Ken Imhasly and Alain Gwerder have barely raised the single trail world record in the Aletsch region to an incredible 20,616 vertical meters when the record is set to fall again. On July 27, three people from Uri are aiming for the 20,900-metre altitude mark.

Marcel Hardegger, Erich Arnold and Christof Arnold have been planning the record attempt for weeks and testing routes and schedules. On the record run, they will start from the valley floor in Uri and use the many small gondola lifts for the ascents. The date for the attack has been set for a Monday, as there will be significantly fewer other cable car and trail users on the route.The three record aspirants will start at 4.30 a.m. on the Kinzig and then cover an altitude difference of 20,900 meters in around 16 hours. Contrary to previous record holders from Valais, they will not start an "official" record attempt but an "unofficial" one, i.e. not controlled by the record institute. They are primarily interested in finding out what can be done in one day in the canton of Uri.The single trail world record has a longer history and is primarily contested between Swiss riders. In 2010, Thomas Giger and René Wildhaber set the first benchmark at 12,555 meters in altitude. Three years later, together with Thomas Frischknecht, he raised his own record to 13,572 vertical meters. It was then the twins Caroline and Anita Gehrig who took the title in Val Venosta/Vinschgau, achieving even more in 2014 with 15,117 vertical meters. However, these marks seem almost trivial compared to the more than 20,000 meters of altitude recently achieved in Valais. And now the next attack is already imminent.

More information on the upcoming attempt:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trailrekord-Uri-2015/1429185787409864

Record ride by Giger with Wildhaber (2010)
René Wildhaber and Thomas Giger break mountain bike world record

Record ride by Giger with Frischknecht (2013)
Frischknecht and Giger pulverize singletrack world record

Record ride by the Gehrig twins (2014)
Two women break singletrack world record (Ride)
Singletrail record: watch the movie afterwards (TV)

Record ride by Imhalsy and Gwerder (2015)
Two Valaisans break singletrack world record