Bikepacking Switzerland's Hope 1000 in 11 stages

With much less climbing than all of the other sections, this ride is a great warm up for the rest. The route officially begins at a Dandelion Statue on Lake Constance and this section concludes in Bettwiesen, the hometown of Willi Felix, the route organizer. Most of the riding is through farm fields and woods on quiet gravel roads. There …read more

Section 2 starts to show the true nature of the Hope 1000 route-- relentless climbing and descending. The higher you go, the more beautiful the route gets. The climb leading to Wattwil is a real ass kicker with a ripping descent. Wattwil is the largest town along this section and a great place to resupply. Stein is a nice village and could be a good spot to spend the night in a hotel.

There are four big straightforward climbs on Section 3. My favorite spot to camp along this stretch as at a little hikers shelter in between mile 40-50. I've stayed there for the first night of the Hope 1000 both times I raced it. Schwyz has a nice courtyard and is a good spot to resupply.

A steep road climb followed by the Wild Spitz, the most beautiful part of this section, dominates the start of this section. The second half as rolling terrain through farmlands in the most populated stretch of the Hope 1000. Bike shops and all resupply are easy to access on this stretch. Load up and get prepared for the real challenges to come.

This stretch is rolling with, follows a lake with access to a beach and swimming before passing Sursee, the last chance for good resupply.

The predominate challenge is the Napf, a very remote and protected mountain range with some necessary hike-a-bike and exposure.

Finsterwald is the halfway point of the route. During the Hope 1000 race, there is a depot where riders can pick up supplies that they sent ahead.

This is the most technical section of the Hope 1000-- a good reason to ride a full suspension bike.

The roads are rocky and rough. There are a few small villages for resupply to give you reprieve between mountain passes.

Beginning with an easy road climb out of Sorenberg, with a little trail riding in the middle, this stretch finishes with the iconic climb over the Grosse Scheidegg to Grindelwald, a great place to find a hot meal, lodging and bike shops.
From the top, there are dramatic views of the Eiger. The descent into Grindelwald is exceptionally steep.

This section begins with a climb over the Kleine Scheidegg, passing the Jungfrau and descending an extremely steep, switchback trail to Lauterbrunnen, on the outskirts of Interlaken.

There's a bit of reprieve for the next 30km until the next significant climb over La Treeiffel, a surprisingly remote mountain pass for the Bernese Oberland Region and one of my favorites of …read more

The first climb out of Oey passes the Seebergsee, a gorgeous lake with a couple of mountain huts serving food near the top. The descent begins on good singeltrack and turns into a rooty, steep switchback trail in the woods that takes you down to Sankt Stepan, a good spot for easy resupply.

From there, it's a gradual river grade …read more

The 4 climbs in this section are punchier and shorter than the rest that dominate the Hope 1000 route. The first is through farmlands and a long valley that always made me feel a bit eery.

I'm always cheered up to pass through Jaun, a nice small town with an inexpensive hotel and a bakery. It's three more climbs and some rollers to Vaulruz, a good spot for pizza and resupply. You can almost taste the finish.

There are two major climbs on this short section to get to Montreux. They're both tough, particularly the last one, the Col du Jaman. Instead of descending straight down to Lake Geneva, the Hope 1000 route winds around through singletrack, well worth the extra effort as it offers gorgeous views. I've always dreamed of camping in one of the shelters …read more