overnight frost and we awake to a crystal-clear atmosphere as everything on the dark valley floor is frozen. Looking up, the peaks are already bathed in sunlight as we board the Jakobshorn gondola, shuttling us quickly to 2500m.


Despite the sun the mountain top is blanketed in snow and ice so we don’t linger, deciding on a trail along a ridgeline that avoids the snow filled slopes. We are rewarded with breathtaking views but an exposed and sketchy trail.

Dropping onto the snow below the ridge our initial caution is relaxed as we discover the twenty centimeters that fell overnight is firm, grippy and fun, it’s almost better than riding the path dry as the snow offers cushioning between the rocks.


Back into the treeline the path becomes more technical, with the added challenge of ice, frozen in rivulets between rocks, some of which cause alarm but we make it without incident.

Out into the pastures the farmers are bringing their cattle down from their summer meadows to winter in barns below, one calf isn’t so keen so we decide to lend a hand in corralling it. It turns out we aren’t natural cowboys, after twenty minutes of trying to maneuver it, including an attempt to get its equally stubborn mother involved, we decided to leave the professional to do his job.

Arriving back in Davos we’ve brought the sun with us to the valley floor, we’ve got time for another descend so we take the funicular to the opposite side of the valley. From here we fly down snow covered pistes until we find one of the mountain restaurants open and surprisingly busy, with a terrace full of hikers enjoying the sun.



You can’t visit the Swiss mountains without a Rösti so we indulge, but it makes getting back on the bike that little bit harder.


Catching the funicular again from the mid-station we make the most of the afternoon light, dropping into a lost valley to the north. Here there is a lot of snow, the fresh stuff offering better grip than anything already trodden. It’s hard going and we know it’s going to be a long loop, Eventually, we reach the snowline and a fantastic view of the lake below.


Unfortunately, we soon wish the snow had continued as we get bogged down in a quagmire of mud that covers us head to toe, then back into the shade of the forest with its random patches of ice catching us off guard. Finally, we get some flow and the trail becomes a joy, we’ve timed it well and have five minutes to spare for the last gondola ride up the Gotschnagrat.

A ridge bathed in golden sunlight awaits us as we playfully descend through rock and snow, ice and mud once again until we reach the train station below Davos, with 25 minutes to wait for the Bernina Express we decide just to ride back as night begins to descend, a magnificent day in the beautiful Swiss mountains.



Rider: @cedrictassan83
Pictures: @ulyssedaessle