Trail and Panorama Biking in South Tyrol's South

Lukas Terzer furrows his brow. "You're taking food photos without wine?" There’s more than just feigned dismay in his voice.
Looking as guilty as a schoolboy caught playing ball games where it’s forbidden, Erwin lowers his camera and begins to explain. But it’s too late. The otherwise sociable host has already turned on his heel and disappeared inside his inn.

They all put in so much effort: BikeHotels South Tyrol Managing Director Michi Zingerle, coordinating our stay and program, which, how about it, could surely include a visit to a winery? MTB guide and hobby winemaker Rupert Frainer, traversing every altitude and slope of the Lowlands plus Überetsch, peppering it all with so many anecdotes about the land, the people, and the wine. Winery owner Christof Tiefenbrunner, imparting oenological basics so elegantly during his tour of the Turmhof castle winery. And, of course, hotel manager Lukas Terzer himself, hosting and looking after our three-person crew with such great care, hospitality, and sommelier expertise.
And us? At the end of the day, we drink water instead of wine in South Tyrol’s largest wine-growing region.

Sant' Antonio-Pozzo, a district of Kaltern on the Wine Route, exactly 35 hours earlier. We (thanks to the Südtirols Süden Card for free) and our bikes (at a discounted daily rate of 3.50 euros each) checked into the Mendelbahn and are now eagerly waiting for the arrival of the bright red mountain Ferrari.
It takes only 12 minutes for the connection, which was opened in 1903 as the first electrically operated railway in Tyrol, to reach the Mendel Pass, located 854 meters higher. It covers the 2,374-meter-long route with an average incline of 39% and even a maximum incline of 64%, which is why it was long considered the steepest funicular railway in Europe.

Alternatively, we could pedal up the pass road, which is passable year-round, to the Mendelkamm’s deepest cut at 1,363 meters, which has always marked the border with the Italian-speaking Trentino and the transition to the Non Valley. But unfortunately, it has become a racetrack for motorcycles and a leisure route for cars.
That’s why we’re not conquering the Mendel in the footsteps of the first tourists from the upper classes of the Habsburg and Wilhelmine Empires – among them, even Empress Sisi in 1889 and 1894 – for whom noble hotels and inns were eventually built at the pass height. Instead, we’ll let ourselves be conveniently beamed up via the Direttissima. There will be enough toil up to the Roen, the spectacular local mountain of Tramin and the highest peak of the Mendelkamm!

All this and more Rupert already told us on our way from Kurtatsch, the location of the Bikehotels Terzer, to St. Anton, the valley station of the Mendelbahn - provided we had the breath to talk. Because on the one hand, the approximately 13 km route through the villages was by no means as flat as one might generally expect from an approach to a valley station. The ramps to Altenburg and previously to Söll were particularly challenging.
On the other hand, we were left breathless from the very beginning by all the splendor and magnificence that unfolded in the morning light. With the sun on our faces, we pedaled as if on an XXL viewing terrace about 150 meters above the perfectly flat valley floor, with the bright, rocky peaks of the Nonsberg Group and the dark, forested ridges of the Fleimstal Alps shining ahead and behind us, below us the endless apple orchards to the left and right of the Adige River, and around and above us the region’s great pride: vineyards as far as the eye could see.

For the most part, they are here, in and around the equally famous and picturesque Tramin, planted with the best-known of South Tyrol's three native grape varieties: Gewürztraminer. “This grapevine loves warm, well-ventilated steep slopes and calcareous, clay-rich soils,” Rupert explained. The Traminer vineyards extend up to frost-safe 600 meters, with the best located on just over half of this area.
In general, South Tyrolean wine is similar to mountain bikers in the region: it benefits from the Mediterranean climate of the south and the Alps as a shield from the cold in the north – and has done so, so to speak, since time immemorial. Its homeland, as the Traminer proudly notes, “is probably one of the oldest wine-growing areas in Europe.” Nearby in Margreid, a vine planted in 1601 grows on a house wall, the oldest dated grapevine on the continent. But even the Rhaetians cultivated wine here in the fifth century BC.

