Background

Slabness is a great trail on Mt Velo which is located above Torbole on the northern end of Lake Garda. The name Mt Velo literally translates into English to mean the bike mountain. With a name like that and being at and altitude of 1200 meters, its a bikers paradise and is very popular among free riders and downhillers seeking an adrenalen rush! We have devised a great loop around the mountain which really makes the most of the height. Starting at our base in Ronzo Chienis and finishing in Arco at the bottom of the valley its one of the classics.

The Trail

Departing from Ronzo Chienis which is at an altitude of 1000 meters, we must make our way up to the top of Mt Velo which is 1200 meters. The trail we climb up on is a narrow road which is nice and quiet and only used for farming vehicles, so is safe to ride. Once as we crest the top at Santa Barbra there is a welcome water stop where we refresh ourselves and take in the mighty views over the Italian Dolomites. Now we are at the top we aim to keep our height and contour around the saddle of Mt Stivo which towers above Mt Velo.

We turn off road for the first time and scoot down the fast and flowing first descent which is a double track hidden away in the trees. The section is really good fun, one of those simple trails that you know you can just get off the brakes and really have some fun. Popping out in the back of a local farmer's garden, from here we take a fire road climb which will bring us between the rocks at Passa due Sasse. And the good news is its all down hill form here!

After some photos and a snack to eat we make our way down the fire road before we turn off onto the Slabness trail. It's a funny story of how we came to name the trails slabness but all you need to take out of it is rock slabs. The trail starts off quite leafy with some banked turns and plenty of line choice. It then gets rockier and rockier, crossing back and forth over the road as we take the direct route! The main slab is about 40 meters long and is off camber to boot! It's such a thrill when you make it to the end, you dare not even take a breath when you're on it, just in case it upsets your grip.

 As we descend down you can really notice the air getting warmer and warmers, perfect for the grapes in the many surrounding vineyards. The very bottom section is a maze of grassy trails and dusty paths that wind their way through locals back doors, only in Italy. After an hour and a half of pure descending we stop off for ice cream in Arco, a historic town just north of Lake Garda. Sometimes we will ride to the lake which is only 20 minutes on the flat and take a swim just to cool off! But what about the climb back u again i hear you say? If you think this all sounds too easy, we'll it gets even better, to top it all off- the shuttle van was waiting there to bring us back up to base camp in Ronzo again. But if you're really up for the challenge, the time to beat is 1 hour and 6 minutes to the top!