La dolce vita is on a moun­tain bike! This tour will sub­merge you in old-world Euro­pean cul­ture and mas­sive moun­tains. Swiss cows will greet you in the ear­ly morn­ing sun, the fresh moun­tain air breath­ing his­to­ry, just as the old vil­lages do.

The exten­sive and well orga­nized infra­struc­ture of Switzer­land allows for easy access to what would oth­er­wise be remote wilder­ness. Our moun­tain bikes, on the oth­er hand, allow us to reach true remote wilder­ness by rid­ing the count­less trails that evolved over hun­dreds of years of West­ern Euro­pean development.

We begin this tour in the beau­ti­ful val­ley of Davos with superb Swiss hos­pi­tal­i­ty, and amaz­ing lift- and train-accessed sin­gle­track in a region that bursts with out­door enthu­si­asm. Next, we’ll ride into Flow Coun­try, the back­yard and home­town of moun­tain bik­ing leg­end Hans Rey. Smiles all around as we ride the end­less stretch­es of flow trails in the land of “Lit­tle Tibet”, named for its remote val­leys and land­scapes splashed with a rain­bow of colour.

While in the Ital­ian Alps near the Swiss bor­der, you’ll enjoy beau­ti­ful glac­i­er views, the spec­tac­u­lar Bern­i­na Express, and the dynam­ic town of Livi­g­no, with fist-pump­ing nightlife and mouth­wa­ter­ing fine din­ing. After a day of bik­ing, treat your­self at one of the old­est spa com­plex­es of Europe. Rel­ish the val­ley views from the puri­fy­ing hot min­er­al water of Medieval bath-house archi­tec­ture. A good night of rest at one of the high­est pass­es of the Alps will be a scenic expe­ri­ence you’ll nev­er for­get. Rolling into the final val­ley, a mix of cas­tles, medieval vil­lages, and fruit yards are all part of the play­ground we’ll explore while shred­ding the immac­u­late trails this for­mer Aus­tri­an region in Italy has to offer.

This trip is for expe­ri­enced, fit and tech­ni­cal­ly strong rid­ers only. Be sure to review our Skill and Fit­ness Rat­ing System for a bet­ter under­stand­ing of what to expect.

Is This Ride For You?

This ride is for you if you are an Advanced Lev­el Rid­er, with the fit­ness to con­quer some big days of ped­al­ing mul­ti­ple days in a row. Rid­ing trails with expo­sure does not both­er you. You enjoy all-moun­tain style rid­ing, and have the skills to play. Climb­ing is lim­it­ed on this trip, but when we do, it’s a steep one! You are super com­fort­able on your bike and are not scared to let go of the brakes or roll down 2 foot drops. You love to ride sin­gle­track and you’re up for adven­ture with a few crea­ture com­forts: a post-ride hot tub soak, a gor­geous lodge to come home to after an epic ride, and a chilled beer. You would­n’t pass the oppor­tu­ni­ty for a shut­tle or lift up for an epic descent.

Itinerary

DAY 1. Arrive in Zurich

Wel­come to Switzerland!

Your guide will meet you at the Zürich Air­port and dri­ve the group to an authen­tic Swiss hotel with a rooftop sauna, just out­side the main val­ley of Davos.

We’ll take the time this after­noon to build our bikes and go for a warm-up ride. 

Tonight, we’ll enjoy a clas­sic Swiss raclette for din­ner and review the excit­ing itin­er­ary ahead.

DAY 2.  Get­ting Down and Dirty in Davos

After a good night sleep and a hearty break­fast, we’ll ride from the hotel down to catch a lift for some stun­ning views.

We’ll use some of the high-tech train and lift sys­tems that char­ac­ter­ize the Swiss pub­lic trans­port. The Swiss trans­port sys­tem gives us easy access to impres­sive alpine ter­rain and the best of the exten­sive Davos trail network.

At lunch, we’ll keep our eyes and ears peeled for a yodel­ling local.

We’ll top the day off with a few cold micro­brews near the Mon­stein Brew­er, Europe’s high­est alpine brewery.

DAY 3. Adiós Davos, Hel­lo Flow in Livigno

With a cou­ple of days of Euro­pean trails under our belt, we’ll step it up today and ses­sion some more chal­leng­ing sin­gle­track of the region.

