Stelvio - preferred route up / down

dsoutar

Not sure if this is going to divide opinion or not. Is there a preferred side to ascend / descend the Stelvio ? I'm going to be within a stones throw of it in August (Mustair in Switzerland) so plan to go up it. Just wondering what people think about it. As I am going to be in Switzerland the ascent from Bormio is not ideal (as I'd have to ascend, descend and then ascend again)

Also is there anything else close by that warrants a look ?

RandG

Not sure what or where you mean exactly, but the decent in to Bormio is far better than the decent down the Umbralpass down into Santa Maria however the Ofenpass is fantastic once you get on to it.

dsoutar

I suppose what I meant was that staying in Mustair I have basically two routes for a circuit involving the Stelvio. Go up to the Passo Umbrail then Stelvio Pass and down to Stelvio, Sluderno, and then back over to Switzerland via Taufers or do the reverse.

I did half think about Mustair - Bormio - Livigno - Ofenpass - Mustair using the shuttle bus through the tunnel. but that's a fairly long day out. We're only there for a week and I'm out with the wife (non cyclist) so I don't want to take the piss too much as I want to have a couple of rides in the week we have in Cogne (Aosta valley).

I might just try going to Zernez and back over the Ofenpass for an early morning jaunt in addition to the Stelvio.

RandG

All I can really add is that the Umbrail Pass is in hellish condition, not even a road as such, more a dirt track.

dsoutar

Oh !! :shock:
Thanks for the heads up; kind of knocks on the head then any idea of doing the Stelvio from Mustair

I had no idea the road was that bad. Swiss roads, even in the mountains are usually fairly decent.

RandG

dsoutar wrote:

I had no idea the road was that bad. Swiss roads, even in the mountains are usually fairly decent.

They are indeed, but not that track. I can't exactly remember how long it lasts, it might only be a few miles, but it certainly isn't the best of surfaces.

knedlicky

dsoutar wrote:

Is there a preferred side to ascend / descend the Stelvio

The traditional way to go up the Stelvio is from Prato because it’s from that side, when you come out of the woods above Trafoi, that you see the road winding and winding up and up.
From Bormio it’s overall not quite as hard, although the last 2-3 km on that side (from the junction with the Umbrail to the top) are probably harder than any 2-3 km on the Prato side.

I think RandG has painted a blacker picture of the descent down the Umbrail than I would. It’s true that the middle 4 km between the top of the pass and Santa Maria isn’t asphalted; it’s sort of like smooth, compacted sand/fine gravel, so you have to be appropriately careful on bends.
But I’ve been down that way 3 times, each time with 10-12 others, and we’ve all got down okay, keeping speeds back to about 40-50 kph over the unsurfaced stretch.

The only time I was a bit anxious was once, after it had been snowing in the days beforehand. There was no snow on the road, but (on the unsurfaced part of the Umbrail descent) small channels diagonally cross the road carrying water away and, that time, the rushing snowmelt water seemed to have widened them slightly, meaning you had to take them carefully in order to avoid an impact where you might be thrown.

The Ofenpass descent to Zernez is great, even though halfway down, there is 5 kms of slight climbing. But I find one particular part of the ascent from the Santa Maria side a real chore, because as you leave one of the villages (can’t remember if it’s Valchava or Tschierv) it suddenly turns unexpectedly steep.

knedlicky

dsoutar wrote:

Also is there anything else close by that warrants a look ?

I think a route over the Ofenpass, down to Zernez, on to Scuol and then Martina, up the Norbertshöhe (a pleasant small windey pass through the woods) to Nauders, then over the Reschenpass to Glurns, then Taufers back to Müstair would be a good ride.

From Reschen you can ride the Vinschgau bike path rather then the road (it goes from Reschen all the way to Merano). I don’t know how it compares to the road on the actual descent so I might tend to go back to the road for the main descent between St. Valentin and Glurns.
Another alternate when around Reschen is to go along the road on the west side of Lake Reschen. It involves a little more climbing but is very quiet and gives a different to normal view of the lake.

