Ride today before a wet Saturday sweeps the northern Alps

Friday is the dry day across most of the Alps, with hero dirt at a few high, sunny parks. On Saturday a band of rain moves along the northern side, from the Swiss lowlands through Vorarlberg and Salzburg, with up to around 17 mm. The south stays largely dry, though many trails there are still in the wet band and recovering. Further afield, La Palma and Maribor look the most reliable.

Best riding today

Friday is the day to ride. Zermatt Bikepark scores 66, right in hero dirt, with no rain today and only around 1 mm on Saturday. It is one of the sunniest, fastest-draining parks we track, so it should hold up into the weekend.

Bike Republic Sölden is also in hero dirt at 65 and dry today, and Bikepark Schladming sits just into dry at 72. Both catch rain tomorrow, so today is their window.

In Slovenia, Bikepark Maribor Pohorje is at 71, hero dirt, with only a trace of rain today and a dry Saturday. It drains faster than almost all our parks.

Friday is mostly dry across the Alps, with rain limited to Germany and a few light showers on the northern side.

A wet Saturday on the northern Swiss side

Central and northern Switzerland is already wet, with most parks around 20, and Saturday brings the heaviest rain of the report. Hoch Ybrig and Höhoren Wildspitz get around 17 mm, Zug 15 mm and Zürich Uetliberg 13 mm. Höhoren Wildspitz is already muddy and gusts there reach about 66 km/h.

The Bernese Oberland is a slower recovery. Grindelwald-Wengen, Mürren-Schilthorn and Grindelwald-First get 8 to 10 mm and hold water longer than most parks, so expect soft trails well beyond Saturday. Zug and Uetliberg drain quickly and will bounce back sooner.

Further west, Bern Gurten, Champéry and Biel pick up 5 to 8 mm. The Valais is the exception: Saas-Fee at 54 stays almost dry both days.

Austria turns wet tomorrow

Western and eastern Austria both go from mostly dry today to rain on Saturday. Brandnertal is wettest at around 11 mm and holds water, so it stays soft. Saalbach Hinterglemm gets rain both days, around 4 mm then 7 mm, and Leogang adds about 5 mm to wet ground that drains slowly.

Trailcenter Ossiacher See is the Saturday pick in Carinthia, with only a trace of rain and quick drainage, though it starts in the variable band at 48.

The south stays dry but still recovering

Ticino, the Italian Alps and southern Graubünden see little or no rain on either day, but most trails still score around 20. Dry weather helps the fast drainers most: Ascona, Monte Bar and Arosio in Ticino, Val di Sole, and Chur and Thusis in Graubünden.

The best current scores in Italy are Cortina d'Ampezzo at 53, Breuil-Cervinia at 49 and Reschen Pass at 47, all variable. Finale Ligure stays dry and drains very fast, but expect gusts near 51 km/h today.

In the southern French Alps, Serre Chevalier and Les Orres are dry on Saturday and drain faster than nearly all our parks, a good sign for later recovery.

Saturday brings a band of rain along the northern Alps, up to around 17 mm in central Switzerland, while the south stays dry.

Northern French Alps and Germany

The Portes du Soleil area gets rain on Saturday: around 8 mm at Châtel, 7 mm at Morzine and 5 to 6 mm at Les Gets and La Clusaz, which is already muddy. Lac Blanc adds wind, with gusts near 61 km/h.

Germany is wet both days. Winterberg and Willingen take around 11 to 12 mm today and 5 to 8 mm tomorrow, with strong gusts.

Further afield

La Palma West scores 84, dry, and has the sunniest, fastest-draining ground of all our parks; around 3 mm on Saturday will barely register.

Whistler Mountain is dry at 74 but takes around 14 mm today. Saturday is dry and cooler at about 8 degrees.

Our call

If you can only ride one day, make it today at Zermatt, Sölden or Schladming. For Saturday, head south to Ticino, the Dolomites, Maribor or Zermatt, and leave the northern Swiss and Austrian parks alone.