Up & Away – The CILO Trail Logbook #07

42 kilometers, two climate zones, one day. In the morning we stand at 2,600 meters in front of a calving glacier. At noon we drink espresso beneath palm trees. Between those moments lies one of the most beautiful E-MTB routes in the Alps: historic hay trails running alongside the legendary Bernina Railway, descending from eternal ice into the Mediterranean-like Valposchiavo. No artificially built trail. Just honest paths that follow the natural topography. Exactly the way we like it.

From Glacier to Palm Trees

Pontresina, 5:30 a.m. Darkness. The underground garage door of Hotel Palü closes behind us. The moon casts its light on the Bernina massif. The glacier’s white mountain flanks shine silver.

We stand there in awe: Lilly, Markus, Pirmin and I, bikes in hand, looking up. Alpinists call this side of the massif the Ballroom of the Alps. Standing here, the metaphor makes perfect sense. Right in the middle of this ballroom stretches the tongue of the Morteratsch Glacier up the valley. Even from here below it looks immense. We cannot yet see the summit – and we cannot yet see the story behind this natural wonder.

Since 1878, the glacier has retreated about 2,600 meters – roughly 17 meters per year on average. In the summer of 2015 alone, it lost more than 160 meters.

Where ice covered the ground in 1857, trains now stop at Morteratsch station.

Just weeks ago, melting ice revealed an ancient tree stump here: a larch almost 10,000 years old. Back then, a forest grew here. Then the cold returned, ice advanced over the tree and preserved it. Now climate change is revealing it again.

We roll along the tracks of the Bernina Railway connecting Chur and Tirano. Pirmin rides the Tanay HC, I ride the Kyano HC – two powerful e-mountainbikes CILO developed for tours like this: focused on the essentials and built to last. Like time machines for intense trail experiences.

Thanks to the upright riding position, we sit centered on the bike and can master even steep climbs with playful ease. Perfect for the uphill trail leading us toward the Bernina Pass.

The Hay Valley

Shortly before the pass we turn left, entering Val da Fain – literally “the Hay Valley.” The narrow valley carries us almost 1,000 vertical meters upward, first on gravel, then on narrow trails. Farmers once dragged their hay down into the valley on wooden sleds here. Later, smugglers transported their goods along this route from Italy into Switzerland.

Today we ride these historic paths on our bikes. Here, the trail follows the logic of the terrain. No artificial berms, no sculpted waves. Just honest trails shaped by time rather than trail builders.

At 8:30 a.m. we reach Passo del Fieón at 2,465 meters. For the first time that day, the sun hits our faces. We don’t stay long. The day is still young – and the trail still long.

When Glaciers Polish Stone

At Bernina Pass the trail spits us out directly at Ospizio Bernina. Finally – coffee.

Before continuing, we play around on the edge of Lago Bianco with the rock formations left behind by glaciers thousands of years ago. Entire rock slabs have been polished smooth – like marble. Back then, the ice here was more than 100 meters thick.

We try climbing the steep rock faces. Pirmin’s Tanay HC, with 140 mm of travel and a longer rear triangle, keeps the front wheel calmer on the ground. My Kyano HC with 170 mm and a more compact rear end reacts more directly – which is a gift downhill but demands precise weight transfer uphill.

Both bikes share the same CILO DNA: the iconic cut-out in the dropped top tube for low standover height and the short seat tube for long dropper posts. That gives us freedom of movement – and confidence to play with the terrain.

Ten thousand years of earth’s history lie beneath our tires.

Like Wild Horses Beside the Bernina Express

What makes this route so special? It feels like racing alongside the wagons of the Bernina Express like a herd of wild horses in a western movie. The red carriages wind through the serpentines. The tracks carve lines into the landscape. We glide along trails older than the tourism that now defines this region.

Swiss engineers opened the Bernina Railway in 1908 – rack-free across Europe’s highest Alpine pass. 55 tunnels. 196 bridges. They designed the route deliberately so passengers could see the Morteratsch Glacier, Piz Palü, the Montebello curve and Lago Bianco.

Staged? Perhaps. But still authentic. Swiss engineering that has endured to this day. We ride historic trails: smuggler paths and mule tracks that were never artificially built – simply worn into the landscape. Trail recycling in its purest form: revealing the essentials rather than inventing something new.

A Break at 2,091 Meters

We stand on the restaurant terrace. In front of us rises Piz Palü at almost 3,900 meters while the Palü Glacier slowly pushes down into the valley. Waterfalls crash over rock steps. Then we hear it: a deep rumble. The glacier calves. Ice breaks away and crashes into the valley. Then silence again. No road leads here – only the railway.

Between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., no trains run. Then this place belongs entirely to the silence. Ten rooms. One restaurant. Nothing else. We drink our coffee. Sweat on our foreheads, sun on our faces. The view stretches across Valposchiavo to the Bergamo Alps. 1,000 meters below lies Poschiavo. This is it. Exactly why we are here.

The e-mountainbike is not just sports equipment here – it’s an enabler. It brings us up without exhausting us and leaves space for moments like this. CILO builds bikes not for records, but for these moments: tired enough to truly feel them – but fresh enough to take them all in.

Down Into the South

The descent toward Poschiavo begins steep and technical. From Alp Grüm onward the trail becomes faster and more flowing. With every vertical meter the landscape changes. Above: glacier, rock and cold. Below: softer terrain, warmer air, the scent of earth and resin. Italian is spoken here. Palm trees grow on the piazza.

Now the Kyano HC shows its strengths: compact rear triangle, mullet setup, 170 mm travel. The bike floats down the trail like a magic carpet. Pirmin on the Tanay HC rides more calmly – letting the bike carry him downhill. Two bikes. Two riding styles. One shared CILO philosophy: focus on the essentials, built with Swiss precision.

Un grande gelato

In Poschiavo we sit down at the Bio Bistro Semadeni. “Un grande gelato.” The adrenaline is still in the body. Our hands are tingling. The bikes lean against the wall. Sun on our faces. From glaciers to palm trees.

The Bernina Express takes about 45 minutes for the journey. We were faster. And later, we’ll enjoy the same route again – this time through the window of the train. Lilly scrolls through her photos. Markus orders another espresso. Pirmin checks his Strava data. I look at the bikes leaning against the wall. Tanay HC and Kyano HC. Both carry the CILO logo. Both stand for the same idea: Be explorers, not collectors.
Ride trails, don’t count them. Experience moments – don’t just post them.

That is the CILO DNA.

Serpentine by Serpentine Back to the Pass

With train tickets in our pockets, we head back to Pontresina – first by train, then by bike. At the station in Poschiavo, we board the Rhaetian Railway. We load the bikes, sit down by the window and look at the line we had just drawn ourselves. Serpentine after serpentine, the train winds its way up the mountain. At the pass, the tracks slowly disappear into the evening light.

We smile.

Ride the Route Yourself – GPX-Track:

The Facts

• Route: Pontresina – Val da Fain – Passo del Fieón – Berninapass – Alp Grüm – Poschiavo
• Distance: approx. 42 km
• Elevation: 1,200 m ascent, 1,500 m descent
• Difficulty: S1–S2 (moderate technically, demanding physically)
• Bikes: CILO Tanay HC (All Mountain, 140 mm, Shimano EP801), CILO Kyano HC (Enduro, 170 mm, Shimano EP801)
• Return journey: Rhätische Bahn Poschiavo – Pontresina (bike ticket require)
• Stops: Ospizio Bernina, Alp Grüm, Bio Bistro Semadeni (Poschiavo)
• Use case: Weekend adventure (short trip to the Upper Engadin with a stay at Hotel Palü)