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Tschuggen trail

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Brämabüel – Clavadeler Alp and Jakobshorn Flowtrail

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1st section Alps Epic Trail

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Gotschnagrat

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Höhenweg – Klosters

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Weissfluhgipfel Trail

panorama
driving skills
endurance

What did I think as Daniel and his wife were on honeymoon and a friend asked me to go mountain biking in Davos, Switzerland? – I thought: mountains, great views and nice trails – YES I´m in!

The only thing I had to do was to find more friends to join, in order to occupy the empty seats in the car. That´s is how a very spontaneous bike & road trip to Davos began! And really sorry there is no cool video today 😉

This time my friend Sebastian did “the planning” before asking me. He has some friends in Switzerland: one who rents apartments and another one (Marcel) who works at bike-academy as a mechanic and bike instructor. Fortunately Marcel had the weekend off and offered to show us the trails around Davos! My job was to find more bikers to join for the trip to Davos, buy drinks and supply for the weekend. Easy!

Even though we didn´t do too much planning you will find everything you need in this article.

Ok, I had some more planning to do: Two week before the trip a branch ruined my rear derailleur, rear wheel and broke the derailleur hanger out of the frame. It was a hassle trying to get all the parts replaced, especially the rear swing arm of the frame. But Bernd from Nobelhobel helped me getting all the parts and fixing it before we drove off to Davos – thank you Bernd! 😉

Best travel time for mountain biking in the swiss canton Graubünden is between May and the middle of September. Hence the end of September was a bit of a gamble. But I was lucky and the weather was really nice! After September you usually get snow on the top of the mountains and the weather can change rapidly!

Getting there by plane is pretty difficult. The nearest airports are Zürich (CH), Stuttgart (D) and Munich (D). From there you have to take the train or a car to reach Davos. Depending on where you start you may have to change train quite often. Going by car is definitely the easiest way.

Remember you have to get a motorway sticker (highway toll) in Switzerland BEFORE entering. Don´t forget – otherwise it takes way more time and money until you ever reach Davos.

You can find a lot of accommodation on airbnb or hotels on other platforms. The price ranges from budget accommodation (about 25€/p.P. per night) to more luxurious places (100€/p.P. per night). It is up to you whether you need a fully equipped gym and spa or a comfortable bed is all you need.

As mentioned we rented an apartment near down town from a friend. The interior was coming with a fully equipped kitchen and the design was held in the styles of the 70s. Everything was clean and there was even a pool. We should have brought our swimming trunks. For four people over two nights the size of the apartment was good. For a longer stay maybe a bigger apartment is better.

If you need a contact feel free to give us a shout.

Yeah, well – that is a thing in Switzerland. If you speak German, French or English you should be fine in Davos. When they speak German theay tend to put an “i” at the end of every second word, what makes it sound really cute (I know German and cute is a contradiction in itself).

The language Swiss German is spoken in all parts of Switzerland and developed in the 1960s to distinguish from the Germans. In the 1980s together with the radio and TV the Swiss German become more and more popular in Switzerland. Swiss German is has influences from French and Italian, depending on the canton you go in Switzerland.

Similar to Norway everything in Switzerland is far more expensive than in the rest of Europe. Hence, we brought most of our supply for breakfast and dinner from Germany. If you don´t import your own food there are plenty of supermarkets. Usually the open from 9 AM -10 PM seven days a week. You are not going to starve in Davos 😉

We recommend taking a rest at the restaurants on the top of the mountains or in the valley during your bike trips. You will enjoy great meals combined with stunning views over the mountains. But remember to bring enough cash (it is expensive)!

During two amazing days biking in Davos, we enjoyed beautiful landscape, alpine regions, forest and wide open areas. The range of tracks from flowy to technical was extraordinary and we hope to inspire you with our description below:

Day 1:

Track 1: We took a bus from “Davos Dorf” up the “Flüelapassstrasse”. From there we had to follow the road until we reached the river “Inn” in the next valley. After a few kilometers we arrived at the first trail head. This track was perfect for starting the day – not being too difficult, with a very nice rythm and escorted by the creek “Flüelbach”. As the track is a famous hiking trail we had to bike carefully. After a few wider track sections we finally arrived at “Chalet Velo”. We purchased snacks and thought about improving our technical skills on the pump track or the small bike park, but decided to save our energy for the next tracks.

Track 2: After going up to the Jakobshorn by cableway and a few meters cycling on gravel road we turned onto the next track. It started with very challenging short and steep turns – eyes on the track! Luckily, the last section rewarded us with a beautiful view on the wide open landscape and much easier biking.

