VERBIER, SWITZERLAND

September 10, 2025

“We’re not a million miles away from our lunch spot”, chirps Rob Stanford, a UK native who’s been riding bikes in Switzerland for decades. “Just a 1,500m descent and we’re there.” Dropping into yet another wild section of alpine single track that winds and switchbacks its way down the mountain, we rattle through rock gardens, pump across rolling traverses, and eventually arrive at a mountain hut for lunch.

Verbier puts the endurance in enduro mountain biking, and there’s a lot of enduring to be done here in the Swiss Alps. Many ski resorts are responding to shorter winters with a logical investment in biking, but can it put itself on the mountain biking map and pull riders away from the more established destinations in Europe?

HIGH INTO THE BACKCOUNTRY

The trundling wheels of the shuttle clamber their way up the tight switchbacks above Bruson, a small village across the valley from Verbier. Autumn has arrived with low clouds scattered across the hillside and pops of heather showing that the mountains are still very much alive. The shuttle can only take us so far and as we cross the threshold of 2,000m elevation, we hop out, unload our bikes, and begin to pedal.

The air is thin here and combining that with a chairlift assisted summer, I find myself immediately struggling. Traversing across the mountain, we keep climbing in short, punchy, technical bursts for 3km until we reach the top of the treeline. Ahead of us lies a 10km singletrack descent through a steep and deep valley with fast, loose sections and switchbacks so tight I can only ride them at a near stationary pace.

The early September sun has seen the autumn flowers bloom, but their scent is soon replaced by the stench of my burning brakes. As my fingers creep closer and closer to my grips with every pull on my yielding levers, we reach the end of the trail just in time. Our shuttle, Trail Taxi, is waiting for us and before I can properly catch my breath, we’re whipped back up the empty valley to another trailhead. This one leads to Cabane de Brunet, a typical alpine refuge and our bed for the night.

Rob guides year round for Warren Smith Ski Academy, so he’s well used to the cosy setups like these. We squeeze in beside two Swiss couples for dinner, wolfing down red wine chicken and roast potatoes as we all chat about the trails in the region and how close we are to the tallest mountains in the Alps. Night rolls in and with a full belly, I climb into my bed in the dorm. Lady Luck is not on my side, and a large German man clambers into the bed across from me and launches into a bone shaking chorus of snoring that lasts all night.

The following morning is an early one as Rob and I are up early enough to still see stars in the sky as we start our descent down to Verbier. The singletrack trails in Verbier are shared with hikers and we pass eager trail runners on the weaving trail. We wave, say “bonjour”, and my brakes scream even louder.

Verbier sits at 1,500m elevation, and is surrounded by many peaks that reach well over 3,000m which makes the riding here extremely steep and the climbs character breaking. I’ve skied in Verbier before and wanted to bike the Vallon d’Arbi freeride ski route. Knowing that a monumental climb is ahead of us, I swap my SCOR 4060 for a Giant Trance X E+ from Mountain Air, and we blitz our way up the loose fireroad. Boost mode can be a thing of beauty.

Looking out across from the top of our climb, Rob points out Cabin de Brunet across the valley before we get stuck into even more singletrack that naturally flows down the contours of the mountain. Once we hit the bottom, we’re amongst civilisation again in Verbier.

Hate them if you want, but there’s no way I could’ve ridden this 35km route after a 10km descent for breakfast without an eBike. Verbier feels like the ideal place for long travel eMTB owners to get the most out of their bike.

THE BRILLIANTLY BUILT VERBIER BIKE PARK

The weather forecast in the high alpine is a guesstimate at the best of times, and I’m happy to wake up the following morning in Hotel Mirabeau and see clear skies instead of the forecasted rain. Pedalling over to the gondola, I meet with Fabrice “Trifon” Tirefort to go ride Verbier Bike Park with him. Trifon is in charge of all the bike trails in Verbier, including the eight in the bike park. Uniquely, five of these trails are open until October 31st. This long season, beginning in early June, separates it from some of the well known resorts nearby like Morzine and Chåtel, which close in early to mid September. A season pass will set you back 239 CHF (€255 / $300), and a day ticket costs 45 CHF (€50 / $55). These tickets give you access to the six lifts, both inside the park and outside the park to reach the backcountry. Once summer is over, there is a reduced service for September and October.

