Stilfserjoch / Passo delle Stelvio - Italy
Italy's most famous and iconic mountain pass.
Stilfserjoch - Stelvio 2758m
This legendary climb was on my bucket-list for a while. Located in the Italian Alps, the Passo dello Stelvio is one of the highest paved mountain passes in Europe sitting at an elevation of 2,758 meters. The climb from Prato allo Stelvio is approximately 24km long, and climbs 1800 meter with an average gradient for 7.4% rising to 14% in places. Its 48 famous hairpin turns takes you through stunning alpine scenery along the Ortler mountain range.
During the Middle Ages, the pass was used by merchants and travellers, but it remained a rugged and challenging route due to its high altitude and harsh weather conditions. The construction of the pass road by the Austrian Empire between 1820 and 1825, initially as a military road, increased the importance of the pass; it remained in Austria till the end of the first World War, after which it fell to Itay.
Today it is the border between the German speaking Alto Adige and the Italian speaking Lombardy provinces.
Stilfserjoch from Prad
Into the valley and onto Trafoi
So, what is it like to climb up this incredible road? The experience did not disappoint and it is everything you have heard, read and imagined about it and much much more. It is long, exhausting, exhilarating, and probably one of the most intense cycling experiences available. The road from Prato takes you from a lovely lush valley, at first along a river and cycle path, all the way to the top of the pass where temperatures can drop below freezing even at the hight of summer. There is no respite, only climbing. At first at moderate gradients through forests, along creeks and meadowed valleys till the village of Trafoi. Images of great cyclist and the omnipresent Fausto Coppi line the road in Trafoi and serve as a motivation for the road ahead. The climb really starts at Trafoi, and you gain altitude quickly through a series of hairpin bends. You can not only smell the pine forest but also the overheating breaks of the oncoming traffic as the pass demands its pound of flesh from everything passing over it.
As the trees recede and the Ortler group of mountains appear of the left which stay with you to the top. They are truly breathtaking. On the road, at 2,188 meter altitude the Franzenshöhe Hotel comes into view and the last push through and up the end of valley awaits. Hairpin chases hairpin with a couple of ramps thrown in in-between. The gradient increases and so does the pain in your legs and lungs. Photographers positioned in some of the bends take picture of the exhausted cyclist (which can later be bought on-line) and which mobilises extra energy for a smile and a little wave. The higher you go, the faster tick the hairpins by, 10, 9, 8… One last twist awaits between bend 3 and 4 where the gradient nudges up again, a last act of defiance by the beast before it lets you continue to the pass where a carnival atmosphere awaits. Exhausted cyclist quickly forget the pain and endeavour and light up with a sense of triumph. Sausages and burgers are on the BBQ, souvenirs everywhere and cyclists walking about almost dazed by the enormity of what they have achieved.
Looking back - These are the 48 most famous switchbacks in Italy
It hits you when looking back down the valley and seeing the road edging its way through the hillside from the Franzenzhöhe Hotel at the end of the valley. Even years afterwards, the memory of the combination of the smells of the pine trees, the wind and weather, the road and the physical experience stays with you forever. What a great place and what a great ride.
Passo delle Stelvio from Bormio
This ride is one of the most epic rides available in the Alps.
The ascent from Bormio is shorter and has 10 hairpins less than its famous sibling from the north but it is nevertheless packs a punch right from the gun. The Stelvio is a legendary climb - there is nothing like riding the Stelvio. Awe inspiring ride - the gravitas of this rides grows with every pedal stroke.
38 of the most famous switchbacks in Italy
Riding the Stelvio is a unique experience - great mountains, 38 hairpins, mysterious tunnels, unpredictable weather and the highest pass road in Italy. Oh, and a fabulous downhill on good roads. What is not to like?
Tunnels
The climb covers 21 km, ascends 1555 meters and has four distinct sections.
Right from the gun, the road climbs hard right out of Bormio into the Valle de Braulio.
It goes past the old baths, through a series of twisty tunnels and rising for about 10 km high above the valley floor with 750m altitude gained.
Switchbacks
This long sweeping road comes to a sudden stop and starts climbs up a "wall" along 14 hairpin bends. There is a water fall and rapids to the left of this section which climbs 250m over 3.3 km.
This is a really lovely flowing part of the climb. The hairpins are very regular and take you high above the Valle de Braulio.
Breather
After the last hairpin, the landscape opens out for 4.5km into a long wide valley where the gradient drops a bit.
The road is mainly straight, passes a war memorial and after a couple of hairpins and climbing around 280m it reaches the turnoff to Switzerland and the Umbrail Pass.
Hard Gradients
Leaving the turnoff to Umbrail pass behind and onto the last section. This really hurts your legs and test your stamina as the gradient increases and you start to feel the altitude. It is a relentless push to the top covering around 3km and 260m of elevation gain.
This is the part where the Stelvio really bites!
Stilfserjoch in the Giro
The Stelvio Pass holds a special place in the history of cycling and the Giro d’Italia. It was first included in the race in 1953 and it is often used as the Cima Coppi. The first time the Stelvio was included in the Giro, Fausto Coppi attacked on the descent and soloed to victory, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest climbers of all time. The mountain has seen other great battles over the years. In 1972: Jose Manuel Fuente and Eddy Merckx battled fiercely on the Stelvio, with Fuente ultimately winning the stage and in 1988 Andy Hampsten braved a snowstorm on the Stelvio during Stage 14, wearing only a short-sleeve jersey and no gloves, making him the first (and so far, only) American to win the race.
Stilfserjoch from Prad
Length: 24.9km
Altitude gain: 1846m
Max altitude: 2758 m
Average gradient: 7.4%
Max gradient: 10.3%
Route Tip: Ascending the Stelvio from Prato via its 48 famous hairpins and descending via the Umbrail pass in Switzerland, which is also the highest pass in Switzerland.
This makes a very nice circular ride and descending into Switzerland means also less traffic and a truly wonderful road.
Stelvio from Bormio
Length: 21.1km
Altitude gain: 1555m
Max altitude: 2758 m
Average gradient: 7.4%
Max gradient: 12.6%
Route Tip:If you are full of energy, there are a number of options to extend the ride.
You can descent down the Umbrail Pass to Gasthaus Alpenrose which has a great view into Val Mustair and climb back the Umbrail Pass. This is a lovely climb and adds 9km and 700m elevation. See route suggestion.
You could descent all 48 hairpins to Prato and do a full climb back up - hard. A double ascent is about 90km and 3400m climbing!
Alternatively, a partial descent to Gasthof Franzenshöhe and climbing back up adds 21 of the 48 hairpins covering 570m altitude gain over 7km.
