I had had this tour on my to-do list for some time, partly due to the controversial comments. On July 23, 2025, the time had finally come, even though I deliberately didn't want to set my expectations too high. I started at 08:30 in Simplon-Dorf and my aim was to catch the Postbus back to Domo at around 15:00. As I took the road from the old barracks (the section from Stockalper to the old barracks is not worth it in my opinion), I was already in Gondo by 9am. The question now was whether to wait 30 minutes for the on-call bus or to pedal up myself. I did the latter and the bus overtook me shortly before the reservoir. The climb up to the Pussetta was then no problem, but from there the bike was mostly on my shoulders due to the many steps.
The first disappointment came at the top of the pass: I wasn't particularly impressed by the view, and the high-voltage overhead power line also played its part. As I didn't feel like wasting the meters in altitude on the alpine road, I took the trail to Alpe Paione after Alpe di Monscera. Apart from a few descents, this was easy to ride (S2-S3). From there, I stuck to the trail until shortly before Domo, which was easy to find with one exception: only after the Rifugio Bernardo did the trail get lost in a meadow. However, as the trail was parallel to the mountain road, it was easy to cross over onto the road. So I was not on the trail for about 300 meters. However, riding from the pass via Rif. Gattascosa to Rif. Bernardo might be a worthwhile alternative. (I will try this next time). I was pleasantly surprised by the trails. The trails were almost always rideable, occasionally a little boring, but mostly very varied and sometimes there were some real super trails on offer. The buildings were also impressive, with beautifully renovated rusticos alternating with ruins and abandoned buildings/wildernesses.
Before the "Oratorio di San Rocco del Dagliano", I had to run down for about 5 minutes, as it was a narrow, rough and steep zigzag route down to the bridge. And immediately afterwards I also had to push up for a short time. In the last section, there were always a few short passages that I couldn't ride (mostly uphill), but everything was in the dark green area. Only at the city limits of Domo did the track lead over a kind of dam, where biking was prohibited. As a foreigner, I didn't want to let myself out onto the branches and looked for another route to the station. I arrived in Domo at 2 p.m. without any stress and still had enough time to eat a gelati in peace.
Conclusion: In terms of trails, I was more than pleasantly surprised, I never thought I would ride so many cool trails that day (with so few pushing and carrying sections). What's more, most of the trails were S2, occasionally peppered with S3 sections. I was rather disappointed by the beauty itself, as apart from the view from the pass described above, the rest of the tour was mostly in the forest.
My rating: Trails: 5/6; View: 3/6; Technique: 3/6; Overall: 4.5/6 due to the trails. This was certainly not the last time I rode this tour.
I ride a Scott Genius Ultimate, am usually in the head group uphill; downhill always last, by a long way.

Hooooooooo

After the ascent from the Passo di Monscera to the trail at 1250m, it was meadow, gravel path or road for us today.

The trail from 1740m no longer exists. There's probably a new trail, because it came out at the bottom of the road as shown in the track, but we didn't find an access point.

The trail from 1250m starts quite well, but then has a lot of branches or trees lying across it and becomes increasingly unpleasant to ride.

Shortly after the chapel at 915m, there were trees lying across again, so we decided to take the road back.

A relaxed roll out to Domodossola without cranking once... Straight to the ice cream parlor.

The bus from Gondo must be booked in advance by telephone.

Mega landscape.... It can happen that trails change over time....

I rode the tour today and can only recommend it. Great trail from the Simplon Pass to Simplon, then a bit tough as far as Gondo. The ascent to the Passo di Monscera is quite steep and strenuous. Just a high alpine tour.

After the Alpe di Monscera, you can join the hiking trail if you fancy a fun, somewhat blocked S2-S3 terrain. The trail after that is consistently good and easy to ride. From time to time the trail loses its way in the meadows and it gets a bit rougher at the bottom, as is the case with less frequented Italian mountain trails. From Valpiana onwards, I took the road as I didn't feel like climbing uphill and crossing for ages.

All in all, however, it was a fantastic tour with a great panorama, lots of solitude in the Zwischbergental valley and plenty of great trails. In my opinion, the tour is absolutely recommendable. I think the description of difficulty with S2 and a few S3 sections also fits.

Today we rode the tour from Zwischbergen.
Just trust Mr. Giger.

Did the tour with two colleagues last Friday, July 8, 2022 (enduro bikes, no e-bikes). I have a few comments on the section over the Passo di Monscera.

- On the ascent from Alp Pussetta, the southern route along the ditch was both signposted and obvious on the map. It's quite stair-heavy, you can't push everything but have to carry some of it, I'm not sure how well it works with e-bikes. Some people with e-bikes will give up here.
- The descent is repeatedly difficult to find, as paths are hardly marked, sometimes not visible due to overgrowth or because there are several options. In the fall, this is easier to find at best.
- The trail can be classified as difficult over its entire length. You need a good bike, good tires (I have Double Down plus an insert at the back) and, depending on the tires, certainly some repair material. I / we often ride alpine, sometimes high alpine terrain, sometimes very long tours and it can be persistently "black". We are partly professionally / privately active in trail building etc. and have ridden many trails, carried and pushed a lot and tried them out. On this tour, however, the fun takes a back seat as it is often too rough to enjoy. The last section towards Domodossola, in particular, consisted almost entirely of large and, above all, loose stones. We don't think this has only been the case for a few months, but has probably always been the case. Overall, there is hardly any flow as, in addition to the steep downhill sections, there are simply too many large loose stones in the middle section and too many small uphills in the lower section, most of which cannot be ridden because they are too steep or too rocky or both. Not everything is really rideable and the bike sometimes has to be carried down to negotiate unrideable bends etc.
Conclusion: The trail is only worthwhile because of the remoteness in the Zwischberg valley and at the top of the pass, as well as because of the views around the pass. None of us would recommend the trail to anyone and we can't understand who would enjoy riding something like this. We can't agree with the description. I would give it 5-6 points for fitness and 5-6 points for riding technique, because it is simply extremely demanding after hours of rock, which becomes increasingly loose towards the bottom. Panorama is right, overall impression I would give 1-2 points.
Our riding ability is perhaps in the top 20% of enduro riders, without wanting to be arrogant. Even with better skills, the trail would often simply not have been fun and would have been just as grueling in the lower sections. We would probably delete the report rather than encourage someone to try the trail. For my part, I was motivated to do it and I'm not afraid of long climbs, crisp passages, feats of strength etc. but it's too nicely described compared to reality and shouldn't really motivate anyone to do it.