So this video popped up yesterday
And made me want to go there. Turns out it’s Lenzerheide in Switzerland.
Has anyone been and what’s it like to spend a week there or in the area? I’ve found that there’s the bike park but also longer flowing descents looks appealing.
It says it’s open until October 24th but presumably it’s likely to be covered in snow so one for next year. (Unless anyone knows any different?)
Madeira is a more sensible option for October, is Freeride Madeira the company of choice or anyone else worth looking at? Ideally we want uplift wherever we go as we want a reasonably relaxing holiday.m with 3 or 4 days riding in the week. Probably want to hire bikes to save the hassle of boxing ours up.
Is there anywhere else easily accessible? Not against driving but I think most places within reasonable driving distance will be getting a bit cold / wet / snowy by mid October.
Cheers 😁
Edit: I thought I could make Instagram videos show on here, but alas no?
We were there for the World Cup DH and XC weekend... its ace. Riding both sides of the area, uplift is available and if you go down to Chur the service bus has racks on the back to bring you back up.
Supermarket in town but nothing there is cheap. We car camped at the Fadail ski area but I think its closed now pre-ski season.
I’ve posted about Lenzerheide before - if you like miles and miles of technical as you like singletrack descending thousands of meters in one go, it’s simply unbelievable.
https://www.bikekingdom.ch/en#discover
Lenzerheide itself has tons, but then you can expand to just about the whole of the graubunden area (Davos, St. Moritz etc).
The bike park is good, but if you want to thrash DH runs PdS is still better. For a staggering amount of incredible natural lift-assisted riding, Lenzerheide and Graubunden area just cannot be beat.
I could rant about it for days, and we’ll be going next year. Yes, not cheap.
However, we’ve had aborted trips in both May and October due to weather quite often for this area. It’s high, so there is a bit of a risk.
Do both: Lenzerheide in summer and Madeira in winter. I wouldn't look beyond Freeride Madeira, they're a great outfit, who'll take you to the best trails all over the island. Their hire bikes are good quality (Scott Ransoms last year), so no need to take your own.
Yeah agree with the above.
Other places worth a visit
-finale ligure
- bubion in southern spain with switchbacks
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I'd second the comments about Lenzerheide and Davos. Great locations, more my type of riding than PdS and the lifts stay open longer. I've been there early in the season, and the top lift on the east side was closed because of snow, and late in the year when the same issues can arise. But generally the weather is good through September.
Eating out is expensive, it's Switzerland. But accommodation isnt especially so. We've camped and AirBnB'd. Both Lenzerheide and Davos felt pretty dead in late Sep / Oct, so depends how you feel about apres. Things are probably livelier in Chur, which is a pretty big town.
Lifts were quite pricy in Lenz, but cheap in Davos if you get the tourist card. I think you pay about 10 CHF per day to upgrade from walking to bike lift access. Davos also has a bus bike shuttle service that can get you up to some no-lift assisted areas.
You're also close to Livigno if you are in the area, which is a cheaper alternative, but a bit more bike parky unless you get a local guide to show you around with transport.
I really need to venture further afield than Morzine/Les Gets in the summer. The trouble is getting my riding mates to break the habit.
I'm thinking of doing a week on my own somewhere in January or February. I did Switchbacks in 2013 and have wanted to go back ever since. But, since I'm currently looking at 9 years between winter riding trips, I should take the opportunity to try something new.
Madeira looks mint.
Thanks all, some good info.
Madeira is looking the favourite for October, just trying to suss out what the riding is actually like / what level.
Finale Ligure looks ace too, bit too far for us to drive this time but on the list for next summer.
Finale & Lenzerheide we’d take the camper and stay in that so would have our own bikes. I’ll check out places to stay.
First falls of snow at the higher levels in Verbier and Nendaz today. So yes things might be open, but you are taking chances. Though i have been in the alps and seen inches of snow in mid August.
