Macaion Climax: The pinnacle for a mountain bike rider – Tour 1411

Macaion Climax: The pinnacle for a mountain bike rider – Tour 1411 - Description

Directions

• Start

  Fondo
  
  From the centre of the village of Fondo (by the town hall), an initially steep ascent takes you along the via San Martino, right by the church with the same name, out of town up to the Gampen Pass. After crossing the mountain pass and a short descent you will reach the crystal clear waters of Lake Smeraldo. Following a moderately steep road up the valley and past the ice rink, after 2.5 km, you will get to a major crossroads. Take a left here in the direction of the Malga di Fondo. From now on the path gets steeper and steeper and turns into a dirt track.
  At km 7.5, you will reach another crossroads where you could turn left towards the Malga di Fondo. However, we shall continue straight on towards the Gantkofel. Slowly but steadily you will wind up the steep trail and, after 12 km, you will reach a major crossroads in the proximity of Muri, situated at 1,780 m. Here you will take a left, heading north-east and, after a short ascent, you will get to the summit of the Gantkofel (km 12.9). Here you can enjoy a well-deserved break to take in the glorious views.
  The next part of the journey now takes us south and, after the first 700 metres, bears left getting steeper and steeper along an overgrown path (km 13.7) with a fork. Here you’ll need to push your bike briefly (km 13.8) until you get to the track 500. Continue for 500 m through the “Groa Scharte” hollow and then up again to the top of a green hill (km 14.3). Leave the road behind and head east towards the ridge. Here you should take great care.
  The track continues across the Bergner Kreuz (km 15.4) and the Kematscharte (km 15.6) southbound towards the ridge. It is important to mention that in this section you never join the official signposted track 500. The tracks from this tour are often not indicated on maps. At km 17.6 we ride past the Prince's Hut turning left towards South Tyrol's steep „Neuen Weg“, but do not take this turn. Steadily zigzag along the track until you reach the picturesque “Alpele” shelter and rejoin, at km 18.9, on the track 500, the marked Furglauer Scharte (La Forcolana). Here the track continues south towards Mount Penegal, ascending steeply. Head west into the forest until you reach the meadows of the Regole di Malosco (km 22.9). After leaving the Rifugio Regole behind and riding along the paved road for about 1 km, you will come across the Capitello di Sant’Antonio shrine on the left-hand side(km 23.9). Just a few steps down there's a nicer single track on the steep mountainside leading to Malosco (track 508, Sentiero Italia). Turn right by the first houses (km 25.4) to reach the Casa Alpina Stimmatini. Go round the building and turn left to find the back of a single track, which runs across a flat wooded area. Turn left where the track reaches a road through the forest (km 25.8). When you come out of the wood (km 26.1) turn right until you get to a large area of green meadows and agricultural land at the edge of the forest (km 26.5) where the Spitzkehren trail, Val del Lisso, takes you down to Lake Smeraldo (km 27.0). Follow the lake shores along a narrow trail on the south side (beware of walkers!); avoid the main road, turn left just past the guest house (km 27.4) onto a steep downhill track which takes you to the Rio Sass Gorge. Here you will enter a surreal, dream world and ride along the stream, past a historic water mill which is well worth a visit, before you return to the first houses of the village of Fondo, as if you had suddenly been thrown out of this “Lord of the Rings” underworld. Riding a little further uphill will take you back to the starting point of the tour.

• end point

  Macaion Summit

required equipment

To enjoy the single tracks to the full, we recommend a full-suspension MTB of the trail/all-mountain category, and protectors against any accidents.

Tips for the tour

The first opportunity to stop over for refreshments is at the Regole di Malosco, therefore you should make sure you take a snack and a drink with you. An even nicer place for a break is at the Bergner Kreuz.

Difficulty

• Difficulty

  Medium

• Fitness

• Technique

• Experience

• Landscape

Directions

self-arranged arrival
From the Brenner A22 motorway take the exit to Trento Nord and then follow the SS43 towards the Non Valley. In Dermulo follow the signpost to Fondo / Mendelpass / Bozen, taking the SS43 towards Fondo village centre.
Free parking is available by the crossroads where you turn off for Lake Smeraldo.