Joe Barnes joins our man Pete for a week-long extravaganza exploring the very best that the Lenzerheide area has to offer the discerning rider.
You will no doubt be familiar with Lenzerheide from its long-standing World Cup stop. Beyond that particular circus isa seemingly endless opportunity to explore the Swiss Alps with a well-oiled lift system and generous access initiatives.
Words and photos by Pete Scullion.
Sat at the foot of the Rothorn that hosts the Lenzerheide round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, the Hotel Revier is the ideal place to start a day of riding in the Bike Kingdom. Whether you’re smashing laps of the flow trails, riding the downhill track or going further afield, the Hotel Revier is the best place to start and finish the day.
After an airport transfer and a quick sleep, Joe Barnes gets his HB.916 tuned up in the bike stand-equipped bike room at Hotel Revier. The hotel would be our base for the week and sit conveniently next to the Rothornbahn, both the main lift in Lenzerheide and where the post bus drops you before heading back down to Chur.
All the bedrooms overlook Igl Lai across to Piz Scolatas, where there’s plenty more trails to choose from. Whether it’s catching some shuteye or doing a bit of admin, the rooms have cracking views and all the mod cons. There’s few comfier beds that I have slept in too.
Once at the top of the Rothornbahn, try to make sense of the myriad of trail options as the lack of oxygen at 2865m (9400ft) gets the head swimming. Dark Side of the Moon would be our port of call but, unless explicitly told otherwise, every trail marked here in the Bike Kingdom can be ridden on a bike under the Swiss Fairtrail initiative.
From this vantage point and nestled in the heart of the Alps, the summer layers offer quite the vista. Mountains after mountains scrape the heavens in all directions as far as the eye can see. What’s not to like?
Not content with enjoying the layers? Peer across the valley to the Fulhorn and Statzerhorn while you try to work out what’s snow and what’s bright white limestone in the late summer sun as you try to get used to the lack of air.
Keeping up with Joe Barnes is never easy, but add the altitude to that and he soon disappeared into the moonscape that is the Rothorn’s north eastern flank along Dark Side of the Moon. This trail gives you back every ounce you put in.
We might be in the Bike Kingdom but Joe deploys all the body English to put more daylight between us with the mighty Weisshorn providing the backdrop. You definitely wouldn’t want to overcook this corner. There was a fair plunge beyond its limits, and even the exit was cut into the rock face on the exit. Precision was key.
At the Gredigs Furggli you have a choice, ride the Alpliseetrail down to Innerosa and enjoy several kilometres of the most pristine mountain singletrack before taking a myriad of options back to the hotel. The other option is to turn left back towards Lenzerheide and tackle the black-graded Great White or the turn-infested red run of Motta Express.
Not only is the Motta Express awash with turns, it’s also well-stocked with the largest member of the squirrel family. As they hibernate in winter, you will only find Alpine marmots once the snow has abated. Often found shouting ‘ALAN!’ at each other, without any real reason.
One of the best things you can ride in the Bike Kingdom, in our opinion, is the Parpan One Way Trail. A short hop from the lower Rothornbahn is the black-graded Parpan One Way. Deceptively long, this trail made us feel right at home. Plenty of slalom turns in the open, drop you into cool, dark, rocky woods before popping into the pasture for good measure. We could lap this all day.
Where my wheels were well and truly on the ground, Joe finds a way to smooth things out just before a hairpin turn. You know fine well if your suspension is well set up as the rocks made themselves felt.
Wish you were here?
With Joe flying Swiss International Air Lines into Zurich for this trip, he’s keen to top up the air miles and wastes no time in getting air time wherever it was an option. Over 2000m, snow can happen at any time of year, the previous day’s winter deluge melts away under a late summer sun.
Trees, wonderful trees… At home, you just can’t find trees of this size at any serious altitude. The Bike Kingdom does trees differently. These mighty firs have grown old and tall at the 2000m mark. Rather than offering darkness and a lack of traction like conifers of British shores, here they offer shade and some serious chunk to the trail. Just in case the rocks were not enough.
Beyond the high alpine and its thin air or knife edge ridges, this is what screams Swiss Alps to me. You’re in the woods, but you’re also not. Plenty of singletrack gold with those postcard views, but also plenty of root and shade offered by towering firs.
As the hands begin to sting, the firs thicken and the shade takes over. The overnight rain has yet to evaporate. Rock and root become that bit more treacherous and off the main line, things get slick. A little bit of echolocation required as the bright light of the open hill gives way to cool darkness.
Once out of the woods, a short roll down the road later and we’re back at HQ. Time to wash the bikes at the hotel bike wash, head back to the rooms and get ready for dinner. After a long day on the hill, it’s the perfect way to recharge the batteries.
On the rare occasion that you might need to wash the mud off your bike, or more likely, get the worst of the dust off, Hotel Revier has free-to-use hoses right out the front of the hotel. If you’re not used to the heat, then you can turn them on yourself.
Mid-week, the secure bike storage at the hotel had our bikes and nothing else, by Friday night, the place was jammed. Joe nabs the final spot for his Hope HB.916, ready for another lap tomorrow.
Hotel Revier’s restaurant puts on a fine spread. Not much beats salmon or a hefty pork chop, plus the trimmings, washed down with a home-made iced tea. We’d opt to go mains and dessert but there’s plenty of options for starters.
If the contemporary fare of Hotel Revier isn’t for you, then you can go for some more traditional Swiss food, the Hotel Lenzerhorn in Lenzerheide proper has got you covered. Whilst I would opt for a banging chanterelle tagliatelle, Joe would opt to wade his way through a gallon or so of molten cheese. This would lead to some cheesy dreams indeed.
