KMII
[Montblanc Moderator]
50631
Had to try the Stelvio after all 😁🇮🇹
Some weeks ago I asked for advice on some favorite mountain passes to drive and have been looking to trying one or two since.
The famous Stelvio (or Stilfser Joch in German), while namesake of a glorious Alfa SUV, did not seem to feature that highly and the reasons given were definitely accurate. Still, in the best FOMO tradition, and by some creative route interpretation, it just found itself on the way 😉
The first shot above shows the main reason against - while looking glorious, the famous side descending into the Alto Adige side is hardly driving bliss - the serpentines are narrow and your speed will be suitably low. Passing other cars generally only features with their permission (as it involves them stopping by the side and you crawling past). Still, the 46 switchbacks are something to be done and seen I would say (possibly not worthwhile to drive there for hundreds of miles just for that but there are others close by).
Much more fun is to be had on the Bormio side of the pass. Here the road is a bit more flowing and while still not so wide to comfortably pass in most places, it allows for a nice rhythm, if you happen to be lucky enough to drive when there are few others around (Sunday morning with rain tends to do the trick) 😊
There are a handful of fun curved tunnels on the way…
And some fantastic nature, if you decide to stop for a peek - as there was a slow van behind that we didn’t want to get stuck behind, these moments were short 😉
Most of the buildings were deserted - I am sure this changes, when the weather is better and the pass becomes more visited but in many ways it suited us just fine 👍🏻
The final kilometer of the ascent…
And a picture from the top - not much in terms of photography but the weather really wasn’t much to write home about.
At any rate picking a weekday, being early and hopefully without perfect weather will allow you to get the most out of it, as there will be few cars and few cyclists on the road.
A cool experience for sure but there are more to come over the following weeks.
Still interested in other mountain road recommendations from the members 😁
Had to try the Stelvio after all 😁🇮🇹
Some weeks ago I asked for advice on some favorite mountain passes to drive and have been looking to trying one or two since. The famous Stelvio (or Stilfser Joch in German), while namesake of a glorious Alfa SUV, did not seem to feature that highly and t...
Thanks for sharing
As a former motorcyclist I hate to admit it but I find the youtube vids of riders falling in slow speed hairpins a bit entertaining (generally not much harm involved other than to one's pride).
Quite frequent
Especially with dual purpose bikes with a high seat and center of gravity or heavy tourers with hard bags. A classic case of wallet size larger than skills
That makes a lot of sense 🤷🏻♂️
Not all bikers looked super confident and the average age is rising just like the average mileage might be dropping 👍🏻
Oh it’s great fun and not that difficult in the end 😊
But maybe not something all families would enjoy for a holiday 😉 Hence something that I tend to do with selected friends instead 👍🏻
Our ski club skied there one July back in the 70s.
It doesn't look like there's enough snow these days. The turns are so tight, on one turn our bus lost rear wheel contact on one side and we had to get out to place large rocks under the tire to restore traction. Many developed attitude sickness on the slo...
How cool is that 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Not enough snow for that nowadays, even if there is some left on the higher slopes 👍🏻 Buses might really struggle there nowadays due to the size and narrowness of the curves 🤷🏻♂️
Would work better with the Alpine 😁
The Merc was definitely a bit too large for the road 🤷🏻♂️
Great pics!
Transports the mood from the alps right to my living room. Wishing you lots of fun on your next winding road!