Mountain biking in Filzmoos: your bike day on the Rossbrand

In summer, the Papagenobahn runs on selected days: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and in high summer on Sundays too. You’ll find the exact days on the Operating Hours page. On those days, the gondolas run from 9:00 to 16:30.

Rain alone won’t stop the lift. In storms or thunderstorms, however, operations may be restricted or suspended. So check the seven-day forecast on the weather page the evening before, and the webcam at the top station in the morning.

Park at P4, the car park right by the Papagenobahn valley station. Without a car, you can get around the village on the Fidibus: in summer it runs as a hiking bus from May to October, daily in July, August and September, and with your host’s Filzmoos Sommer Card the ride is free. You can take your bike on the bus.

At the ticket office, buy your uphill ride plus bike transport, and your bike goes up with you. Seven minutes later you’re at the top station at around 1,600 metres. You’ll find the current prices on the Tickets & Prices page.

If there are 20 or more of you, you ride at the group rate, and if you buy together you get one free place. Families benefit from the family bonus: the third and every additional child born in 2011 or later rides free. If you’re staying with a participating host in Filzmoos, you’ll get the Filzmoos Sommer Card. It includes one return trip per operating day. Whether your bike rides free with it too is best checked right at the ticket office.

No bike of your own? The mountain railways don’t rent bikes, but in the village you can get mountain bikes and e-bikes at Sport Stefan and Intersport Flory.

The loop starts where the gondola arrives: at the top station, right by the Schörgialm. From here on it’s your own pedal power, across alpine pastures and along forest roads. The Rossbrand Loop is 16 kilometres long with around 50 metres of elevation gain and follows the same route as loop 3 of the High-Altitude Trail in winter.

The summit cross at 1,768 metres is right by the loop, just under 170 metres above the top station. You simply ride up on your bike – you can’t get any higher on the Rossbrand. Right next to it is the Radstädter Hütte. If you want to stop there, be up by 16:00, because that’s when the kitchen stops cooking. Only in extremely bad weather may it close at short notice. Then it’s downhill towards the valley, and this part is all yours.

The mountain bike map on our Biking page shows where the loop runs, along with the huts and the summit cross. Take a good look at it before your ride.

For your first stop you don’t have to pedal a single metre: the Schörgialm is right at the top station. From there you can reach the Moosalm at 1,334 metres on foot or by bike. It’s a hiking destination and bike stop in one. On the menu: porcini soup, apricot dumplings and homemade juices.

In the Rossbrand forest lies the Oberhagmoosalm at 1,376 metres, 15 minutes by bike from the top station. The bacon, sausages and cheese come from their own farm, and kids will find a playground and a small animal enclosure there.

Moosalm and Oberhagmoosalm both lie below the top station. If you stop there before the summit, you’ll have to pedal that height back up afterwards. So it’s better to save them for the way down – check the mountain bike map to see how they fit with your descent.

Not everyone in your group wants to bike? Then set off separately and meet up at the top. The pushchair-friendly Panorama Trail from the top station up to the summit cross takes about 90 minutes. How best to plan the day on foot is explained in our article on hiking on the Rossbrand.

Allow the same time for the way back to the top station – another 90 minutes or so. The Papagenobahn only runs until 16:30: anyone on foot who wants to take the gondola down should therefore leave the summit cross by 15:00 at the latest, and buy a return ticket instead of just the uphill ride. If you meet at a hut instead, the same applies: on foot it’s around 50 minutes back to the top station from the Moosalm, and around 75 from the Oberhagmoosalm.

Kids who aren’t cycling yet can start right at the Schörgialm: that’s where the Picture Book Loop begins, with seven stamp stations, designed for children aged four to seven. You’ll find more ideas for families in our article on hiking with kids in Filzmoos.

And when you split up again at the summit cross, the morning’s division of labour applies: you ride downhill.