Trans-Ticino: Legendary enduro trails across Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano and Lake Como
Text: Markus Emprechtinger
Everyone wants to climb the Großglockner - as a guide, this can sometimes be really gruelling. You can talk your head off about how the peaks right next to it are not only lonelier, but also usually much more beautiful. Nevertheless, everyone is drawn to where the others already are. It's the same with this enduro tour: "Well, I've heard of Ticino, but do you also have a tour on Lake Garda?" That's why 80 per cent of my Ticino tour is usually with regular guests. At some point, they were persuaded to do a Trans-Provence and have been riding the entire enduro programme ever since.
This is also an advantage for me because I already know the riding technique skills of known participants and can better assess the group as a whole. I also already know who will be late in the morning, who will get hungry when and who would rather stay on the shuttle bus in the rain. Relaxed guiding, you might think, but it's not quite that simple. In fact, the Trans-Ticino is one of the bigger challenges for a guide, as there are many key organisational issues lurking: the days in the saddle on the tour are long and the shuttle roads are sometimes very narrow. There are push sections and exposed trails that look a little different every year, which in turn leads to late lunch breaks. It can all run smoothly - but it doesn't have to. If there's a hitch in just one section, you have to juggle quite a bit as a guide. Just like on one of our last Ticino tours between Lake Maggiore and Lake Como.
Day 1 - Can everyone ride the trails?
Thank goodness there's no traffic jam action at the Brenner Pass this time, we take the A13 motorway from Innsbruck heading west. Destination: Lumino, a small town just before Locarno on Lake Maggiore. Just under five hours, says the sat nav. That's good, because the first 1000 metres of singletrack descent are planned for today and we have to catch the last ascent of the small gondola in Lumino. Like every year, I'm praying that it's still running at all. "Where is there supposed to be a gondola here?" I promptly hear a participant with a window seat murmur on the home stretch. My heart sinks for a moment. The valley station of the cable car actually looks a bit more like an abandoned garage than usual today. But there's a sign with a telephone number on the gate - phew, and someone even answers it.
Less than five minutes later, a man hurries across the car park to start the cable car for us. There is only room for three bikers per gondola. And as there is only one gondola, we need three rides. The participants first, of course: I already know five of the seven from other tours, Simon and Helene are new. On the phone before booking, they sounded like experienced enduro riders, but when they handed me their bikes on the shuttle trailer in Innsbruck, I wasn't so sure. Solid bikes, but lower suspension travel class and thin-walled tyre carcasses - in the worst case scenario, this could mean that I would have to change the route on site. But the first descent will show how difficult or easy the two of them will be for the rest of the week.
I can breathe a sigh of relief: Simon is totally confident on the bike. Helene, on the other hand, is not the fastest, but steers very solidly through the terrain. I often have to worry more about the faster ones. One thing is clear: all participants can and will have fun on the planned trails. We then have a cool drink on the shuttle bus downstairs before heading to the hotel in Locarno, looking forward to the week ahead.
We will check in here for two nights. That's unusual for a stage tour, but guests for just one night aren't particularly popular in Swiss hotels either. I don't know how many hours of office work it takes each time to organise the overnight stays for a stage tour. In this case, the hotelier was able to negotiate down from one week to two nights.
Over dinner, I tell them about the trails we will be riding over the next few days and, just to be on the safe side, announce one or two push sections. Experience shows that 75 per cent of the group will have forgotten this information by tomorrow, but my conscience is relieved. I don't want anyone to be able to say they didn't know about the strenuous climb.
Day 2 - worrying about the shuttle driver
The day begins with a shuttle ride on a narrow mountain road. In some places, you have to be lucky that nobody is coming the other way. Otherwise it gets tedious. It's simply not possible to reverse too far with the trailer, especially when there's nothing but steep terrain at the side of the road. When we reach the top, we get out and the shuttle driver goes through the whole thing again. All alone now. I just hope I don't get a call in the next few hours telling me he's stuck somewhere. Adventurous situations do happen from time to time, but so far everything has turned out well.
All ready to go? No, of course not. One bike is already upside down again. "Is there a problem?" René shakes his head: he just wants to change the brake pads quickly. Proof once again that our regular guests like to ignore the participant information. I watch René for five minutes, then it takes me too long: Let me see... The brake is overfilled and without opening the bleed screw, the pads cannot be pressed back in. The new brake pads then have to be braked in quickly. René is pleased: "I know why I don't bring my bike in for a service - I can get it for free here!" I take it with humour. But now let's follow the others. They should ride ahead and wait for us at the first big photo spot.
The rest of the day runs like clockwork. Also because the weather plays along: The view of the lake is superb, the roots and the stony hairpin bends are easy to grip. We only stop to fiddle with key sections and take photos. At the top of the Cimetta, things get exciting again: the trail ends with 300 metres of downhill steps. During a break to shake out my arms, I ponder aloud whether it would be better to roll down the road next time instead of this rumble. "No way!" Wolfgang interjects. "I thought it was rubbish at first too. But when you see how absurdly long this stair descent is, it actually gets better with every metre." And that's the topic of conversation for the after-bike beer.
