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Travel | Secret Trail – Hunting For Gold in Davos Klosters
Primarily known on the scene for the presence of the Gotschna Freeride Piste, the Bündner A-Line, the popular Swiss holiday destination of Klosters and its big brother Davos form an out-and-out riding destination. But what so many people don’t realise is that the opposite side of the valley is home to an incredible trail set amongst the imposing scenery of the Madrisa. Our writer Fabrizio D’Aloisio set out in search of this hidden treasure in the company of mountain bike guide Bruno.
The Madrisa cable cars from Klosters transport riders up to 1,800 metres above sea level.
This enduro style descent shouldn’t even be made public. Not because it should be kept a secret, but just that most riders aren’t familiar with it – which is admittedly pretty good for those who do know it. Setting off from the Madrisa mountain station at 2,000 metres above sea level, it follows some of the coolest trails through the most diverse scenery, before leading you into the Swiss holiday hotspot of Klosters.
Freerider in the Gotschnabahn, which departs from Klosters Platz and takes you straight to the start of the A-Line.
Crammed into the Gotschnabahn by the dozen, downhillers and freeriders can’t get enough of the Bündner A-Line on the opposite side of the valley, spending entire days shredding this incredibly popular freeride piste. But this wasn’t on the agenda for our rider Bruno today.
Bruno spends the winters working as a joiner and the summers in the mountain.
Anything but mainstream, our rider for today is Bruno, a guide at the Bike Academy Davos. A gentle giant, who doesn’t waste his words, Bruno lives without a smartphone, internet, and definitely no fully. He does, however, have a 15kg P7 Orange hardtail, naturally made of steel, seven years old and counting. The bike, just like Bruno, prefers techy and challenging no-flow trails, but – sorry Bruno! – our plans for today involve a fair amount of flow!
The Madrisabahn’s small gondolas take riders from Klosters to Madrisa mountain station, which is comfortably located around 1,800 metres above sea level.To reach the start of the Madrisa Trail, there’s a short but nasty 200 metres of climbing to conquer first.Once up, we have a little breather. With 1,000 metres of descent ahead of us, the excitement is rising.Start! The top part of the downhill is pretty rough and technical, so our no-flow Bruno is in his element.Getting off to a super promising start in this high Alpine landscape, our singletrack weaves along the mountainside.In the background there are the pylons of the ski lift, packed with skiers come winter. But it’s a different and much quieter scenario in summer.The trail gets steeper and Bruno is loving the slow tech sections.Reassuring to know that even a mountain outlaw like Bruno sometimes has to go!After a rough and rutted start, the flow sections come at us, breaking into the treeline as we ride the soft grass.Take a deep breath; the looooooong forest trail is about to begin.Yet another change of scenery, woodland this time.Hold on, are we in the Alps or the jungle? An ever-changing mix of technical and high-speed sections.Bruno has to use all of his skills to get through the most technical points, but there are no issues for the hardtail rider.Klosters is now in sight but we’ve still got the highlight of the lowest part of the descent to enjoy. The last pine trees before a breathtaking deciduous forest opens up.Bruno gets air. And we finish on a high!The forest is made for speed and jumps. Yahooooo!The trail rounds off with some lush turns above Klosters. High five!Bruno heads back over Gotschnaboden towards Davos, where he’ll enjoy an undisturbed view of Madrisa. And we’ll be back, even with all those flow sections! ;-)
The writer is a MTB guide at the Bike School Engadin and grew up in Klosters. If you’d like to discover the Madrisa Trail with a guide, the Bike Academy Davos guides are your best choice.