We, hardly having stowed the mountain bikes into the Mendola cable car cabins, cultivate a solid phobia. The railway track points steeply upwards, like the rungs of a via ferrata. Unthinkable if the cable were to snap now!
Of course, it doesn’t; and it never has, Rupert reassures us. And he would know, having spent all the summers of his childhood on the Mendola, like so many others from the Unterland. When the air shimmered with heat down in the valley and even the Ora, the southern wind from Lake Garda, no longer brought any real cooling, the locals have always escaped to higher altitudes.
“From mid-June, winegrowers traditionally didn’t have much to do until the harvest. So, they packed up and came up here for summer retreat,” the local explains. Their originally illegal huts, initially just tents, were long ago legitimized with the payment of a small fee, and running water and sanitation were introduced later. And what used to be several weeks of continuous stay has turned into the classic weekend getaway.

Sounds tranquil? It is – unless you're cycling. However, anyone who absolutely insists on tackling the 2,116 m high Roen by mountain bike will find themselves sweating quite a bit on some steep ramps, even with motor assistance. Of course, on this brilliantly sunny June day, the extreme heat that has settled across all of Europe also plays a role.
In any case, we are panting and groaning quite a bit, despite the added extra watts, on trail No. 500, which starts off paved, then turns to gravel, and becomes increasingly rough, while our colleague on the bio-bike (he was warned and wanted it this way!) is fighting just to survive.

But the mountain offers solace, despite gradient percentages of over 25, with diminishing forest shade replaced by alpine meadows and dwarf pine vegetation. Its mighty rocky crown, which drops steeply over 400 meters into the Adige Valley, was already impressive to behold from below, but the Roen becomes even more awe-inspiring the closer we now get to it.
This is partly due to its structure. While the two-thousand-meter peak presents itself as a gentle mountain meadow landscape on the Trentino side, true abysses open up to the east, whose enormous dimensions only become apparent further up, as the highest summit of the Nonsberg group emerges from the cover of the significantly lower "Schwarzer Kopf" (Black Head).
Additionally, this impression is due to the progressively intensifying distant views. Already at the Malga di Romeno, a charming rest stop at an altitude of 1,769 meters with little goats, peacocks, and golden pheasants, as well as traditional Trentino cuisine such as Strangolapreti or Polenta, we were given a first taste of it. Until the summit, the panoramic view unfolded perfectly like a dramatic build-up – with every pedal stroke a little more, culminating in the overwhelming 360° panorama at the highest point.

What can be spotted from up there in good weather goes beyond every notebook, every voice memo, every mountain recognition app. Rupert, a passionate multisport athlete, hunter, and landscape caretaker, knows and names all the peaks effortlessly.
In short, the view sweeps from the eastern Dolomites, including, for example, the Peitlerkofel, Geisler Group, Rosengarten, Latemar, and Marmolata, across the Lagorai mountains and the Garda mountains over to the Brenta and Adamello groups as well as the Ortler region; and to the north, from the mountains of the Merano region to the three-thousanders of the Ötztal and Zillertal Alps. Meanwhile, almost 2,000 meters below us, the Adige Valley stretches out with its endless patchwork of apple orchards from Bolzano to Trento, the deep green Montiggler Lakes glisten, and later even the turquoise-blue Kalterer Lake will emerge from behind the rock wall; with fish so large that, according to our guide, one could occasionally spot them even from up here.
Surprisingly small in all of this is only the summit cross of Mount Roen, which, moreover, does not even stand at the highest point but rather on the next southern rock plateau. Such modesty fits far better with these almost vertically towering, awe-inspiring steep walls than the all-too-common gigantism of man-made landmarks.

The view on this dream tour is simply breathtaking. And it is all the more so because it remains with us for what feels like an eternity on the Roen Trail, which is now beginning. For the first five of its incredible 14 kilometers and 1,900 meters of descent, this epic downhill ride still clings to the cliffs of the Mendel Ridge, surfing over small roots and meadow areas through the dwarf pine region, feeling its way over a wild stepped section that we briefly push through, advancing to the Schwarzen Kopf (Black Head) and then flowing extremely smoothly to the Wetterkreuz (Weather Cross). Here, surrounded by the traces of the recently lit Sacred Heart fires, we enjoy the panorama and the deep views one last time.

After the Grauner Joch, the Roen Trail disappears into the forest. If you already struggled at the steep and winding trail entrance covered with rocky stones, it’s better to stay on the forest road and cruise leisurely down into the valley.
For everyone else, this is where a natural trail of the "upper S2 class" begins, as Rupert estimates. In South Tyrol, where trail difficulty is traditionally rated low, this is certainly a statement. We are curious.

