After several years of project planning, Bikestrecke Grütschalp Association was able to start building the bike trail in August 2016. Today, Thursday, 18 May 2017, the route was presented to invited guests and media exclusively during a pre-opening. The maiden voyage from Grütschalp to Lauterbrunnen was contested by former bike pro Nick Beer, followed by Yvonne Birker, who won third place at the Masters Downhill World Championship, as well as numerous cyclists from the region. Beer was thrilled: "Our region has a huge potential for mountain bikers. It's great that with the Grütsch Trail a great attraction has been created." Following the route tour, Jungfrau Railways director Urs Kessler emphasised the importance of this new attraction: "With the bike trail, we are revisiting our Winteregg-Grütschalp excursion destination and have a great leisure attraction that meets an increasing demand." On the existing hiking trails from Winteregg and Grütschalp to Lauterbrunnen, there is also always friction between hikers and cyclists. With the freeride route, this situation will be significantly improved. The president of the Bikestrecke Grütschalp Association, Werner Imboden, is convinced of this: "After the long planning period, we are happy that on Saturday we will be able to hand over the first freeride circuit in the region to all interested sports enthusiasts," he said at the pre-opening in front of guests and media.  

Opening festivities 

This Saturday, 20 May, the "Grütsch Trail" will be officially inaugurated together with local residents and guests. From 10 AM to 7 PM in Lauterbrunnen at the valley station of the Lauterbrunnen-Mürren mountain railway (BLM), there will be drinks and food, such as the "cyclist sausage". Daredevils can test the trail on the opening day. The BLM aerial cableway brings dedicated cyclists high up onto Grütschalp in a few minutes. Directly below the mountain station is where the varied trail begins. With an average gradient of 20 per cent, the red route offers advanced cyclists attractive trail and north shore areas, steeply falling sections and flow passages. Across approximately four kilometres, freeride enthusiasts will be able to negotiate around 600 metres in altitude within ten to twenty minutes. At the end of the trail, an asphalt road leads directly back to the cable car valley station.