Successful Work & Ride Week at Lenk

Author: Lenk-Simmental Tourismus & Vast Trails

Lenk-Simmental Tourismus wants to gradually bring the trail network into shape over the next few years in cooperation with the responsible authority, the municipality of Lenk, and the Lenk mountain railways. Damage that has occurred to the trails over the years due to weather influences, sometimes suboptimal trail design and increasingly intensive use is now being sustainably repaired on an ongoing basis with various service providers. This will reduce the effort required to maintain the maintained paths and trails over the next few years and significantly improve the experience for all the trail users. “In the future, hikers and mountain bikers should benefit equally from the increased trail quality,” says Rolf Marmet, mountain bike product manager at Lenk-Simmental Tourismus.

Because the effort required to completely renovate the existing trails exceeds the capacity of the local trail crews, professional help was brought on board from the trail construction company Vast Trails. Based on a well-founded trail network analysis, the partners defined measures for the individual trail sections, which are now being implemented step by step based on a multi-year plan. To support these measures, the tourism organization developed the “Work & Ride Week” format, which was held for the first time from July 18 to 22, 2022. 14 motivated participants registered for this volunteer campaign. This format offers the ideal opportunity to show what is needed so that a trail can work sustainably for all user groups. Divided into two groups of 7, we took turns picking and shoveling on the Leiterli-Tungelpass section of the trail for half a day. During the other half of the day, the volunteers scouted out the region’s numerous single trails by bike. As a thank you, food, accommodation and mountain railway tickets were offered in return.

Guided by the trail building specialists from Vast Trails, the participants learned the basics of sustainable trail building. An exuberant atmosphere prevailed throughout the week “The team spirit among the participants was excellent right from the start, despite the sometimes large age difference and different professional backgrounds. We hadn’t expected such energetic motivation!” says a delighted Severin Schindler from Vast Trails.

The Lenk 2022 Work & Ride Week was a great success from the point of view of everyone involved in the project, as this format also allowed guests to contribute to a sustainable trail network and attract new guests to the region. The intention is to organize a second edition in summer 2023.

Video & Photos: Simon Ricklin