Berner-Oberland-Cross
Description
The two-day mountain bike tour through the Bernese Oberland is best started at Spiez train station, from where you return by train via Visp after reaching your destination in Villeneuve on Lake Geneva. The route initially rides along country lanes and side roads to Wimmis and Oey in the Diemtigtal valley. Follow this long valley uphill and then bear right towards Seeberg. Pass the Seebergsee lake on the plateau and then head for the descent to Zweisimmen at Gubi. This leads down a singletrail to a small pass, then follow the ridge down the singletrail to Blankenburg. At St. Stephan, the second ascent of the day begins, riding along a well-maintained road to the Rüwlis Pass. A high-level trail now rides to the Parwengsattel and on to the Hornberg. This is where the first overnight camp is located, although you can also tackle the singletrail descent to Gstaad and then spend the night in more sophisticated surroundings.
On the second day, you cross over to Lake Geneva. To do this, you climb up the Meieslgrund and reach the Col de Jable. In a seemingly endless zigzag of switchbacks, you then descend into the small side valley near L'Etivaz and then climb the main road to La Lécherette. Here you turn off to the right and roll along a little road through the somehow deserted-looking area around Lac de l'Hongrin. The route comes to a brilliant end at Ayerne: it rides along the Eau froide, initially on an alpine road, then on a spectacular serpentine trail through the extremely steep forest terrain to Roche. From here, it is just under four flat kilometers to the shores of Lake Geneva at Villeneuve.
Map & GPX-Track
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Details of the tour
105 km
3675 m
3935 m
372 above sea level
1977 above sea level
2 days
Spiez
Villeneuve VD
1417
well suited
More tours nearby
User comments (5)
About the author: Thomas Giger
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
All in all a great tour. Long and steep climbs, mostly on tar. I would increase the required riding technique by at least one, if not two points. All descents are quite difficult and for amateurs there are always passages that cannot be ridden (especially the last one after Roche). Long, flat tar passage above Lac Hongrin. We also rode the original descent after the Col de Jable as described here. A little difficult to find in the upper section as the path is not really visible, but you can follow the markings. The descent is really difficult like all the others here but great. We added a day, took the train to Sierre, spent the night there, did the ascent to Leukerbad early the next day (approx. 800 m) and then took the Gemi cable car up and then the WebCode 1029 tour back to the car in Spiez. Highly recommended.
Did the tour this week with an overnight stay in Gstaad, great first day, second ascent with the Rinderberg mountain railroad, but the bike has to be carried briefly to the summit! Cool trail back to the route. On the second day you should pay attention to the military exclusion zone from La Lècherette, in the fall many shooting exercises! Sat/Sun always passage during the week possibly not! Had to put together an alternative route on site. Unfortunately we couldn't get back to the original route, too much effort! But all in all a great tour!
Cooling off in the Seebergsee with lunch refreshment in the Stiereberghütte. DH to Blankenburg was flowy, 2nd uphill Parwengsattel very sweaty. Overnight stay at Berghotel Hornfluh. ~7h for the first stage.
The next morning straight into the DH. Don't worry, a super trail comes after a few Elevation losses on gravel. Ascent Col de Jable and then an alternative route from Gros Jable via Petit Jable. A challenging hammer trail to L' Etivaz. Lunch. We bypassed Lac de l'Hongrin to the north, in the second part, on the supposed trail, the bike had to be carried. DH to Roche again challenging and exposed but great fun. After ~ 7h a well-deserved swim in Lake Geneva.
What you earn in altitude meters on the tar on this tour is destroyed in the descent on the best trails. The final descent to Roche is just the icing on the cake - a massacre of hairpin bends!
Tips:
For the second ascent of the first day, take the gondola in Zweisimmen up to the Rinderberg.
Don't drink too much gin and tonic in Gstaad.
Don't start too early on the second day: the Filet De Boeuf at the Hotel Du Chamois in L'Etivaz is superb.
For all those who are still hesitating: go for it!
What are your experiences with this tour?