Words and pictures by Ambassador Ulysse Daessle.

 

How do our favorite alpine places look in deep winter? Are they still as beautiful as we thought, when green is white, when flowing water is now ice, and when the only path is made of snow?

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The remote valley called Malghera is exactly this kind of place. A stunning place in summer, you can’t reach it easily in winter. The road is closed and you would need to walk for long kilometers before finding the snow, making impossible to reach the valley on skis.

So why not take the bike?

The first part of the climb was free of snow. Only a big rock was there, in the middle of the road. A reminder that the frost and the big temperature changes are hitting hard up in the mountains.

The climb was now a narrower path, a mix of compact and soft snow. The good traction of the 27.5+ tires and the electric motor kept me going for a while before the snow became too deep forcing me to pull up. The walk mode was a perfect help in these circumstances.

I finally reached the Church I was looking for! A strange apparition in the middle of the mountains.

It was now time to play!

It was surely not a usual ride, but it was proper fun. The curiosity to discover a place I’d never seen in winter and the fun of enjoying both the uphill and the downhill with the Remote 160 made a great journey on the bike!

Now let’s dry the shoes for the next ride!