Harter Brocken MTB

TRAIL is the technical version with demanding singletrails and descents through trail parks. Best on an all-mountain or enduro bike, a downhill bike is too heavy for the elevation gain.

MTB takes you down less demanding descents, classically on a hardtail or a light full-suspension bike. GRAVEL runs about 90 per cent on wide gravel tracks with short tarmac sections and is rideable throughout. ROAD is the longest loop in the series and made for the road bike.

Bronze is designed for three days: 2 to 4 hours of training per week, 40 to 70 km, a solid base fitness. Your backside should be used to the saddle.

Silver is for two days: 5 to 8 hours per week, 70 to 120 km, good endurance with regular breaks. Gold is one day: 8 to 10 hours per week, 150 to 250 km, very high endurance and strength. The route stays the same in all three tiers, only your time window changes.

Package S is the digital experience: access to the challenge in the app with stamps, points and levels, the GPS data, the digital certificate and the folding map as a PDF.

Package M includes all of that plus the handmade concrete trophy with a matching base and the printed folding map.

It depends on your level: Bronze from mid-February to mid-November, Silver from March to October. The days are long enough then and the weather is more stable. For Gold we recommend late April to mid-September, because you need as much daylight as possible on a single day.

If there is snow, the route is closed, as required by the state forestry service and the national park. Riding is banned at night, to protect the wildlife and because visibility is poor.

Gold: with the first rays of sun, so between 4 and 5 am in midsummer. That leaves time for breaks without ending up in the dark.

Silver and Bronze: between 6 and 7 am. That gives you a buffer in case a tyre bursts or something takes longer than planned.

After activation you get the GPS data by email. You load it into Komoot or Strava or straight onto your device, for example via Garmin Connect or Wahoo ELEMNT. The app itself doesn't navigate yet.

A tip for importing into Komoot: choose follow the original route and not “adjust to known paths”. Our data is more precise, even if the line sometimes looks slightly offset.

Automatically by email, usually within a few seconds of your purchase. If you can't find the email, please check your spam folder.

If you order several challenges, all codes are in one email, each clearly assigned. You then pass them on to your team yourself.

No. The code only unlocks the challenge in the app. You have to start it yourself, and before that there is a safety prompt so it doesn't happen by accident.

Your time only runs from that start. So do it when you are really setting off.

No. Once the code has been redeemed in the app, the challenge stays saved in your account. You can start it later, even in one of the coming years.

Yes. Your time runs on, whether your battery is dead or you close the app. Once you recharge and open it again, the remaining time is shown correctly.

Yes, as long as your GPS is active. Within a 50-metre radius of the summit the stamp button becomes active, the app saves the stamp locally and uploads it as soon as you have a connection again.

Everything else needs signal: loading maps, starting the challenge and finishing it. There is no full offline mode.

No. If you only use it for stamping, you open it at the summit, set the stamp and close it again.

Please don't ride up again. Get in touch with us using the email address you registered with in the app and, if possible, a screenshot.

We can add missing stamps afterwards. Nobody should have to climb the mountain a second time because of a technical error.

The challenge is ridden in one go, so abandoning it normally counts as not completed.

If an injury or an irreparable mechanical stops you, please get in touch with us as quickly as possible. We'll look at your case and find a solution together. And if things get serious, the rule is always: safety first, the emergency services are on 112.

Once you've completed the challenge, the app shows you the partner hotels and summits that have trophies in stock, with address, opening hours and phone number. Only the places listed there have them.

On site, you show your completion in the app, and they know the process. At the moment, the HKK Hotel Wernigerode is the central collection point.