Track 3: Again we went up the Jakobshorn by cableway. Our goal: biking the first part of the “Alps Epic Trail“. The whole Alps Epic Trail is about 35km long with almost 80% singletracks! It all started with pedaling to the trail head on gravel road. After entering the Alps Epic we found ourselves on an uphill that changed quickly into an incredibly flowy downhill. Fast curves and almost no pedaling staying on the same contour line made this track really awesome to ride. We left the Alps Epic at the “Sertigerstrasse” and rolled down the road very happy. A perfect first day in Davos!

Day 2:

Track 1: Early in the morning we took the “Parsennbahn 1” half way up. As we exited the gondola we found ourselves in dense fog with visibility below 20 meters. Despite the bad conditions we decided to give it a go. We managed biking down the slippery track and tough switchbacks with fogged up googles. After many turns mixed with flowy sections the poor conditions got a bit better and we enjoyed the ride through the forest down to “Davos See”. We crossed the road and made our way down to “Klosters” on hiking trails and narrow paths.

Davos

Track 2: From “Klosters” we realxed on our way up with the “Gotschnabahn” to the peak at 2,250 m. Right after a quick lunch we got onto a natural single track down to Davos. The first part of the ride was slippery and extremely muddy. It was hard to control the bike and stay on track. After only a few meters the ground filled with gravel and rocks and got much easier to bike. For mountain bike beginners we recommend to be careful and get off the bike at some spots that we would declare as no fall zones. But don´t worry you can also enjoy the stunning view carrying your bike!

Following the track into a forest it lead us directly to the “Davos See” the perfect place for a refresh in the lake – if it was only summer!

Next time we hope for better weather conditions and may even check out the bike park in “Klosters” as well 😉

Davos

Track 3: Our last ride of day 2 started at the top of the “Parsennbahn 2” at the Weisflujoch at 2,600 m. Going down the ski-slope we crossed over to the other side of the Weisflujoch and the Schiahorn for the Strelapass. From here the trail went up and down (but mostly uphill) passing a small mountain lake. We reached the “Chörbschhornhütte” for a first rest. Luckily we brought our own lunch as the cabin is not serviced. It was a good idea taking a long break before we started for the 6 km downhill track. The trails begins rocky and technical with steep sections interrupted by amazingly  flowy parts. Approximately half-way down we got into the rythm of a smooth track joined by a few rocks and natural jumps. Thereafter, the track gets pretty curvy and fast so both our hands and brakes had to work hard. Before we arrived in the valley we slowly biked through a forest looking for a tooth one of our buddies lost a while ago. Send us a message when you find it 😉

Day 3:

Before we headed back to Hamburg, Sebastian took us up the”Flüelapassstrasse”. Three of us biked the first track of day 1 again. Still remembering the tricky sections we had a lot of fun speeding down the track. A superb conclusion for the weekend in Davos.

And now stop reading and get take your bike on the tracks in Davos!

Cheese fondue tastes amazing after a long day on the bike!

Bring a good Enduro bike to Davos and the tracks are thrilling. As most of the paths are natural hiking trails, cycling can be very exhausting, especially climbs up to 2,500 m – you would die with a Downhill bike 😉

Trail-tolerance works great in Davos. Hikers and mountain bikers get along pretty well – please respect and help supporting it stays that way.

Don’t crash your bike at home before going on a mountain bike trip! Well maybe crashing is always a bad thing, but it really sucks right before bike holidays.

All costs per person:

Fuel (Hamburg to Davos): 35,- €

Accommodation incl. Davos-card and tourist tax: 63,80,- €

Bus-ticket in Davos: 8,80,- €/tour

Lift pass for the bike: 8,80,- €/day/bike

Food: ~20,- €/day

Total: ~165,- €

It was a great and spontaneous short trip to Davos we can highly recommend. Let´s try to sum up some advices and highlight for you:

  • The area gives you the chance to choose from bike parks with tables, jumps or drops and almost natural trails for both hikers and bikers.
  • Davos offers a perfect range from easy to hard and short to long tracks gives you the opportunity to tailor your own bike experience. The “Alps Epic Trail” is about 35 km with almost every meter going on singletracks.
  • You can chosse from biking up every mountain or going by bus and lift.
  • An Enduro or All-mountain bike is the best choice. Bringing a Downhill bike will eat up all your energy pedalling the uphills inbetween and during the tracks.
  • Many locals bike around Davos. Therefore, feel free to ask the friendly people for advice and the best tracks.

Special thanks to Marcel (a friend of Sebastian) from bike-academy for guiding us in Davos!

Please leave a comment for us and feel free to ask us for assistance planning your own trip to Davos.

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