It doesn't always have to be a lift. The participants of the first BIKE Women Camp in Davos Klosters were astonished when they were asked to gather in the hotel lobby for dinner on the first day. There were no tables set for them in the hotel's own restaurant - there were four horse-drawn carriages outside the door. To get them in the mood and get to know each other, they first went to an original Bünden country inn. That's the beauty of this spot, which is located in the middle of the mountains of the Swiss canton of Graubünden: city and alpine country life are just a stone's throw away from each other here. Or a leisurely 30-minute carriage ride.
BIKE Women Camp: Off to the 700-kilometre trail network above the city
The cable cars, which are used in the Davos Klosters region like commuter trains, are of course much faster. With the difference to other European cities: When the doors open at the terminus here, the summit panorama beams out at you. And our camp participants were beaming back at half past nine the next morning. The Parsenn funicular railway whisked them up to an altitude of 2844 metres in just a few minutes and released them into the magnificent view from the Weißfluhjoch. From up here, you can see the entire Davos trail arena: a 700-kilometre network of trails stretching across the alpine mountain flanks, which is maintained and cared for by the Davos trail crew. Jakobshorn and Rinerhorn, for example, await directly opposite. Two peaks over which the IMBA-awarded Alps Epic Trail meanders for almost 40 kilometres. The famous Scaletta Pass towers diagonally behind it with the Engadin on its back - an epic multi-day challenge for lactate-experienced climbers. Or the flow trails on the left, which meander in gentle bends towards Klosters.
However, our campers were to get to know a different trail personality on the first day: the Chörbschhorn Trail. The bumpiness of the name says it all. After a short, promising descent towards Davos, you soon follow the trail uphill. It's still nice to ride, the view is stable, but soon you can no longer ignore your own pulse. 350 metres in altitude add up on this high-altitude trail, which winds up and down over the mountain ridges towards the south. At the end, you even have to push a little because the ground is too rough and the gradient too steep. But the effort does not go unrewarded. After all, there are reasons why thousands of mountain bikers from all over the world travel to Davos every year and take on these extra metres of altitude that are typical of Davos. And all participants realise this when they finally reach the small Chörbschhorn hut and look down on the trail that winds its way down into the valley from here.
Harmoniously composed into the mountain flank, winding down the ridge in small hairpin bends, sweeping over the next terrain step, sometimes finely pebbled, then again tiled with coarse rock slabs - a truly epic nature trail experience that lasts over 1500 metres in depth.
Cross-country star Sina Frei gives tips over dinner
Of course, stops are made along the way at key points and riding technique is honed. Some of the advice that the participants received the evening before from Word Cup racer Sina Frei also helps. The silver medallist at the 2021 Olympic Games had travelled to Davos especially to talk about her life in cross-country racing. She gave tips on training and mental strength in tricky terrain and answered even the most probing questions throughout the evening. She would have loved to go on tour with us the next day, but unfortunately her tight race schedule didn't allow it.
BIKE Women Camp: Wellness - but a full programme please
The hotel also proved to be absolutely suitable for the BIKE Women Camp: do you dare go past the reception of a four-star hotel after a long day's ride, dirty, dusty and sweaty? At the Hotel Ameron, yes. You can even push your dirty bike into the lift and ride it up to your room. Afterwards, the participants had two hours to enjoy the hotel's wellness area: the sun loungers on the sun terrace, the large pool for a few extra laps in the water, the sauna area and/or the massage table of the physiotherapist who had been specially assigned for us. However, most of us opted for a Bitburger 0.0 first to wash the trail dust out of our throats and then rolled out our yoga mats for an hour. Afterwards, we met again for an aperitif before the multi-course evening meal was served.
But there was also a bit of work in Davos: Abus had provided helmets for testing and Camelbak its latest rucksacks. The advantages and suggestions for improvement were hotly debated during the tours and over dinner in the evening.
At the end of the BIKE Women Camp, everyone agreed: you can't get more trail wellness programme in four days. Many thanks for taking part, dear campers. See you next year!
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
