Trans Valais
This tour features the most scenic places in the Alps: The largest glaciers, highest peaks in Switzerland, beautiful mountain lakes, the Matterhorn… and you will be riding your bike right next to it. In combination with beautiful, authentic hotels as well as our full service package (airport and location transfer, local english speaking guides, etc.) you are in for the trip of your life.
Itinerary:
Day 1
Upon your arrival Crans-Montana you will be picked up by your guide at the train station. We will spend our first night in Crans-Montana, which offers great views over the Rhone valley.
Description of the Hotel:
Our Hotel offers cozy, comfortable, and traditionally furnished double rooms with wood paneling. The balconies offer stunning views on the Alps from the Simplon to Mont Blanc. Furthermore, the hotel includes a sauna and massages area as well as a lounge and bar area.
Day 2
Day 2 marks our first day of riding. We will start our day by climbing 350 altitude meters on gravel road. Leaving Crans-Montana, you will quickly find yourself surrounded by the iconic swiss high alpine environment. Even though we climb up to an altitude of almost 2000m we will not cross the tree line and therefore be descending on soft single- trails covered in loam and leaves. The entire descend back into the main Rhone valley is single-track based and will bring joy to riders with different riding styles as technical and fast passages alternate. Following the long descent into the Rhone valley, we will make our way to the city of Leukerbad, where we will spend the night.
Leukerbad is located at an altitude of 1,411m and surrounded by a very impressive range of cliffs, which cover the majority of the valleys sides. The history of Leukerbad goes back to the 4th. century B.C. and offers, besides a great deal of historic attractions, multiple thermal baths, which are said to have therapeutic effects and are a great way to relax the muscle after a long day in the saddle.
Description of the Hotel:
Providing you with the ultimate alpine experience, we will spend our second night away from civilization in a mountain hut, which offers stunning views over the city of Leukerbad and its surrounding mountains. The view of raw cliffs surrounding the area never disappoints. The hut offers basic, but modern and clean facilities. Double rooms with view of the Alps are the norm. Since our luggage will be delivered directly to the following hotel you will need to pack you bag carefully and carry everything with you that you might need on an overnight stay in the mountains.
Day 3
Day 3 will take us from the historic town of Leukerbad back into the main Rhone valley.
We will begin our day at 2303m after conquering the first altitude meters by gondola. Again, the third day of riding is packed with long single-track descents. We begin by traversing along some of Leukerbad’s surrounding cliffs on one of the most fun trails of the trip. After only a couple of minutes from the start of the trail, you will find yourself surrounded by an incredible high alpine environment on an almost never-ending spaghetti-like single-trail. After exiting the trail we will tackle our first climb of 300m before reaching our lunch spot.
Strengthened from our lunch break, we will enter the descent into the valley and leave the high alpine environment behind us before entering the dense forest. Trail conditions will change from rocky alpine trails to being covered in soft loam and leaves with only the occasional rock on the trail.
We will be crossing multiple small mountain villages, which offer great spots to stop for coffee and tea, before we reach the bottom of the main Rhone valley.
At last we will follow the Rhone upstream until we reach our hotel.
Description of the Hotel:
Tonight, your luggage will be waiting for you at the hotel. Spending a night at the bottom of the Rhone valley will remind you of the unimaginable height of the surrounding mountains. The small hotel offers modern double rooms and a nice restaurant to cure your hunger and thirst after a long day in the saddle.
Day 4
On our fourth day we will start by taking a historic gondola up to 1217m. We will further climb to 1480m, riding past traditional swiss farms and fields. An encounter with the iconic swiss milk cow is not unusual on this route, since we will be crossing multiple open fields.
From our lunch spot we will enter a fully single trail based traverse. In the summer, multiple very flowy single trails can be found in this area. The traverse is followed by a short gravel road ascent of 200 altitude meters before we reach our hotel.
