Steep alpine paths are maintenance-intensive. It is understandable that attempts are made to renovate particularly steep passages as sustainably as possible. Unfortunately, however, the wrong materials are still too often buried during such maintenance work, i.e. wooden steps are built where they don't belong.

Disturbing driving pleasure and the landscape

Although I have ridden or walked many trails, I particularly remember the ride from the Stelvio Pass over the Goldsee Trail towards the Furkelhütte. It's a great trail, with an impressive number of wooden steps in the final, steeper section. Locals explained to me that there used to be steps made of stone slabs that were easy to ride on. Well rideable is different now: some of the steps are high, arrhythmic and dangerous.

However, I don't see the danger of such steps as the main argument. After all, there's no shame in getting off your bike if you can't ride. From an aesthetic point of view, however, wooden steps in alpine terrain simply don't fit in with the landscape. The same picture awaits you in Val da Fain, from La Stretta in the direction of Livigno - wherever it is steep, you bump and stumble over ugly wooden steps.

Waste of resources

Even from the perspective of bike-critical hikers, wooden steps make no sense. They don't even offer any added value for pedestrians - on the contrary. Hikers enjoy natural trails more than supposedly quick maintenance solutions made from a material that is foreign to the area. And hardly anyone goes to the mountains to climb stairs.

Speaking of materials: in alpine terrain, the building materials - stones of all shapes and sizes - are usually already on site. Stairs, but also individual steps made of stone slabs, blend into the landscape better than their wooden counterparts and are more weather-resistant. Instead, resources are wasted and huge transportation costs are incurred in order to plant such wooden stairs in the mountains. In my opinion, this is anything but sustainable.

No matter in which Alpine country, I sincerely hope that in future, construction companies will think more carefully about which materials they use for trail maintenance. Not for us mountain bikers, but for all trail users.

More blog posts by Balz Weber

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