Summary
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Trail in numbers
- Distance: 23 km
- Total climb: 476 m
- High point: 2473 m
- Ridable: 95%
- Duration: 4-6 h
Highlights
- Piz Bernina is one of the tallest in the Alps with its 4049 meters of elevation. Covered in glaciers, it is rare to spot its peak which is often covered in clouds. The route offers amazing views of Piz Bernina and its glaciers, especially from the tallest point between Italy and Switzerland and from the surroundings of Pontresina.
- Bernina Red Train a.k.a. Bernina express. For sure you have heard it – this might be as well Switzerland’s number one tourist attraction. Connecting Tirano in Italy to fancy Sankt Moritz in Switzerland, this train ride offers stunning views of the Alps as it climbs to Pass Bernina and then descends towards the Swiss Engadin.
- Lago Bianco , meaning “white lake” is a lake sitting right at the top of Pass Bernina. Its name gives away its main feature, which is the very light turquoise color of its waters.
Useful info
- When to go: July to September – or simply until the first autumn snow.
- Organized tours: reach out to our good friends from ItalyBike Adventures to have your guided tour sorted out – they offer an amazing day ride in this areas using the Bernina Express to get as much downhill as possible!
- Food and Water: you’ll find food and water pretty easily. In Italy you can fuel up at the starting point – Rifugio Forcola, whilst you will find another restaurant at Pass Bernina once entered Switzerland. The rest of the trail develops at the side of the road, which in turns crosses a few cable car stations that can provide snacks and water. Just carry your hydration pack and some energy bars, and you should be golden.
- Recommended gears&bike: although there are no trail sections that would prevent riding with a hardtail, we reckon that it is just a lot more fun to ride a full suspension bike in this mountain, as the trail provides lots of opportunities to have some serious fun – especially if you let go of the brakes! Therefore, make sure you gear up with your helmet and knee pads.
- Starting point: Passo Forcola, Livigno, Italy, which is 3.5 hours from Milan or 3 hours from Zurich.
Table of contents:
Photostory
Maria and I had done this route already the previous year, but it is just too good to skip when we have the occasion. The weather is amazing this warm mid-September and Maria is excited to ride her brand new Specialized Rhyme, and this alpine trail crossing from Italy into Switzerland represents a perfect test ground.
The plan is to leave directly from Passo Forcola at 2300mt, so that we save the time to climb from Livigno: we did it already last year and, above all, we need to be mindful of time, as the last bus to Livigno leaves from Pontresina around 5 PM (this is why the previous year we had to abort our ride before reaching our final destination).
The first section of the trail takes us from Passo Forcola in Italy to Ospizio Bernina in Switzerland. A little more than one hour of ups and downs around 2500 meters, in a breathtaking scenery.
After crossing the highest point of our route, the majestic Bernina range shows itself in all its majesty, towering above us with its ever-white rocky mountains.
This is what Alps feel like. We take our time and take an awful lot of pictures, absorbing the wonderful scenery as much as possible so that we can recall it when we will be sitting in the office all week.
Once in Switzerland, we quickly reach the Ospizio Bernina, a train station of the famous Bernina Railway line between St. Moritz in Switzerland and Tirano in Italy, lying at 2300 meters above sea level.
The station lies on the shores of Lago Bianco, near the Bernina pass between the Engadin and Poschiavo valleys. The Bernina line is remarkably the highest rail crossing in Europe, and was opened in 1910. It provides hourly service from Tirano to St Moritz throughout the year despite the harsh winter conditions.
We have passed the most challenging part of our ride today, now we just have to enjoy the endless descent towards Pontresina.
The descent runs down a rather smooth single track through the Alpine forests. We don’t have many photos of this section as it was just to fun to ride it all at once! Everything works out great except for the last couple of kilometers, where we are hit by a storm that soaks us up completely wet! We are on time for our last bus, but we have almost one hour to kill and, being wet down to the bone, we can only try to dry out in front of a chimney in a swiss tavern. Back in Livigno we are almost totally dry, and we end up celebrating our day with a Spritz in the main square.
Maps and Stats
Max elevation: 2474 m
Total climbing: 482 m