Schafjoch
Description
This impressive tour starts in the Tyrolean Oberland, in the village of Silz. The route initially rides steadily uphill on asphalt and gravel along the north side towards Sattele. From the hiking parking lot at Sattele, the route continues on a gravel road past the Feldringer Böden. Here you use the maintained supply road for electricity pylons, which rides up to an altitude of around 2100 meters above sea level. An impressive panorama already opens up here, gaining in breadth and depth with every meter of altitude.
From this altitude, the more challenging section begins. The ridge is climbed by pushing and only occasionally pedaling until you reach the highest descent point of the tour at almost 2600 metres above sea level. The ridge in the direction of Pirchkogel is marked as a hiking trail, but is not accessible for mountain bikers. Instead, it offers a panorama that stretches from the Mieminger mountains in the north to deep into the Ötztal valley with its mighty three-thousand-metre peaks - a summit view par excellence.
The descent begins spectacularly: in a flowing mix between difficulty levels S1 and S2, you literally surf across alpine meadows and serpentines until you reach the farm road. The trail then becomes more technical - with short S3 passages that require full concentration - and leads down to Marlstein.
In Marlstein, you meet the Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Weg trail, which leads back to the hiking parking lot at Sattele in classic cross-country style. This is where the final trail section begins: at difficulty level S2, the trail leads downhill towards Silzer Mahder, briefly meets a forest road and finally ends on a final trail section along the Silzer waterfall directly at the starting point in Silz.
Conclusion: A high alpine circular tour with an impressive panorama, technical variety and an ideal ascent to the north - a real insider tip, especially on hot summer days. With a light e-mountainbike, you can avoid a lot of pushing passages, which makes the tour even more accessible.
Note: The route is located on Austrian territory and leads over routes that are not approved for mountain bikers. Riding this route on a mountain bike is the responsibility of each individual, in full awareness of the legal situation.
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Details of the tour
33 km
1905 m
1905 m
651 above sea level
2539 above sea level
Silz
Silz
3535
limited
More information
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User comments (1)
About the author: Martin Depauli
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
A fantastic tour. The upper 500 Elevation loss high alpine flow trail in one stretch is a special spectacle. After that, it continues in beautiful S2 style. From the Sattele, the trail becomes even wilder and nastier. Only the rather long descent via the forest road at the end is a small blemish on the tour.
If you use public transport like we did, you can save a few meters in altitude on the ascent. Take bus 4166 from Innsbruck or Völs to St Sigmund, then pedal along the main road via Kühtai to Marail. Unfortunately, the timetable is rather sparse in the summer months, so only the 8 a.m. bus is an option. It is possible to take bikes, but only inside the bus and therefore limited to three. The regional train then rides regularly from Silz back to Völs or Innsbruck.