La Colma
Description
The ascent from Malesco up to La Colma looks merciless on the Map: The path winds its way up the mountain in 48 serpentine bends. However, the gravel road is easy to ride and has a pleasant and even gradient. This ends just below La Coma, the last short section leads over a meadow trail to the inconspicuous promontory with the settlement of houses behind it. This is the starting point of the long descent, which first has to be earned through an exhausting mountain trail. The real downhill fun begins at Alpe Marco. A varied singletrail, sometimes flowing, then more rocky, leads down to the Rifugio Vasca. The second part of the tour begins here, climbing another 430 meters up to the Costa di Faedo. The ridge path, which now leads downhill, is unparalleled fun and only gets a little rough at the very end. It ends in the village of Zornasco, from where you cycle back to Malesco on the little road.
Tip: The tour can be ridden early in the year, as the entire route is exposed to the south. The highest point is at 1740 meters above sea level.
Map & GPX-Track
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Details of the tour
25 km
1455 m
1455 m
745 above sea level
1754 above sea level
1 day
Malesco
Malesco
1652
well suited
More information
No bike schools are registered for this region. Registration as a partner takes place here.
Video
More tours nearby
User comments (7)
About the author: Thomas Giger
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
Second part ridden on August 1, 2025. Not recommended. Many fallen trees and branches block the path in many places. The approx. 50 m climbing section is also not without its problems and the last part was mostly unrideable for us.
Tour ridden on 25.6.2023 with Bähdli-Shuttle. Highly recommended!
First part, freshly mowed and groomed. Very flowy and rideable except for a stream passage.
2nd part with pushing up. But it's worth it, as it's a cool crete trail - with a 50m climbing section. The lower part is more of a 4*, as there are lots of leaves and branches in the narrow serpentines.
We did the tour on 10.6.22 and really enjoyed it.
Steady ascent, nice and shady with some wonderful views. But yes, you don't get anything for free!
The trail is very varied, you end up on the road at the bottom and start the next ascent straight away. A few "extra" grains won't hurt. The last section is a bit of a walk, but not an issue.
We found the trail to be fun/crunchy with a surprise effect ... At the end you stand on a big rock above the village of Zornasco! Cool thing ...
Were up there today on April 20, 2019. The ascent is beautiful in the forest. The gravel road is rideable throughout but is quite energy-sapping. The last 200m were unfortunately deep in snow. Unrideable! Had to turn around. But then we did the second part of the tour and cycled up the tarred road relatively comfortably. At the top you have to earn the descent first. The trail is pretty neglected. Various trees, branches, leaves and loose wood lie in the way. Fortunately, we were able to follow the hiking signs, otherwise we would have doubted whether we were on the right track at various points.
The uphill to La Colma is ok but rather on the steep side and also boring because there is almost no view in the forest. Alternatively, you can take the cable car. In the first part of the first descent you have to look for the path. I was there on Easter Saturday.
I find the second section particularly attractive. Less technical than the first part (except at the end), but faster and more flowy. In my opinion, the two together make a nice mix.
The first part of the tour is beautiful, the second unfortunately not: the ridge path is dead straight, full of leaves and pretty boring. What's more, you easily have to push your bike up for 15 minutes. So, better to ride back to the village when the first descent ends.