One of the basic principles of Sustainable Mountain Sports is that we should strive to go up the mountain with minimal support from mountain lifts and polluting vehicles as possible. Since I am not a trail runner (and will never be, I guess ;) I wanted to combine biking and hiking to make it possible to get to the summit of higher mountains. Especially summits where I cannot get by bike and where I cannot hike in one day.
It works and makes fun! But like the beginning of all new things, it needs a bit of preparation and experience before I am a well-practiced hike & bike-er. So here are my first experiences and it might inspire you to try it out yourself.
I made two successful hike & bike’s last year and one of them was the climb of the Haldensteiner Calanda. It’s a mountain in the area of Chur and also the icon of the lager beer from Graubünden. I went to the summit together with Tom and I think it was one of our best adventures of the last year.
Preparing and Packing
We combined two activities to cover more than 2000 vertical meters in one day. And of course, we also had to come back down on that same day. That meant, we needed some different clothes and attributes.
Our tour started in Chur (580m) and we would cycle up the mountain with our mountain bikes to the Calandahütte (2073m). We planned our tour quite in the end of the summer season but the mountain hut was still open. Therefore we new we would have a place to eat something and charge our batteries (and I don't mean the batteries of the bikes here, but really our own ;). Our bikes would stay at the Calandahütte while we would hike to the summit of Haldensteiner Calanda at 2805 meter above sea level. The hiking route back down to our bikes would follow the same route and from there we would take a different mountain bike route with some trails, that would bring us back to Chur.
While packing we just started to list the things we would definitely need:
Bikes
Biking Shoes
Hiking shoes
Helmet
Clothes to start (biking, early in the morning)
Dry shirt for the switch
Warm clothes for getting down
Rain and wind protection
Gloves
Enough water
Energy bars
Essentials (Phone, ID, insurance pass, Cash for on the way etc.)
Bike repair
Lights
Backpack
During our preparation we discussed the most what to wear and what clothes to bring. Usually we wear complete different clothes on the bike and during a hike. But a compact and light bag would have great advantages during the climb.
As always in changing circumstance, it works the best to wear and bring different layers so that you can easily change your clothes if you get warmer of cold. A shirt, a long sleeve, a warm wind jacket and a rain jacket were the least we needed to bring. In case we would really sweat, we needed to change our first layer, so we put an extra thermal shirt in our backpack. Since I easily get cold, I also took my down jacket as an extra warm layer.
For our trousers we decided that we really needed to wear biking pants and that it was an option to hike with these trousers as well. I chose to wear long thermal trousers with my MTB pants over it and Tom chose to wear his bib tight. It looks a bit strange to see someone hiking a high mountain with a padded tight. But hey, we just wanted to bring nothing but the essentials :).
For the ones with knee trouble, hiking poles are very helpful during the hike up and down. Tom had some knee trouble and he felt better with at least one hiking pole. We made that one as small as possible and just hang it on the backpack.
Then the water and food. Our bikes offer place for one big water bottle. That wouldn’t be enough and since we were not sure if we could refill on the way, I also brought a camelbak with extra water. We were lucky that the Calandahütte was open and that we could get some food and drinks over there. We would pass the mountain hut twice since it was the place to change bike to hike and back. Then just some sandwiches and bars would be enough to bring us up to the Calanda summit.
The Tour
On Saturday October 9, 2021 we left early by train to Chur and our biking tour started there at 09.06h. It started cold but soon it was quite hot during the climb and it was also extra hard to cycle up with a backpack. Normally we cycle up in one go, but this time we had to stop in between to stretch our backs, eat and take off some layers of clothes.
After biking through the forest for a while, we came above a sea of fog (‘Nebelmeer’). We have seen that before, but it still is an incredibly beautiful view over the valley. A good opportunity to take a break and enjoy this view for a while.
That break came at the right time because after that, there were some quite steep parts until we approached the treeline and reached a high alpine meadow. Suddenly the Calandahütte appeared around a corner. We still had a small climb to go over unpaved terrain. Unfortunately we could not complete that by bike, so after a short hike with the bike, it was a great moment to park the bikes at the hut. At the hut it was pleasantly busy with about 20 bikers and hikers enjoying the terrace at that time. We found a nice spot on the terrace and ordered a good lunch. We wanted to replenish our nutrients but not a traditional Swiss cheese dish. In that case we probably wouldn't have been able to hike to the summit.
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Time to move on! The bikes could stay, our soggy shirts could dry a bit and the shoes were changed. All ready for the hike climb with 750 vertical meters.
The first part was still quite friendly up through the alpine meadow. After that the terrain got rougher, steeper and we also had some sessions where we needed our hands for the climbing. With some fresh snow on the shadows we had to be careful. But luckily, the path was still open.
After a bit of clambering, suddenly we were on top of the Calanda. It was so beautiful to stand on that point and overlook the whole valley plus much more. We captured that moment well and still I smile when I look at the photo with the two of us. Very strange to realize that a few hours earlier, we were packing your bags all the way down there at home.
Slide for more pictures
Now the long descent began. First the hike to the hut, which often takes longer than expected for us, because we just prefer to climb. But we knew that a nice cold Calanda beer was waiting for us at the hut. Before we realized it, we had found a spot on the terrace again and we could toast to the beautiful day. With a small Calanda though, because we were not down yet. With the bikes we still had quite a bit to go. So not much later it was time to put on all layers of clothes and change the shoes again.
The bike adventure could begin. We were excited to roll down, but the first part actually looked more like a hike. It went up and down and the paths were narrow. You have to be a well trained mountain biker to be able to cycle that entire section.
Fortunately, soon it got better and we found a few nice trails and forest roads down. It's great that at the end of such a long day the pace goes up. But since I was getting tired, I found it hard to concentrate on the trail sections. It was already getting dark and I noticed that my level of energy got low. I don't have that much experience on the mountain bike, that I drive down super easy everywhere. And especially not after such a day. But eventually, we came back to civilization and that was the sign that we were soon back down in Chur.
All-save! Wow, we did it! Time to really enjoy this adventure with Italian food and another Calanda, This time we could order a large one per person :)
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