Route: Airolo to Ulrichen – 22.5 miles

 

Ridden: 21/07/2010

 

Either way you ride this pass it is a great ride and strongly recommended. It also has the advantage that it’s close to a number of other great passes – Furka, Grimsel, Oberalp, St Gotthard and Susten – so base yourself in Andermatt and ride all these passes both ways.

 

From Airolo the first ten miles or so is very fast and open but even when you get to the hairpins to take you the final climb to the summit, they are nice and open. The surface is also very good. One of the fastest passes Phil has ever ridden. Coming down towards Ulrichen it’s steeper but again the hairpins are nice and open and you can measure your turn in, apex and exit lines before you get there. The pass then opens up down the valley before a final series of bends takes you into Ulrichen where you can turn right for the Grimsel and Furka passes.

 

The ascent from Airolo is 14 miles at an average of 5.5%. From Ulrichen the ascent is 8.5 miles at an average of 8.5%.

 

Fantastic either way.

 

 

Route: Route 13 Splugen to Mesocco – 26 miles

 

Ridden: 21/07/2010

 

From Splugen you can only follow the old road a little way before it is entirely subsumed by the new road, which you have to join. When you are past Hinterrhein take care to follow the Blue sign to “San Bernardino Pass” not the Green sign to “San Bernardino”. The latter takes you through the new tunnel. The old pass starts immediately by the tunnel entrance. A series of tight, often blind, hairpins takes you to the plateau above where you then climb gently to the refugio at the summit, next to a lake. The ascent from the tunnel entrance is only 5.5 miles at an average of 5.1%.

 

The descent is nice as the hairpins are more open and you get more opportunity to plot your line. 3,000 feet lower down and you arrive at San Bernardino. You can then continue on the old road to Mesocco or, if you’re short of time, get on the new pass road. This is actually good fun as its well cambered and surfaced so you can get a bit of a rip on if you can avoid getting stuck behind the HGVs and camper vans.

 

If you approach from the south you’ll be coming from Bellinzona. There’s no point in using the old road. Stay on the new road – the A13/E43 until Mesocco when you can get off and rejoin the pass road to San Bernardino and beyond to the summit. The ascent from Mesocco is 12.5 miles at an average of 4.5%.

 

A good pass either way you ride it but overall more fun if you approach from the south.

 

 

Route: SS36 Splugen to Chiavenna - 25 miles

 

Ridden: 21/07/2010

 

From the village of Splugen the pass is clearly signposted. The first stretch is a series of gentle hairpins, which lead you up to a long drag up the valley to an interminable series of very tight and sometimes blind hairpins. After an age the road opens up a little and you find yourself at the summit – unusual for a pass in that there isn’t the usual pass sign stating the height above sea level. Phil’s Garmin said 6,963 Ft above MSL. The ascent from Splugen is only 6 miles at an average gradient of 6.4 %.

 

Phil ran a little way down this pass towards St. Moritz but didn’t really get to assess the southern ramp. His guess was that it would be easier to ride up the southern ramp and down the northern ramp – at least that way you can see what is coming. The ascent from Chiavenna is much longer – 19 miles at an average of 5.9%.

 

 

Route: Route 17 Altdorf to Linthal – 26 miles

 

Ridden: 20/07/2010

 

From Altdorf you ride through the village of Burglen and the pass starts properly. The early sections are straightforward and flowing but before you drop into the village of Ulrichen you can look upwards and see the pass road climbing above you. You ride through the village and the pass kicks up. Still well surfaced and not too difficult you climb into more open territory with a very large drop to your right into the valley. If you suffer from vertigo we suggest you ride down this side, not up, as at least then you keep near the cliff face and away from the drop. You then have a straightforward stretch up to the pass summit. The climb up is 15 miles at an average of 6.1%.

 

Descending towards Linthal the road is quite a bit tighter than the ascent but again nothing too taxing. After a while the road opens up with a nice run down the valley, before you get to the final descent into Linthal. The only thing to worry about on the descent if it’s wet is that three of the hairpins are still cobbled, and they are not too grippy. The ascent from Linthal is 11 miles at an average 5.7%.

