TRAIL: 10 Days in the Swiss Alps
Photographer Fred Marmsater and riders, Svante Holm, Zephyr Sylvester and Chad Melis, were aiming for experience when they pointed their bikes high into the Swiss Alps and took on ten days of riding between mountain huts across world class singletrack. Here’s a look into their trip. Thanks to Mountain Flier Magazine, Industry 9, Reeb Cycles, and Tourism Switzerland for supporting a high mountain traverse across the Eastern Alps.
"Traversing in and out of German, Austrian and Italian speaking regions during our then day adventure provided a rich cultural experience as diverse as the alpine vistas. Taking advantage of the train and lift we rode singletrack amongst the high alpine and views of snow capped peaks on Mounte Tamaro before dropping 5,500 ft. into Lugano for Italian pizza and beer with views of Lugano lakes." - Chad Melis
"The network of mountain huts, trams, and trains! Being able to put together a trip where you don't need a car and can cover as much ground as we did on our trip is hard to imagine ever being possible in the US! Being able to set out on a multi-day hut to hut adventure through the mountains with just a day pack is phenomenal!" - Zephyr Sylvester
“The views are amazing and idyllic: big glaciers and peaks, and green hillsides dotted with perfect little Alpen villages. It’s also a joy to enjoy riding-friendly infrastructure: Public transit, ie endless guilt-free shuttles, Trains, Trams, Tracks (and mountain huts, espresso, croissants, beers everywhere). But what was truly exceptional and a little unexpected was the quality of the harder and technical riding - so good! I’ll be back.” - Fred Marmsater