Gotschna Freeride Piste Davos Klosters
We spent almost the whole summer in the Valais, riding Crans-Montana, St-Luc Bike Park and different regions of Portes du soleil (Chatel, Morzine, Morgins, Les Gets). Besides Lac Blanc and Chaumont we haven’t visited much outside of the valais. Therefore it was time to head down to the “Bündnerland” and check the widely promoted “A-Line”. It seems as if Graubünden is trying really hard to get Mountainbikers into their Forests. Pretty amazing, at least when you compare with whats happening in Bern right now.
This is what we found on the offical Website:
This spectacular roller-coaster for mountain bikersis 6 km long. Over 200 steep corners, jumps and waves accompany the piste down to Klosters. 50 steep face curves beckon riders with good technique to ride on through without braking. Over 30 tables – flattened dirt mounds with steep approaches – rise up. The combinations of high jumps, hard waves and even vertical curves are only suitable for experienced riders. The Gotschna freeride piste captivates with its pure riding pleasure thanks to the moderately steep terrain from Gotschnaboden right down to the valley station of the Gotschnabahn cable car. The standard for the new piste in Klosters was the legendary “Whistler A-Line” on Whistler Mountain in Canada. The massive reaction during the first season shows that Davos Klosters has succeeded in creating a piste with extremely good flow, suitable for all ability levels.
- www.davos.ch/a-line/
In contrary to the marketing and keyword inspired description of the trail, we don’t think it really suits experienced riders. Even tough it has 2 advanced north shore sections (Cobra, Step it up), but after riding that it might get a bit boring. I guess 2 days are enough for a season. But especially at the beginning of the season the Swiss A-Line might be a good alternative to Crans Montana and other regions we visited quite often this season.
Still, when you compare it to Portes du Soleil, especially Chatel, it is hard to justify 40 CHF for a daily pass. This season there was an offer where you get 1 or 2 free lift tickets if you stay in a hostel. Unfortunately for us we prefer sleeping in our bus (there is actually an amazing “free” camp site inbetween Davos and Klosters… Just have a good look at the suroundings when driving the road from Klosters to Davos).
All in all we had a lot of fun, Bea could get to know her new Trek Scratch, we got some nice shots and finally to ride in “Grischa”. Therefore we will definetly come back next year at the beginning of the season for 1 or 2 days.
Here some more information gathered in .pdf document: davos-klosters