All in all, there is a whopping 220km of singletrack outside the bike park and 19km of trails inside the park. Five trails mightn’t seem like much to some people, but these trails are incredible. Trifon has raced downhill World Cups and really understands what riders are looking for. As such, he has made trails that work in multiple ways for different types of riders. This is made even more impressive when I hear how strict trail building is in Switzerland, with builders limited by political and environmental restrictions.

The blue flow trail, ‘Tsopu’, is a wide, machine-built trail that cuts across the slope, with smooth rollers for beginners that faster riders can double, and soft corners to practice your turns or perfect your shralps. ‘Wouaiy’ is the techy red trail with choose-your-own-adventure rock gardens and root sections, and hero dirt that drained so well after the overnight rain. The black trail ‘Woooohhh’ starts with a slow, 10ft drop into a trail packed with wooden North Shore features, and is decorated with skeletons and skulls throughout.

The star of the show here has to be ‘Race Track’. If you think World Cup tracks these days are too boring, then this trail is the cure. Old school downhill from the start, I follow Trifon out of the start gate and through a boulder field with lines in every direction. Things get tight and techy after this, and you’re rewarded for easing off the brakes, which opens up more lines through the roots and gaps over the tricky stuff. Trifon knows what a race atmosphere is like, so he left the fastest sections to the end, where the biggest crowds watch from. “It’s flat out from here.” I can see the pride and excitement on Trifon’s face. “This is where everyone comes with their chainsaws.” Except for one kicker at the end, there’s not a single jump on the track.

The Swiss are known for being organised and for things working like clockwork, but when chatting with Trifon I see just how much thought and care goes into the bike park. The red, black, and Race Track are all handmade and maintained by hand by his excellent dig team. “If we make every trail super wide with machinery, then it’s much harder to maintain them.” Trifon could speak for hours on the topic. “But if something needs to be fixed or changed, we can just grab our tools and get straight to work.” He’s got a team of eight trailbuilders, which means they’re able to make frequent changes. “They’re moving these rocks for the ski piste, so we’ll make a new rock garden next week,” says Trifon as we go back up to ride ‘Race Track’. “I think we can do this section better too, so we’ll change that soon.”

Unlike some bike parks that rarely change from year to year, Trifon’s ethos means Verbier Bike Park can change whenever it’s needed or wanted. It’s an incredibly refreshing approach and one that other bike parks could learn from.

After a morning in the park, we traverse across the mountain and I take my first few pedal strokes on ‘Vertigo’, a 3km long singletrack trail that drops almost 800m in elevation from the high alpine. I realise that even though I’ve ridden so much in Verbier, there’s still so much that I haven’t seen.

The long season, accessible backcountry trails, and immaculate bike park all combine to make Verbier one of the most diverse and interesting biking towns that I’ve ever been to. Verbier’s strength lies in its variety of trails, but it can also be its weakness. Arrive with just a downhill bike and you’ll miss out on so much outside the park, and likewise, if you just bring a trail bike, you’ll be undergunned on some of the unmissable epics and bike park trails.

Next time I’m bringing an aggressive eBike and riding it all.

ABOUT THE WOLF

Cían is a travelling, bike riding writer who started mountain biking in Whistler back in 2013 after a lifetime of playing team sports in Ireland. He likes posting up in different biking destinations for months at a time with his enduro bike in search of techy and tricky singletrack. Known for having a spectacular crash or two in his locker, Cían is always on the hunt for the next place to try and keep it rubber side down.

Rank: Wandering Wolf
Size: 6’4″ / 193cm | 105kg / 230lbs
Social: @cianwrites