Day 3 - Stress factor weather
By this time, I'm already plagued by new problems: the weather forecast. Heavy thunderstorms are forecast from midday tomorrow. So an early start, of course. But unfortunately we can't leave as early as we need to because we have to use the gondola on Monte Tamaro and then there's the remaining ascent to the summit. A pushing passage...
"Okay, no dawdling today, otherwise we'll have to abandon this stage," I explain to the group the next morning in the first gondola up to the Tamaro. The message is right. Everyone reaches the summit earlier than expected. The clouds are gathering around us, but according to the rain radar, there should still be enough time for the descent. "Sam rides ahead, I'm last. We ride in a controlled manner and don't break anything, otherwise everyone gets caught in the rain." That also works. Especially because the thunderstorm seems to have changed direction in the meantime and, according to the radar, is raging on the other side of the lake. So we continue on our tour as planned - only to find ourselves having to head into a downpour three quarters of an hour later. Five minutes from the rescue cable car station on Monte Lema.
At least that takes care of the weather issue for this week, the rest looks good. But it still won't be boring for me. The next trail highlight awaits at Monte Tremezzo, on the other side of the Italian border. The customs officer wants to know if we have any cash with us. "Yes, about 70 euros," I reply naively. The man has to stifle a grin and waves us through. Lucky for us. He could have made us unpack the entire shuttle vehicle for this silly answer - and that would have cost us a lot of time. And we don't have any, because we still have to pedal up 1000 metres of altitude to the trail entrance at the Rifugio Venini Galbiga. However, no-one should over-pace themselves, as concentration is required on the subsequent descent.
Safety or experience value?
The trail is flat, but the terrain next to it is so steep that in the event of a fall I wouldn't even be able to see where the casualty was lying. But it's a reasonable group. I decide to let everyone decide for themselves where they want to ride or rather push - but I always make them aware of the terrain. When René wants to try an extremely exposed hairpin bend in the middle section, I resort to a guide trick: "It's not worth it, there are 50 more to come." René doesn't do it, the other hairpin bends are less exposed and everyone gets to the bottom safely. Only Simon looks back and marvels: "If I had known what the terrain looked like from down here, I wouldn't have attempted a single hairpin bend!" Yes, as a guide you would feel better if everyone was pushing in certain places. But the guests need the adventure, otherwise they won't come back.
On the last day, we still have two really big downhills to go before we take the ferry across Lake Maggiore back to the starting point. We experience the first descent from the Capanna Monte Bar in the silvery morning light. Then our circle closes again at Monte Tamaro, this time we take its back side, because one of the most famous in the region awaits us there: the Carbon Trail. It is built, not difficult and is therefore perfect as a final descent. Because often not everyone is highly focussed anymore. But I think to myself at two points during the ride: Wow, nobody should fall down this forest embankment now...
Break. Let's see if everyone is still there. As expected, one after the other arrives. Helene too. But where is Simon? "He was just right behind me," Helene wonders. We wait for another endless minute. He doesn't answer his mobile phone either. "I'll have a look, he's probably got a fault," I say, but I'm already worried about something else. Two hairpin bends up: no sign of Simon. My gaze wavers to the right: a 50 metre drop into a ditch. He's not going to...! "SIIMOOOON!!!" The answer comes from above. One bend above me, the missing man is changing the inner tube of his rear tyre. What a week, what a brilliant tour - even if I would just like to be a participant again.
Info Trans-Ticino
The "Ticino Tre Laghi" tour organised by Flatsucks leads through the south of the Swiss canton of Ticino. The most exciting enduro trails of Locarno, Monte Tamaro, Monte Tremezzo and Monte Bar are tackled in six stages. Peaks that jostle for position on the northern shores of Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano and Lake Como. The descents here are not only particularly long, but also impress with particularly spectacular views over the large lakes.
Cable cars and shuttles help uphill, but a few remaining climbs have to be tackled under your own steam. Technically, you should be prepared for difficulty levels up to S2, occasionally even S3, as some high alpine hairpin bends are not only sharp, but can also be exposed at times.
- Total: 3500 metres altitude/12,400 metres depth
- Next date: 12.-18.10.25
- Price: incl. arrival and return journey from/to Innsbruck, B&B, 1 x half board, lift/shuttle, luggage transport from 1850 euros
- Info: flatsucks.at
The author: Markus Emprechtinger
The qualified meteorologist is a professional mountain guide and passionate bike guide. He spends most of his summer with guests on single trails, in between exploring new areas himself. In addition to his own tour company, he is also closely involved in the new Austrian guide training programme, in which he prepares aspiring professionals for the joys and pitfalls of bike guiding.