Crossing a small river marks the end of our first climb of the day. From here on we will descent through the tight forest, riding smooth and windy single tracks to our lunch spot.
Description of the Hotel:
Located in a small ski town, the hotel offers modern double rooms as well as a wellness area with sauna and massage- showers.
Day 5
In the morning we get to enjoy a long descent into the Vispertal. A short gravel road ascent of 150 altitude meters will lead us to the beginning of the trail. One of the fastest trails of the trip will lead us through multiple small mountain villages. The whole trail offers stunning views over the main Rhone valley. Due to the tight forest surrounding the trail, the trail-surface is very soft, making for a very fun ride. We will follow multiple traverses along the valley’s side. By traversing to the bottom of the valley we avoid the highly technical and steep trails but rather focus on the flowy and flatter trails. Rather than forcing the rider to push their technical riding skills, these trails allow everyone to enjoy their time on the bike. The trails offer beginners the possibility to expand their capabilities on the bike while they also enable advanced riders to play on their bike. A great variety of lines on the trails allow the rider to make the trail as easy or as hard as they are comfortable riding with.
Description of the Hotel:
The Hotel offers newly renovated double rooms in the iconic swiss wooden paneled style. The large terrace offers great views over the Vispertal and surrounding mountains. The outdoor fireplace and bar are the perfect spot to give the legs some rest after a long day of riding.
Day 6
After tackling a 450m climb, we will reach one of the highest points of our tour. From here you will be able to see multiple 4000m peaks and even the Matterhorn. A very fun single track awaits us, bringing us back into the valley. Again, this single track is fun and easy to ride and will bring a smile to beginners and advanced riders. In the afternoon, we are able to explore the historic old town of Brig. As one of the larger cities in the upper Valais, Brig has numerous historic spots that are worth a visit.
Description of the Hotel:
Tonight we will be staying at a hotel located very centrally in the city center of Brig. Large, modern double rooms, a great breakfast buffet and a bicycle wash facility makes this a great place to recharge and refuel our bodies and bikes before our last two stages.
Day 7
In the morning we will leave Brig, heading further up the valley in direction Aletsch Arena. Today we will cycle along the greatest glacier of the Alps, the Aletsch glacier. In order to get to our nightspot, we will need to tackle 500m of climbing today. However, all of the climbing takes place on gravel roads. The stunning views over the main valley certainly make the climbing more durable. We will not be doing much descending today, since we will spend the night at 2000m and will need to cover a major part of the ascent on our own.
Description of the Hotel:
Located within walking distance of the Unesco World Heritage Aletsch glacier, tonight’s mountain hut is the most remote overnight spots on the trip. An afternoon swim in one of the mountain lakes filled with glacier water and a cold beverage on the terrace make for the perfect scenery to watch the sunset over the Aletsch glacier. The hut offers basic facilities, such a large sleeping rooms for groups and washing facilities, but no showers or wifi. Since we will be staying in a remote spot, we will need to carry everything with us that we might need for an overnight stay. While the hut provides sheets and blankets, you will need to carry your clothes and a warm jacket for the night and the next day with you.
Day 8
On our last day, we get to enjoy the very long descent back into the main Rhone valley. This is the longest descent of the trip. A completely singletrack based descent will take us over fields and through deep forest to the bottom of the valley. While this track includes a number of steep passages, most of the trail is can be ridden by both, beginners and experts. The steeper parts of the trail may be skipped by descending on the near by gravel road. Once at the bottom, we will traverse along the bottoms of the valley back to Brig in order to pick up our luggage.
Difficulty:
Endurance level: 1/4
Technical level: 1/4
Preis : 1590 CHF
Included
- 7 days hotel and mountain hut accommodation
- Luggage transport
- All cable cars
- All van transfers & uplifts
- Local guiding on all tours
- Small groups (max. of 7 riders)
- Access to tools
- Help with setup of bike
- All CO2 emissions during the week are offset in cooperation with myclimate