 

This pass is nice whichever way you ride it. Our recommendation would be to ride it from Altdorf to Linthal, and then turn round and ride it the other way. Unless you have to approach from Glarus, don’t – the road is busy and congested and best avoided.

 

 

Route: D902 St. Michel de Maurienne to Valloire – 10 miles

 

Ridden: 20/06/2010

 

A fairly non descript pass. Perhaps it was the bad weather that prevented us from getting whatever good views there were to be had on the ascent from St. Michel but it just seemed like a road that got higher and then dropped a little on the short descent to Valloire.

 

The ascent from St. Michel is 7.5 miles at an average of 7.3% and the ascent from Valloire is 2.5 miles at an average 3.4%.

 

Overall just a means of getting to the Galibier from the north.

 

 

Route: D213 Pussy to La Chambre - 27 miles

 

Ridden: 20/06/2010

 

The pass road starts close to the village of Pussy and climbs steadily up the right hand side of the valley. The road is narrow, there are a number of blind bends and the surface is patchy. However, you are also rewarded with some lovely views up and down the valley. After the village of Celliers, at about the 11 mile mark, the road widens and the surface improves. It’s then a fast run to the summit.

 

The descent starts nicely with the run down to St. Francois Longchamp where there is a typical dreary looking ski resort. From there on the descent to La Chambre is fairly mundane. Although the road is wide to accommodate the coaches bearing skiers, the road surface has suffered from the heavy traffic.

 

The ascent from Pussy is 15 miles at an average of 6.3%. The ascent from La Chambre is 12 miles at an average of 7.7%.

 

 

Route: SS39 Tresenda to Edolo - 18 miles

 

Ridden: 17/06/2009

 

Not a particularly noteworthy pass, although pleasant enough to ride. Really a means to an end. From Livigno, the quickest most direct route to Brescia (Montechiari) airport takes you over this pass.

 

 

Route: Via Tiefencastel to La Punt Chamues - 25 miles

 

Ridden: 16/06/2009

 

Leaving Tiefencastel the road follows the valley floor and the railway past Filisur to Bergun. From Bergun the road tightens and in some places the road surface is not the best, but the scenery is very good. Adding to the interest is observing the contortions of the railway in order to gain height. The gradient is so steep the railway does a series of loops, one past Bergun and three more near Naz. You can see a series of interconnecting viaducts. You lose sight of the railway past Preda as it enters a tunnel for the run down to the Engadine valley at Bever. Meanwhile you continue to climb until you exit the tree line and begin a fast run up to the summit. You then have a fast descent following the river until a final series of hairpins, none of them tight, bring you down to La Pont Chamues. A really nice pass.

 

 

Route: Route 3 Silvaplana to Tiefencastel - 21 miles

 

Ridden: 16/06/2009

 

Coming west from St. Moritz you come to Silvaplana and turn right towards Tiefencastel. This is a main highway and as such the road is wide with few tight bends - even the hairpins are broad and sweeping. On reaching the summit 470m higher than the start point the road tightens up a bit in three sections before reaching the village of Mulegns. The road down is very scenic running past Lago da Marmorela. From Mulegns the road gradually descends to Tiefencastel at 851m, where you can turn right towards the Albula pass.

 

 

Route: SP81 Monno to Mazzo di Valtellina - 14 miles

 

Ridden: 16/06/2009

 

Not a particularly high pass but one we rode because Kyle and Phil as keen cyclists wanted to see one of the great Giro d’Italia climbs - one which Lance Armstrong described in 2004 as the hardest climb he had ever ridden.

 

We ascended from the south turning right off the SS42 towards Monno. The climb from this side is fairly gradual and pleasant. The descent towards Mazzo took us down the gradient that the Giro cyclists have to climb up. The climb up is about 7.5 miles long and climbs 1,300m at an average grade of 10.5%. The maximum gradient is 18%. We could easily understand what Armstrong was getting at. The road on this side is almost all single track and the hairpins are tight, hence the suggestion that you are better off riding down, rather than up, this side.

 

If you are interested in riding this quirky pass but can't find it on a map, look for the official name, Passo di Foppa.