Exploring Saalbach Hinterglemm - Showcase
Famous for its skiing, Saalbach Hinterglemm holds some wonderful mountain bike secrets. A resort located near the German border and just over the mountain from Leogang, it might stand in the World Cup media shadow but boasts some world class bike park and trail riding. That coupled with it being a family resort means that there's plenty to do: exploring mountain lakes, walking, and many other activities. Saalbach is one of the go-to MTB destinations in Austria, which has seen great development and improvements in the last few years due to mountain biking's rise in popularity.
The resort has four different lifts and boasts over 400km of mountain bike trails, varying in difficulty and styles from bike park to alpine singletrack. The town is well equipped to deal with riders; there are loads of fully stocked shops, bike washes at the gondola stations and at many of the hotels, and most importantly, a friendly attitude towards mountain bikers.
We arrived in Saalbach for a week earlier in the year, with Lorenzo Suding from the Italian Alps, and Kathi Kuypers from Bavaria, Germany. The team had a lot of riding destinations under their belts and arrived with a critical eye, eager to see what Saalbach had to offer. By the end of the week, the only disappointment we faced was Lorenzo’s broken shoulder blade. We were all mega impressed with Saalbach's extensive trail network and world class trails, which seems set to expand and improve even further in the next few years after talking to a some of the locals. A few days of the trip we were guided by Vali Höll, a local youngster who we can expect to see on the world stage next year at the World Cups—a total pinner.
All the lifts are mountain bike friendly, and all have a quick turnaround to the top of the mountains.
Vali leading Kathi out on one of the enduro trails. Fast and flowy with fun little rises and drops.
The trails snake down the hillside, making the most of the terrain available. Something that not many resorts are able to do.
Kathi styling it up through one of the bike park trails.
Some of the downhill trails in Saalbach are tough and rough. We were slightly out of our depth on trail bikes. But on a downhill bike, they'd be incredible. That's exactly what you want from your downhill tracks though.
The bike park has a few wooden features incorporated in. Lorenzo styling it out of the wallride. On the last day I asked Lorenzo to see if he could go higher off it, unfortunately, he slid out and broke his shoulder blade... sorry Lorenzo.
Vali, has a whole lot of style.
The trails are constantly maintained and looked after by a trail crew.
Lorenzo, in full attack mode.
Kathi Kuypers, is a dirt jumper at heart. She loves a bit of airtime.
Lorenzo sliding it down towards the valley bottom.
There are a few gravel road transitions between sections of trail. To make them more interesting the crew have built jumps and features to the side.
With the special lift pass, The Joker card, which is free for people staying overnight in Saalbach, you can use all the lifts in Saalbach but you're also able to go up the lift and ride over to Leogang, and do one run (per day) then ride back over as a day trip to the other trails. This is what we decided to do on one of the days.
After a short pedal from the top of the lift, you drop into Leogang.
An incredible view from the top of the mountain.
A nice little break, before dropping into Leogang Bike Park.
It's good to be able to ride something different for a day.
After one run, we headed back over towards Saalbach, along a fun section of trail.
Once back in Saalbach we went looking for some more singletrack.
There are loads of marked singletracks, which are technical, fun and flowy. A lot of them are modified walking tracks.
Some of the best singletrack I've ever ridden, they're well used, and yet still have support and exciting sections.
Lorenzo always found stuff to hop and play on.
From flow to technical root sections.
The first time we rode this trail, we couldn't stop. We had too much fun. We then had to go back up and shoot it.
Kathi attacking the singletrack.
An alpine lake in the mountains, was a perfect way to finish of a day of riding.
Paddle boards, mountains, and lakes. What more could you want?
Incredible views early in the morning from the top of the mountain.
On our final day we were told we had to head up early and go for a sunrise ride.
Ready to drop in at 5:30, after taking in the views.
Kathi Kuypers.
Lorenzo Suding.
Kathi drops in first, we missed the sunrise due to the clouds rolling in.
Yet still quite a magical experience being at the top of a mountain, riding next to mountain horses.
Kathi forages for breakfast.
Alpine cows seem to be some of the most friendly cows.
That's all from Saalbach, it can be summed up in one word. Awesome.
Saalbach Hinterglemm mountain biking trails
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Great photos though! And a top riding destination.
Jokercard is awesome, almost all hotels and appartments offer this,
unlimited free lift acces for the duration of your stay in saalbach and one ride on any leogang lift a day.
Does any of the DH stuff require guiding?
Did the wedding photoshoot on that lake a few weeks ago :-)
here is the pic> www.pinkbike.com/photo/11311500
and this is the x-line> www.trailforks.com/trails/xline
youtu.be/Vsc87QrV8WA