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Europaweg

Mountain Bike · Switzerland

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Swiss Alpine Adventure

/ The view of Matterhorn from Rothorn
Photo: Dave O'Riordan, Swiss Alpine Adventure
/ Rothorn
Photo: Dave O'Riordan, Swiss Alpine Adventure
/ Shortly after the Rothorn descent meets the Europaweg near Tufteren
Photo: Dave O'Riordan, Swiss Alpine Adventure
/ Parts of the trail are quite exposed
Photo: Dave O'Riordan, Swiss Alpine Adventure
/
Photo: Dave O'Riordan, Swiss Alpine Adventure
/ Near Taschalp
Photo: Dave O'Riordan, Swiss Alpine Adventure
/ Near Taschalp with Weisshorn in the background
Photo: Dave O'Riordan, Swiss Alpine Adventure
/ Between Taschalp and Tasch
Photo: Dave O'Riordan, Swiss Alpine Adventure
/ The descent to Tasch
Photo: Dave O'Riordan, Swiss Alpine Adventure

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Rothorn is a little less touristy than Gornergrat, but still offers some stunning views of the Matterhorn and some great trails too.

moderate

Distance 16.7 km

2:10 h

173 m

1,811 m

3,086 m

1,426 m

There are spectacular views of the Matterhorn and the Findel glacier from Unter Rothorn. Its well worth taking a break to enjoy the view before getting on the bike. As you leave Zermatt behind and head down the Matter valley the views of Weisshorn and the back of Zinal Rothorn more than make up for leaving the Matterhorn behind.

Author’s recommendation

This tour combines well with an overnight in the Mountain Hotel at Fluealp where you can get an overnight stay with evening meal for as little as 79CHF!

Author

Dave O'Riordan

Update: April 14, 2015

Difficulty

S2moderate

Technique

Stamina

Experience

Landscape

Highest point

3,086 m

Lowest point

1,426 m

Best time of year

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Safety information

There are some severly exposed sections of trail on the Europaweg.

Tips and hints

For those that want to make a full day tour you can combine this tour with Moosalp in the afternoon or do it after a Gornergrat ride in the morning.

For more of our favourite tours remember to check out www.swissalpineadventure.com - tours.

Start

Unterrothorn, Zermatt (3,085 m)

Coordinates:

SwissGrid

2'627'894E 1'096'688N

46.021167, 7.798829

DMS

46°01'16.2"N 7°47'55.8"E

UTM

32T 407026 5097100

w3w

///resurgent.knitted.kicked

Destination

Täsch

Turn-by-turn directions

From the restaurant at Unter Rothorn take the fire road to the east that drops down behind the mountain to Furgii. At Furgi take a left and after a short distance the fireroad turns into singletrail. This singletrail has some quite fast and flowing sections to start with but gets a little more technical with some interesting switchbacks and some blocked up rocky sections. Keep following the obvious singletrack until it rejoins a fireroad again by the little village of Turteren.

Turn right as you get to this fire road to join the Europaweg. After a short climb the trail starts to descend and get a little more technical. There is one heavily exposed section of trail with a wire on the outside. For the majority of people it is probably wiser to get off and walk for this short section as any mistake could be fatal.

Keep following the trail as it traverses around the mountain to Täschalp where it is worth while visiting the Europaweg Hut for some refreshments.

After leaving the hut travel a short distance down the road and take the singletrail climbing to the right. After a short climb the trail begins to traverse around the mountain again before taking a rather steep and direct line to the valley floor in Täsch.

Note

all notes on protected areas

Public transport

There are two connections to Zermatt from Visp per hour (08 and 41 minutes past the hour). The Sunnegga/Rothorn lift station is about 400m from the train station. Take the road down the side of the Gornergrat station that runs perpendicular to the Bahnhofplatz. At the end of the road cross the river and turn left.

Getting there

From Bern take the A6 (From Zurich A4/A14/A2/A8) exit for Kandersteg. In Kandersteg put your car on the train to Goppenstein and follow signposts for Visp. In Visp follow signposting for Täsch/Zermatt. The Sunnegga/Rothorn lift station is about 400m from the train station. Take the road down the side of the Gornergrat station that runs perpendicular to the Bahnhofplatz. At the end of the road cross the river and turn left.

Parking

There is a large carpark in the Matterhorn Terminal Täsch. You will need to take the train from Täsch to Zermatt.

Coordinates

SwissGrid

2'627'894E 1'096'688N

46.021167, 7.798829

DMS

46°01'16.2"N 7°47'55.8"E

UTM

32T 407026 5097100

w3w

///resurgent.knitted.kicked

Arrival by train, car, foot or bike

Author’s map recommendations

Singletrail Map - Zermatt/Saas Fee

Equipment

An "All Mountain" or "Enduro" bike is recommended for this tour.

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Photos from others

Difficulty

S2moderate

Distance

16.7 km

Duration

2:10 h

Ascent

173 m

Descent

1,811 m

Highest point

3,086 m

Lowest point

1,426 m

Scenic Refreshment stops available Cableway ascent/descent Singletrail/Free ride Linear route

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