Bike & Ski Transalp

Pete and his group of friends have already experienced quite a few adventures together over the past few years. Whether crossing the Andes in Peru or through the Thienshan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan, but above all at home on their doorstep. Crossing the Alps has long been an annual tradition. In summer by mountain bike and in winter on touring skis. In 2024, they asked themselves the question: why not combine the two? This is how the idea of the Bike&Ski Transalp was born.

The plan is not to have a precise plan

After a little equipment preparation, we simply set off. The group never really plans in detail anyway. Their motto is "less planning is more adventure". The plan is to cycle from Garmisch through the various valleys of the Alps with the final destination being Lake Como in Italy. As the aim is of course to ski as much as possible, the trip will logically take place in winter or spring at the end of March/beginning of April. High Alpine passes by bike are therefore not yet possible. The route leads through the Tyrolean Zugspitz Arena, over the Fern Pass, always following the Inn upstream into Switzerland, through the Engadine and finally over the Maloja Pass to Italy. The special thing about this route is that you want to go ski touring in the various mountain groups along the way, climb striking peaks and find the best freeride descents. So much for the idea.

The adventure begins

There was no proper equipment test beforehand, so day 1 was to show whether the setup would work with the skis on the bike. We started right outside the front door in summery temperatures and travelled past Garmisch to Biberwier. There, the bikes were locked up for the first time and we headed up the piste on skis to the Wolfratshauser Hütte for the first night. The test was a success. Both the bike tour and the ski tour worked. The adventure could begin.

Over the next few days, the rhythm should be that in the morning we go on ski tours in the various mountain groups of the Alps and in the afternoon we cycle a few kilometres to get to the next mountain group. The group will climb peaks in the Lechtal Alps, the Samnaun Group, the Silvretta, the Livigno Alps and the Bernina Group.

The main goal: having fun

The focus of the project was not to be as fast as possible or to complete record-breaking tours, but simply to have fun, to be out in the mountains with good friends and to face all the challenges that await you on a tour like this together as a team. The fun element is particularly evident in the daily games, in which a loser is always picked, who then has to take a penalty the next day. Whether it's being pelted with snowballs, climbing into the Inn or matching the ski boots to their owner by smell. The group comes up with something new every day so that there is never a shortage of fun, even in tense avalanche conditions.

After eight exhausting stages, each with the double burden of a ski tour and a bike tour (and of course hours of repacking), the six-man crew finally reached Lake Como in spring-like temperatures.

The authentic film about the tour shows what the group experienced on their journey, where the most beautiful descents and the most spectacular mountains were, why a helicopter mission was triggered and who had to pay the daily penalties.

"It's simply fascinating every time to see what we can experience under our own steam if we just go out and put our ideas into practice." Pete