Tour of Monte Rosa

The Tour of Monte Rosa is a pioneering mountain bike journey which showcases 6 days of awesome views and spectacular descents, circumnavigating one of the most beautiful 4,000m peaks in the Alps.

Email us for a quote specific to your group size and needs.

The Ride the Alps mountain bike tour of the mighty Monte Rosa is a true adventure.  The trails are not as well frequented by mountain bikers and other trail users, which gives the trip a feeling of wilderness and exploration. The riding is sometimes rough and very technical in places but overall the trip is a similar level of technical and physical difficulty as our Chamonix to Zermatt and Chamonix to Briancon tours. It’s a route for experienced Alpine mountain bikers only.

You stay in the first night hotel for two nights to allow for a warm-up day of riding in the Zermatt valley. The point-to-point route is 5 days of riding.

What is included?
The package includes six days of guiding with half board accommodation (dinner, bed and breakfast).  Both refuges in Italy are inaccessible by motor vehicle so this means that this an exclusively self-supported tour. That is, no van to carry luggage, tools and spares. You will have your bags on the first 2 nights and last night of the trip but not the 4 nights of the point-to-point tour. However, it is possible for us to amend the itinerary slightly, exchanging one of the refuge nights for a hotel, to enable the provision of one or two bag drops during the trip if required.

We can include a helicopter drop on day two of the itinerary to avoid a glacier crossing and give us more time in the Cervinia bike park. This is weather-permitting.

We can help you to arrange airport transfers if you need them. Email us for more information.

When can I ride the route?
Choose your own dates. We will run this trip from late June to early September. Any earlier and there may be too much snow on the high passes. Any later and the lifts, refuges and mountain hotels will be closed. We are flexible on start and finish days.

How do I get there?
Fly or take the train to Geneva airport and we can help you with travel arrangements for getting to the first night hotel. You can also drive over and leave your car at the first/last night hotel.

How hard is it going to be?
A demanding route for committed mountain bikers who ride regularly every weekend and have ridden multi day routes before. There is no van on this trip to carry luggage, tools and spares. Riders preferably need some experience of bikepacking in order to come on this trip. On the Italian side of the mountain the riding is rough in places. There are several long sustained technical descents. However, the daily mileage is quite low and the climbing reduced by cable car support so overall it isn’t any tougher than our Chamonix to Zermatt and Chamonix to Briancon trips.

This route is point to point and provides a great chance to see some of the best views and scenery in the Alps. There are several hike-a-bike sections but also lots of fantastic singletrack descents! We cover around 170km in distance and ascend approximately 4,840m. We descend around 13,640m (depends on chairlifts used and how much playing you do en route.)

The maximum altitude is approximately 3,330m so there are no problems with altitude sickness but you may still feel the altitude in your lungs on the climbs.

What is the accommodation like?
Accommodation is in a mixture of good quality 3* hotels with en-suite rooms and mountain refuges. There will be group sleeping arrangements in the refuges. There are hot showers and good and plentiful food every night.

What sort of bike do I need to bring?
A mountain bike! In good working order, recently serviced prior to the trip. Full suspension and disc brakes are highly recommended for this trip to make your life more comfortable. Your bike must be a good quality mountain bike with at least decent front suspension forks and tyres suitable for descending steep rocky terrain. No hybrid bikes as these are not suitable. We ride dual suspension 5 to 6 inch travel “all mountain” and “enduro” style bikes.