Schmuggler-Tour Ischgl (Vellil-Trail)
Description
Over 750 trail kilometers. That's quite an announcement! In winter, Ischgl is known for its mountain hut fun - and its pandemic consequences. In summer, the village of 1,600 people in the Tyrolean Paznaun Valley boasts cross-border "smuggler tours" across to the duty-free paradise of Samnaun. THE banger tour par excellence leads from the border ridge to Alp Trida in Samnaun and, after another lift ride, back to Ischgl via the magnificent "Velilltrail". It all starts in Ischgl Downtown. Within sight of the most legendary après-ski ballerina in the Alps, you take the Silvrettabahn, ride up to the Idalpe with your bike and continue on the Flimjoch chairlift to the Äussere Viderjoch. Up here at an altitude of 2732 meters, there are truly limitless tours at the highest level. The ridge that runs from the Viderjoch over the Greitspitze, Salaaser Kopf and Palinkopf to the Zeblasjoch marks the green border between Tyrol and Switzerland. Samnaun, a high valley with a population of 700, enjoys duty-free status similar to Livigno over in the Engadin. From the highest point of the tour, the 2872-metre-high Greitspitze, you rollercoaster over the Salaaser Kopf (2744 m) to the Alptrider Sattel (2500 m). A fast S1 flow trail awaits here, which ends at Alp Trida at an altitude of 2270 meters. Get on the chairlift and back up to the border ridge! Allow me to introduce you to the "Velilltrail", one of the creamy delicacies on Ischgl's 37-course trail menu. Conceived by Hans "No Way" Rey, vertrider legend Christian "Picco" Piccolroaz refined it years ago with berms, camel humps and wooden drops. On this rollercoaster of gentle banked turns and small floats, you swing from an altitude of 2732 meters towards the Velillscharte. Shortly before the steep counter-climb to the saddle, there is an emergency exit towards Idalpe. The challenging enduro route along the Velillbach stream down to Ischgl then has some S3-level test pieces in store. The descent ends directly at perhaps the most famous apres-ski pub in the world.
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.
Map & GPX-Track
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Details of the tour
20 km
215 m
2080 m
1356 above sea level
2846 above sea level
1 day
Ischgl
Ischgl
1928
well suited
More information
More tours nearby
User comments (1)
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
We did the tour on July 15. As we were already at Alp Trida at around 11:15, we did an additional loop via Samnaun. A well worthwhile extension, but not a must. The additional loop took us 1 hour.
The Velliltrail directly from the Flimjoch is as challenging as described in the text, but the black section from the valley station of the Velilleckbahn was closed and we had to take the variant over the road.
Overall, the tour is scenically beautiful and flowy, but not particularly exciting in terms of riding technique.