MTB Tour - Hundstein Round (Route 5)

Hundstein. The king stage of every bike week. Performance test for bike pros, challenge for every ambitious mountain biker. Every year in September the local mountain biking elite competes here in the legendary "HundstoaBiagDi" uphill race. The record times of just under 52 minutes are currently held by the two professional cyclists Andi Seewald (marathon world champion) and Anton Palzer (Team Bora-Hansgrohe). If you dare to compare yourself, start past the Almer pilgrimage church towards Hintermoos, along the river "Urslau" to Unterberg, cross the small bridge to the parking lot "Abergbahn" and turn sharp right towards Christernreith. Now the timing starts in the race! Until Christernhof, we follow the asphalt road with moderate incline. Here we turn left onto the forest road and it gets tough for the first time! 2 km of biting up to the middle station of the Abergbahnen. It feels like it’s getting steeper and steeper. Past lift workshops with the impressive piste machines and full concentration not to lose traction. Once we have left the Bärmooshütte behind to the right, there is time to catch a breath again. We follow the trail to the mountain station Schwarzeckbahn and on to Abergalm. We cross the Aberg westwards and use two short descents for recovery. Shortly before the Grießbachhütte (e-bike charging station), we can see it for the first time: the Statzerhaus on Hundstein. However, from here it is still 6 km to summit bliss. Spiked with steep ramps but also fantastic views of the glacier worlds around Großvenediger and Kitzsteinhorn. Three kilometers before the finish there is a small extra effort: 150 extra altitude meters on Langegg and the Bergstadl (e-bike charging station). Otherwise, we follow the trail to the long-awaited summit drink with Heidi at the Statzerhaus. At 2117 m above sea level, we enjoy panoramic views of the Salzburg mountains before plunging into the descent to Zell am See. After a steep but not too difficult trail, we follow the forest road towards Thumersbach, pass the Enzianhütte to the beach directly on Lake Zell. After a jump into the cool water, we roll relaxed via Maishofen, Gerling, and Almdorf back to Maria Alm.