Haute Route Mountainbike
Description
This starts in Verbiert at the Les Ruinettes mountain station - there is still plenty of ascent on the route, so starting with the gondola lift makes perfect sense. The route starts with the high-level trail to Croix de Coeur, followed by the singletrail descent to La Tzoumaz. Follow the Bisse des Saxon, where biking is prohibited, but which is deserted in the early hours of the morning. Alternatively, you can ride down to La Tzoumaz and then follow the official and marked mountain bike route (43 Valais Alpine Bike) to Siviez. However, this version rides exclusively on asphalt and gravel roads and has little to do with mountain biking. However, the Bisse de Saxon is a highlight, whereby you should ideally descend to the gravel road at Tsâblo Plan and follow it to Siviez. The bisse section from here to Siviez is very difficult. In Siviez, take the chairlift to La Tsa and from there the high-level trail to Thyon 2000. After a short downhill section, you reach the high-level trail into the Val d'Hérémence and then the road on the valley floor. Climb up to Lac des Dix and ride to the Pas du Chat at the southern end of the lake. Now it's time to put your bike on your shoulder and climb on foot to the Col de Riedmatten, 550 meters higher up. This is the pièce de résistance of the first stage. Single trails now take you to Arolla, the finish of the first stage. Caution: The first stage is extremely long and requires above-average fitness levels.
The second day with the Col de Torrent awaits. The warm-up phase takes you down the mountain road until the path to Les Haudères branches off to the right. Now you climb up to Villaz on a small road, then the route turns into an alpine road and rides 800 meters uphill to Alp Béplan. Now it's time to shoulder your bike again, this time for a climb of almost 400 meters. The Col de Torrent is then the starting point for the first-class singletrail descent to Lac de Moiry and on to Grimentz. A wonderful bisse now takes you to Mottec and along the little road to Ayer, followed by a gentle climb to St-Luc. Stage two is done!
The third day begins with the funicular ascent to Tignousa, followed by a gravel descent to Chalet Blanc and then the ascent to the Meid Pass. Here the bike has to be pushed most of the way. However, the scenery on the Meidpass with the view of the Weisshorn is fantastic, as is the subsequent singletrail descent to Meiden in the Turtmann Valley. Now it's time to get down to business again: although the ascent to the Augstbordpass initially takes you along a gravel road, you still have to cover around 600 meters in altitude on foot. Now it's time for one of the longest descents in the Valais: 2100 meters of singletrail, passing Schalb and Emd before finally reaching Stalden. You can either spend the night here or take the gondola lift to Gspon and spend the night in the idyllic mountain village.
The final stage is another tough one. Follow the path to the Gebidumpass and circle the Nanztal valley on a fantastic Suonen trail. You now climb up to the Innere Nazlilicke, follow the singletrail down towards the Simplon Pass for a while, but then keep left up to the Gälmji Pass. The transition is the start of an impressive descent, which is initially extremely challenging, but becomes increasingly flowy after the Obere Nesseltalalp and finally rides past the Wurzukapälli chapel directly into the center of Brig as a brilliant final section. If you want to avoid this challenging descent, ride from the Nanzlilicke down to the Simplon Pass and then take the Stockalperweg to Brig.
Route:
Stage 1: Verbier - Les Ruinettes - Croix de Coeur - Les Pontets - Bisse de Saxon to Siviez - Combartseline - Thyon - Riod - Mâchette - Lac des Dix - Pas du Chat - Col de Riedmatten - Arolla
2. Stage: Arolla - Les Hauderes - Villaz - Col de Torrent - Lac de Morey - Grimentz - Mottec - Ayer - St-Luc
3rd stage: St-Luc - Tignousa - Chalet Blanc - Meidpass - Stafel - Gruben - Augstbordpass - Augstbordstafel - Schalb - Embd - Kalpetran - Stalden - Gspon
4th stage: Gspon - Gebidumpass - Schafalp - Ob. Fulmoos - Bistinepass - Innere Nanzlilicke - Weng - Gälmji - Obers Nesseltal - Unners Nesseltal - Wurzukapälli - Brig
Streck data:
Stage 1: 65 km; difference in altitude 3380 m (up) / 3845 m (down)
2. Stage: 46 km; difference in altitude 2325 m (up) / 2680 m (down)
3rd stage: 34 km; difference in altitude 2050 m (up) / 3440 m (down)
4th stage: 35 km; difference in altitude 1760 m (up) / 2945 m (down)
Total: 180 km; difference in altitude 9515 m (up) / 12,910 m (down)
Details of the tour
180 km
9515 m
12910 m
1494 above sea level
2894 above sea level
4 days
Verbier
Brig
1404
not suitable
More information
Video
More tours nearby
User comments (13)
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
04.07.2025
The Grand Dixence -Col de Riedmatten section is located in a protected hunting area. Driving in this area may result in a criminal complaint
A wonderful tour to discover the Welsh Alps. We skipped the first day, which is probably more for masochists. However, we included the Bella Tola summit and the Barrhorn in the tour. The latter was the absolute highlight.