We’ll fuel up at a local restau­rant near the lake of Davos, before dri­ving to Livi­g­no and spend­ing the late after­noon on the ridicu­lous­ly-fun trails around Livi­g­no, also known as “Flow Country”.

Now you’ll under­stand why Hans Rey made this val­ley his home­town for many many years.

DAY 4. Unesco Train and the Best of Two Worlds

After a hearty break­fast, we’ll be picked up ear­ly from our hotel.

Start­ing from a moun­tain pass, we’ll ped­al up to a remote lake sur­round­ed by stun­ning alpine scenery, before being reward­ed with an epic sin­gle­track descent into Italy while enjoy­ing views of lakes, glac­i­ers and high alpine peaks.

A fine Ital­ian lunch will be wait­ing for us in a beau­ti­ful his­toric Swiss moun­tain village.

From the bot­tom of the val­ley, we’ll take the Unesco Her­itage train back up to the Bern­i­na Pass.

We’ll either shut­tle or ped­al back to the pass where we start­ed and roll back into the longest, most pic­turesque shop­ping street of Livigno.

Day 5. Smug­gler’s Trails in the Remote Val­leys of “Lit­tle Tibet”

Today, we’ll show you why the region is called “Lit­tle Tibet”.

Straight from town, we’ll explore some of the sweet­est trails of the Livi­g­no region, most­ly cre­at­ed by cen­turies of trudg­ing and smuggling.

Today’s rid­ing will come with or with­out lift assis­tance, depend­ing on how the group is feeling.

After the thrills of the after­noon, we can stop at one of the old­est spas in Europe, an expe­ri­ence you don’t want to miss!

Tonight, we’ll sleep at a moun­tain pass in a cir­cu­lar moun­tain lodge just off of what’s been ranked the “great­est dri­ve in the world”.

Day 6. Rid­ing “Gold­seeweg” in Stelvio Nation­al Park

We’ll awake to the fresh moun­tain air and stun­ning morn­ing glow of the Ortler Moun­tains, while we sip fresh brewed cof­fee and enjoy breakfast.

Today’s ride is worth get­ting stoked on.

We’ll expe­ri­ence a spec­tac­u­lar descent from the moun­tain pass all the way down to the small his­toric towns of Stil­fs and Prad, the gate­way to the Val­ley of Venosta.

We’ll have a pit stop at the best gela­te­ria of the val­ley for a quick bite to eat.

A lit­tle his­to­ry is on tap for the after­noon with a vis­it to a beau­ti­ful medieval cas­tle with one of the largest armoury col­lec­tions in the world.

We’ll spend the night in an unex­pect­ed relaxed trop­i­cal set­ting, with authen­tic Tyrolean cui­sine on the menu for tonight!

Day 7. Vin­schgau, His­toric Cas­tles, and the Best of the Val­ley of the Sun

We’ve saved the best for last!

After a gar­den side break­fast with moun­tain views, we’ll hop in the van to dri­ve to a chal­leng­ing hike-a-bike.  No need for grum­bling, as we’ll be reward­ed with breath­tak­ing views of fruit yards below and snow-capped moun­tain tops above, while shred­ding the best trails back into Goldrain.

Goldrain is a vil­lage named after the 300 days of sun­shine in the valley.

Thanks to a col­lab­o­ra­tion with the local nation­al park rangers and local trail builders, the pur­pose-built trails will blow you away, as will the medieval cas­tles that we’ll pass along the way.

Back at the hotel, we’ll chill out with a cold bev­er­age and share our most impres­sive expe­ri­ences of this amaz­ing week of riding. 

Day 8. Final Goodbyes

After a good night sleep, we’ll hit the road ear­ly in the morn­ing to get the group back to Zürich Airport.

The fol­low­ing data rep­re­sents a typ­i­cal itin­er­ary, but adven­ture trav­el can be unpre­dictable and our Guides may need to make last-minute changes to ensure your enjoy­ment. Inclement weath­er, road clo­sures, changes to the itin­er­ary to accom­mo­date requests, and oth­er issues may affect the itin­er­ary. The ride data rep­re­sents an ‘aver­age’ itin­er­ary, and may dif­fer when you actu­al­ly show up to ride. Our guides make every effort to stick to the itin­er­ary as post­ed, but your safe­ty is our #1 priority.

