Bike Zone Schali

Skills Pump Jump

The concept for the Schali Bike Zone was developed in close collaboration with the client, Bikeclub Mattertal. Of great importance is a level-appropriate and progressive set-up for learning basic mountain biking techniques such as riding over obstacles, braking, navigating, estimating speed, maintaining balance, pumping, and jumping. For safety reasons, the three zones Skills, Pump, and Jump are designed as self-contained loops and therefore never intersect. 

The Skills Loop is for practicing various obstacles such as drops, skinnies, rock gardens, off combers, rock slabs, roots, and hairpin turns, some of which even have different levels of difficulty. The Pump Track focuses primarily on rhythm, cornering, and pumping. The jump lines, on the other hand, require a certain level of bike control, which can be acquired in the other two zones. The large line consists of dirt and has two lanes; transfers from the left to the right line and vice versa are possible on the first three jumps. The line is rounded off with a schnitzel jump and a wall ride. The small asphalt line serves as a return to the large line and as a gateway to the world of jumps.

Local recreation and tourism at the same time

The primary goal of the Mattertal Bike Club was to create an ideal training location for the approximately 150 members of the Mattertal Bike Club; public and free of charge. However, the aim was also to open up the facility to other roller sports (scooters, skateboards, inline skates, etc.) with the paved pump track, as well as to provide a level-appropriate learning area for commercial bike schooling. The Bike Zone Schali is therefore the central basic offering of the entire mountain bike infrastructure in the Zermatt-Matterhorn destination. The Skills Park is 5 minutes away from Täsch train station and is also accessible via the local mountain bike route 150 Visp-Zermatt Bike. The Bike Zone perfectly complements the existing nature-oriented leisure facilities in Schali, which include a swimming lake, playground, wakeboard lift, refreshment bar, and beach volleyball court, both in terms of content and landscape.

Unused zone conformity

The Mattertal Bike Club evaluated several locations. The search for a location in the densely built-up valley floor in the village of Zermatt proved challenging. Finally, the bike club found what it was looking for at Lake Schali in Täsch. Together with the municipality, the project was developed on the 3300m2 vacant lot. It proved to be a great advantage that the area was already zoned for sports and recreation, so no spatial planning measures had to be taken. However, the site had not been used for its intended purpose, but had served as a temporary storage area for wood and materials.

From wasteland to mountain bike playground

The once flat site was first roughly remodeled in an initial construction phase (fall 2022). Two larger hills and the dirt jumps were newly built on the site. In the second construction phase (spring/summer 2023), the three zones were incorporated into the pre-built terrain modulation, which was allowed to settle over the winter. One hill serves as a run-up for the jumps and the drop battery, while the other hill is the starting point for the downhill switchbacks and the rock garden. The embankments in particular give the area a three-dimensional component. On the one hand, this creates run-up energy for jumps and drops, and on the other hand, the terrain modulation contributes significantly to the overall spatial experience. Complemented by the planting of native and site-appropriate seeds, trees, and shrubs, the former wasteland blends back into the area around Lake Schalisee.