The trail from Gälmjli is pretty borderline. Here I would rather recommend descending to the Simplon Pass and alternatively choosing the fantastic trail over the Mäderlicke as a worthy finale. Of course, this extends the tour somewhat, but in my opinion, rushing through this magnificent tour area in four days doesn't do it justice anyway. It's better to plan a little more time.
Yes, it's a wonderful tour! I rode it with two friends in the 1st week of September 2022. We already knew the Gspon - Brig tour, so we finished off the tour on fun trails from Gspon to Visp. It was brilliant!
Two route tips:
Below the dam wall / Lac de Moiry towards the end of the valley, be sure to use the trail on the right-hand side of the valley. According to the GPX, the trail is very rough and hardly rideable.
-After crossing the road gallery before the village of Mottec, the GPX trail no longer exists. The new hiking trail is inconspicuously signposted to St-Luc (keep left immediately after the metal steps!).
Having just completed this tour, I confirm that bikes are not allowed on the Bisse de Saxon. Furthermore, the same applies to the whole area of the Lac de Dix (climb to the dam + around the lake) and the Bisse Heido. Awesome tour!
Hello,
Does anyone have the GPX for the whole route? The registered GPX only covers the 1st day... [steve@ossfort.com]
Thanks for your help!
Greetings
Steve
Hi guys, I rode the tour this year and can only say: thanks to hredetzky...thanks to his travelogue I had valuable information. I uploaded a video myself on Youtube and summarized my experiences. Just enter Haute Route from Verbier to Brig...
I wouldn't ride the tour the same way again. I personally found the Col de Riedmatten too tough. I would look for an alternative here... The other passes were easy to do. Otherwise a very great tour. Anyone who needs information just get in touch
LG
Martin
And one more addendum:
Day 1 as described here is of course only for the really tough ones - it's more like 2 days - you should consider doing another descent in Verbier or taking the Col de Mines with you and, as I said, riding a little further up into the Val de Dix (maybe up to the dam wall? - but the hotel didn't look that comfortable).
"The third day begins with the funicular ascent to Tignousa, followed by a gravel descent to Chalet Blanc and then the ascent to the Meidpass. " - I think it's smarter to ride over the Cabane Bella Tola - no loss of altitude - pushing length should be the same
And one more addendum:
Day 1 as described here is of course only for the really tough ones - it's more like 2 days - you should consider doing another descent in Verbier or taking the Col de Mines with you and, as I said, riding a little further up into the Val de Dix (maybe up to the dam wall? - but the hotel didn't look that comfortable).
"The third day begins with the funicular ascent to Tignousa, followed by a gravel descent to Chalet Blanc and then the ascent to the Meidpass. " - I think it's smarter to ride over the Cabane Bella Tola - no loss of altitude - pushing length should be the same
Some more information about the route:
Overnight stay at the Hotel de Dix in Pralong.
The hotel is a nice starting point to do the Riedmatten the next day
The last ascent to the Riedmatten is a fairly steep, crumbling sand and boulder slope. The stone blocks stuck in the sand were not to be trusted and it was really easy to trigger smaller and larger avalanches. In addition, there were a few people on the slope who were on their way from the Cabane de Dix to the neighboring pass (the one with the ladder). At the very end, a very steep ascent via a sand gully (mud in our case) with a chain safety device.
It's quite an alpine story.
Col de Torrent after the Riedmatten is really child's play and quickly done - long descent to Grimetz and then via an anticlockwise bisse around the basin.
Cabane Bella Tola is a good starting point to get over the Meidpass, then over the Augstbordpass. Descent again very nice - almost 15km/2000hm singletrail.
The ascent to Gspon with the mini gondola was really exciting again
On the Map is the "right" way, the way to Cabane Dix. You leave it at about 2700 on the left - it is signposted.
On the Swiss Topo there is no path marked from the junction.
The "old" path is marked. It goes quite far down (approx. 2400 m) to the left to a small bridge - the bridge is also marked. At the junction there is a larger rock with "Riedmatten" about 1 m to the right. I can send you the GPS track if required
Hello,
the GPS track shows the path that no longer exists (washed away). Instead of going left further down, follow the path to Cabanne de Dix (right) and only go left further up towards Riedmatten
hi hredetzky_31829
thank you very much for your comment. i will tackle the haute route in the next day and have now tried to find your alternative on the map. unfortunately without success. could you clarify your statement above? is this the route that branches off just before the glacier towards riedmatten?
greetings and many thanks for your reply.
T 1