You could also do a ride whereby you went up the Reschen pass by the bike path, around the west side of the lake, on to the bike path at Reschen, then down the pass on the road. If this seemed too short you could add in, leaving the bike path at Burgeis and going up up to the Schliniger Alm (the alpine meadows above Schlinig) then back to Burgeis, and then on to Reschen.

You could also use the bike path going in the Merano direction, as far as Kortsch, then up on to the Vinschgau high road, coming back down to the valley at Schluderns. If this seemed too short, then go beyond Kortsch on the bike path, at Morter go up the road of the Martell valley till it ends, back to Morter, bike path to Kortsch, and then the high road.
Here and there, some small stretches of the bike path aren’t asphalted but they are still rideable with a racing bike.

Another possibility around Müstair could be the ascent to Craistas from Santa Maria and then from there via Lü to the Ofenpass road, coming out on that road about 2 km above Valchava. A short stretch up to Craistas, and between Craistas and Lü, it’s not asphalted but like the compacted sand/fine gravel surface of the Umbrailpass.

Or do the ascent to the Lichtenberger Höfe (which are farmhouses above Lichtenberg). There is a signposted turning between Glurns and Lichtenberg.

RandG

knedlicky wrote:

I think RandG has painted a blacker picture of the descent down the Umbrail than I would. .

Its been three years since I've been down there, so you are most probably right, my memory is making things worse than they probably are, it was just such a shock seeing that surface compared to the rest of the roads in that area.

dsoutar

Thanks peeps for all the feedback. I’ve sort of got in my head now that I’ll do the ascent from Mustair then down to Prato so at least I’m descending on the better surface. The Ofenpass sounds good too. Not sure how much extra I’ll be allowed off the leash for. At home I normally get up at 5:00 so I might try and do a couple of early rides and just leave the missus relaxing which I’m sure she won’t mind too much (we normally go walking and she sort of half jokes that she spends a fortnight each year looking at my arse).

Although Google Streetview doesn’t exist in Switzerland (privacy issues I believe) there are a few youtube vids and plenty of photos of the Umbrail pass road and it’s doesn’t look too bad – a bit gravelly in places so if descending some of the corners might be a bit tricky.

Of course if I had my mountain bike too then there’s a few things worth doing, like the trip to S-charl but taking one bike will be more than enough !

knedlicky

knedlicky wrote:

dsoutar wrote:

Also is there anything else close by that warrants a look ?

You could also .... If this seemed too short, ... at Morter go up the road of the Martell valley till it ends, ...

Just noticed that this year’s Giro stage 19 finishes at the high end of the Martell valley!

Brian B

Once I climbed the Bormio side and descended to Prato. Then turned around and went back up. Sounds pants but was one the best days on a bike and 3400m of climbing in 50k isn't bad.

An even better day was Bormio - Mortirolo then back over the Gavia to Bormio.

Point I am trying to make is no matter what route you do - this area is fantastic for cycling and you'll enjoy it.

rhnb

I was on that trip with Brian B and I have to agree it was absolutely brilliant.

While Brian did the Stelvio both sides, some of us went down the Umbrail to Santa Maria on to Glorenza, Prato and up the Stelvio from there then back down to Bormio. Unless things have drastically changed, I wouldn't worry about the short unsurfaced section on the Umbrail, it was easily rideable on a road bike, and it really is a fantastic loop to do.

Write ups and pics of our trip here if you're interested...
http://www.bikeit.eclipse.co.uk/bormio2008/index.htm

Cheers... Allan.

dsoutar

Allan,

I have indeed read your trip report as it popped up in Google when I was looking at stuff around Mustair - sounded great. Day 4 is what I'll probably emulate - it's just a case of whther I do it clockwise or anti-clockwise. Every time I think about this I've changed my mind. I supose I could try and do it twice but there's other things I'd like to ride and as I am actually out there with Mrs S then as I alluded to above I'm not going to take the p too much regarding cycling.