Indeed, the path is not for the faint-hearted. Narrow, rooty, and interspersed with rocky steps, it passes steep drop-off terrain, especially at the beginning. Switchbacks also appear repeatedly, and above all, the re-entries after forest roads occasionally require some nerve.

However, the deeper we go, the less steep the surroundings become, even if the path itself doesn’t necessarily flatten out. And once we’ve finally learned to handle the "sweat stones" (rock slabs that become slippery and damp even with the slightest drop in air pressure), there’s really nothing standing in the way of a fast-paced finale – except perhaps a small tire puncture. But who would have such a thing when the stomach is already growling, the closing time of the chosen rest stop is approaching, and the once dense forest, now increasingly sparse, heats up with every meter covered until it finally gives way entirely to the warmth-loving grapevines?

Built during the First World War within just two years by Serbian and Russian prisoners of war, the 50 km railway line from Auer to Predazzo in Val di Fiemme originally served purely military purposes: it was intended to bring soldiers and supplies to the Lagorai front in the Dolomites.
The subsequent freight and passenger traffic was discontinued in 1963 for economic reasons. Today, the old route on the edge of the Trudner Horn Nature Park, with its tunnels, viaducts, and bridges, is a popular cycling and hiking trail.

On its first kilometers, however, it is a journey back in time to antiquity and a detour into a very special natural paradise. Right at the beginning of the route lies Castelfeder, the striking and famous porphyry hill with the ruins of Byzantine fortifications of the same name on top.
There is a unique atmosphere in this mix of black-red volcanic rock, yellow steppe grass, green shrubbery, and brown moors, which can only be preserved through intensive grazing. Olive grove flair meets historical drama, frogs croak and insects buzz over the biotopes, and donkeys doze in the shadows of giant oaks. The locals, Rupert tells us, also use the meadows quite nonchalantly for (winter) sunbathing.

For the way back, we follow a recommendation from our host: through the gate, across the meadow, into the forest at the third tree on the left – in South Tyrol, that's allowed. A flowing up and down back to Truden awaits us there, Lukas promised us in the morning.
Well, a cheerful zigzag between the contour lines was indeed traced by the narrow, rooty, and rocky trail Rupert scouted out for us on the steep slope. However, regarding the definition of flow, we might need to have another talk with the late-blooming daredevil – Lukas, who long indulged in paragliding and only discovered cycling in his forties – given the tricky and unrhythmic course of the path.

The chance for that should actually arise shortly, as, just like yesterday, the gentleman overseeing 19 rooms planned to join us as soon as his family-run business allowed (in service and housekeeping: his wife Charlotte; in the kitchen: his brother Valentin and son Filipp). This also explains how the passionate restaurateur manages to achieve an impressive 7,000 kilometers annually despite his demanding profession: The certified MTB guide doesn’t see riding with guests as a duty but as an enrichment, and he seizes every opportunity that comes his way!

Rupert is also delighted with our moderately roadworthy little group and, true to his "everything is possible" credo from the morning, unveils a fine combination for the further return journey through the Mühlental down to Neumarkt: technical forest trails, rough gravel high-speed sections, slippery rocky hiking paths with numerous curves and steps, and simpler intermediate sections.
Grinning broadly, we finally arrive in the picturesque town located directly on the banks of the Adige. Neumarkt, in addition to its Venetian-style villas and charming courtyards, is especially famous for its arcades. A hallmark of medieval architecture, they created weather-protected trading spaces when the town, enriched by river rafting, was expanded. Today, the 500-meter-long arcades serve as outdoor seating areas, extended shop spaces, event locations, sun protection, and much more, lending the old town center a very special charm.

To add to the cultural side trips, after two or three scoops of ice cream from the Gelateria Arlecchino, the final highlight of our stay awaits us: crossing back to the west side of the Adige Valley through the now blisteringly hot apple orchards, we, sweaty and smelly as we are, stumble into the cool cellars of the Tiefenbrunner Winery.
The boss himself takes care of us, guiding us into the deepest rooms and showing us the oldest and newest facilities of his castle winery, as well as sharing 350 years of family tradition and winemaking expertise. Here's what you need to know: Christof Tiefenbrunner runs an operation whose first documented mention dates back to the early 13th century and which came into family ownership in 1675. This legacy must be preserved and carried forward, garnished with fresh ideas.