Ride Data: Alpen Thrills Mountain Bike Adventure

Day Hours of rid­ing Dis­tance rid­den Ele­va­tion gained Ele­va­tion lost High­est ele­va­tion
1 2 18 250 500
2 4 33 750 2500
3 4 28 450 1650
4 4 33 250 1600
5 4 25 600 600
6 4 33 250 1900
7 4 33 1100 1900
8 0 0 0 0
Totals 26 HRS

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Dates chosen: Dec. 31, 1969—Dec. 31, 1969
Skill Rating: Black Diamond
Fitness Rating: Black Diamond
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Skill Levels
Black Diamond

The Black Diamond Rides are  suitable for riders looking for that edge. Maybe it’s the edge of a drop, the edge of a cliff, or singletrack requiring focus and fast reactions developed from extensive experience riding “the edge”. You will find yourself on steep trails of varied surfaces. In the Pacific North West that could be slick roots and loam, in Nepal you will find exposed granite in the Mustang Valley and in Guatemala it maybe narrow stairways through cliffside villages. While airtime is rarely required, the ability to find the backside or clean a tabletop should be comfortable or in a state of progress. Obstacles on Black rides are likely to be outside the range of your bikes ability to cover your goofs with its awesome suspension and grip.

Blue Square

In general, Blue trails are narrower than green trails, encounter unavoidable obstacles such as roots, rocks, and drops that are up to 8-inches tall. You will want to have a solid understanding of the fundamentals of mountain biking including body positions, powerful braking, cornering, riding on varied terrain, steep sections and experience riding trails that requires line choice. Airtime is not mandatory, but you will find yourself on trails with alternate lines giving you the option.

Double Black Diamond

A Double Black ride is for those that already know they are looking for a Double Black. It’s going to be very hard and require advanced bike handling skills. You will find yourself on trails with sections most non-riders would look at and say, “that’s totally nuts!”. You will know how to look at a line and contemplate where it will work and where it won’t. Drops of a couple feet should be comfortable and getting your bike off the ground should feel predictable and fun.

Green Circle

Typically, green Rides are safe for beginners. Green Rides may have both avoidable and unavoidable obstacles. Trails are generally low grade, wide, consistent surface texture and have minimal features. You are likely to come across unavoidable obstacles 2-inches or shorter, which is small enough for mountain bike tires to simply roll over. More challenging than tarmac, but in general, a wonderful Ride for those riders new to mountain biking or looking for a casual experience.

Fitness Levels
Black Diamond

A Black Fitness ride will test you. Aside from needing to be able to manage up to 6 hours on the bike, day after day, including distance up to 50km/30miles and elevation gains up to 1750m/5000feet of climbing, you will be adding extra challenges along the route like periods of hike-a-bike and the extra effort required by the whole body to safely dance with your bike over technical terrain. Generally, riders who are up for a Black Fitness ride, likely spend time on the bike a couple times each week.

Blue Square

Blue should be considered a good deal more effort than our Green Rides.  You should be able to handle 3 to 5 hours in the saddle covering up to 45km/30miles and be able to pull off a big day of 1000m/3000feet of elevation gain. Managing fuel is important as well.  You should have a good understanding how your body responds to multiple days on the bike. We will help with positive coaching, a manageable pace and plenty of trailside snacks.

Double Black Diamond

A Double Black will be for those with the strength and endurance to get to the top of anything they want and understand the term “turning the screw”. Distance could be quite high on some routes and elevation gain numbers could hit 2000m/6000 feet+ in a day. You are likely riding multiple days a week during the dry periods and have a trainer or belong to a gym for the rest of the year.

Green Circle

You should be ready to spend 2-4 hours per day on the bike. Mileage may be up to 30km/20 miles and elevation gain will be under 500m/1500feet. On e-MTB tours, numbers will be higher, however the approximate effort would be considered similar to a standard Green Circle ride. If you get on your bike once a week, you will be just fine. However, when preparing for a Ride, you will benefit from more rides and time in the saddle.