Austria-Italy: Stage tour by road bike - Hut tours: 5 days by road bike in Tyrol
Dres Balmer
· 10.03.2017
Clear-thinking cyclists who want to conquer mountain passes choose places to spend the night in the valley. There they feel safe in the dark, can start the morning with a climb, cycle over a few passes and finish the day's work with a descent. Ergo: sensible people ride from valley to valley. The overconfident, however, are itching to orientate themselves on the passes and ride from pass summit to pass summit. Tarzan comes to mind, Tarzan, who swings screaming from tree to tree on vines, and so the high-spirited cyclists swing from pass to pass like Tarzan.
In South Tyrol, cyclists swing through a valley that rises towards the horizon. Not a house or hut to be seen for miles, the only trace of modernity is the smooth tarmac road, and on it two racing cyclists. Conifers stand close together to the left and right, with rocks rising above them, covered in moraines as smooth as if the ice age had just ended fifteen years ago. The valley in the Dolomites is called Höhlenstein Valley, and with a name like that, the cyclists wouldn't be surprised if a bear came out of the forest onto the road or if a cave dweller met them and asked them what they, the cyclists, were doing here.
The village consisting of a handful of houses further up, close to the border with Veneto, is called Schluderbach. Schluderbach? Why do riders suddenly become fascinated by such evocative names, why do they shout "Schluderbach, Schluderbach!" into the forest while pedalling, like Tarzan in the jungle? For one simple reason: when the pedalers have 130 kilometres and soon two thousand metres of altitude in their legs, they have become a little simple-minded. But the Schluderbach cantata soon runs out of steam. Behind Lake Misurina, the sharp, steep climb up to Rifugio Auronzo begins - and visions follow. As you choke upwards, the road map appears before your inner eye, these black angle symbols above the road lines: one angle means ten to fifteen, two angles indicate fifteen to twenty per cent gradients. Two angles apply here, mercilessly all the way up to the redemptive finish. It is dusk when the arrivals rent the accommodation at the foot of the Three Peaks at half past seven. The landlady Paola Zandegiacomo flatters the only cycling guests - otherwise the house is full of hikers and climbers - by declaring them heroes without further ado.
Africa beckons Europe
The toll road to the Auronzo Hut, the final ascent of the second day, and the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, the finale of the first day, are tough challenges at the start of the five-day stage tour through North, East and South Tyrol. The Tre Croci and Giau passes that follow on the third day seem like small bumps in the terrain in comparison, over which the explorers flutter like butterflies. This third day has surprises in store. After the descent from the Passo di Giau, cyclists reach the Fedaia road in Caprile. After a few kilometres, signs for the Serrai (gorge) di Sottoguda arouse curiosity. The road soon becomes narrower and is reserved for pedestrians and cyclists. Cyclists pay two euros at the ticket booth and are allowed to ride up this narrow passage between rock faces. The mighty overhangs on both sides of the gorge allow only a narrow strip of sky to be seen. A mighty stream roars through the gorge, the air is tropically humid, moss grows over the rocks. The wild water rushes loudly, the birds squawk louder. The scenery is so captivating to the eye and ear that the cyclists dismount and push their bikes reverently through this mighty cathedral of Alpine nature. The skilfully laid out little road soon runs to the left, then to the right of the stream, crossing it on bridges and finding its way through small rock tunnels. At the upper end of the gorge, the light becomes brighter and the widening of the horizon has a liberating effect. It's good to turn back onto the provincial road to the Fedaia Pass, which challenges the cyclists once again. In the upper section, there are cruelly steep ramps reminiscent of the climb to the Three Peaks. The air is now muggy and warm, and shepherds from Africa watch from the pastures as Europeans struggle up the pass on their bikes. The Europeans greet the Africans, who cheerfully greet them back.
The moderate ascent to the Sella Pass, which concludes the third day, is a pleasure in the mild evening light. Even the motorised traffic dies down at this late hour. In the valley villages it gets busy as the sun goes down, but on the passes the evening gives you time to discover the proud culture of the quiet inns, which have often been run by the same family for generations. One pass hostelry that takes pride in itself documents what has been going on there for decades with photos on the walls and a chronicle at the front of the menu.
Cultural history of the Alps
The oldest hostel on this trip is the Rifugio Carlo Valentini next to the Sella Pass. It has existed since 1884, and the current landlady, Anna Lisa Valentini, is the great-granddaughter of the founder Carlo. Despite retaining the name "Rifugio", this establishment has become a comfortable place to stay, and the food on the table has Italian gastronomic elegance.
The Edelweiss Hut on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, which welcomed the two cyclists in the snow on the evening of the first day, was built in the summer of 1935, one year after the opening of the Glockner masterpiece. Situated at an altitude of 2,571 metres, it is the highest passable point of the High Alpine Road and the roof of this pass tour. The Lederer family, now in its fourth generation, has been working there for more than eighty years; they have gradually extended the simple mountain hut and turned it into a modern hotel.
On the second evening of this tour, the two cyclists find rooms and a warm evening meal at the Rifugio Auronzo. The 104-bed building at the foot of the Three Peaks has been there since 1957, after two huts on the same site were destroyed by war and fire.
The youngest establishment on this tour from pass to pass is the Alpenrosenhof on the Penser Joch, founded in 1960, where cyclists take refuge from the pouring rain on the last evening of their ride. Carla and Hubert Leitner's family present their history as innkeepers lyrically in the menu with a valiant ode to the well-being of the guest and the joys of life of the hosts.
Garland road at lofty heights
Pass hopping has a good dozen highlights in store, i.e. crossings or mountain roads. Between them lie valleys, some of which, like the Pustertal, are hung with a mountain road like a garland. Behind Lienz, cyclists almost overlook the discreet signpost to the Pustertal high road, but they don't want to miss this tarmac track that winds up and down into the side valleys. It is topographically varied, with cruel ramps that make the blood throb in the temples in the midday heat. Miraculous things happen: Many of the ramps lead directly to hilltops on which the richest churches were built by our forefathers. They reward the cyclists for their suffering, the towers have shone so beautifully for two hundred, three hundred years, they are so cleverly staged at prominent points in the landscape, unmissable from the whole valley. The priests and church builders have long been familiar with the métier of proud display.
On the fourth day, the Radtanz from Val Gardena to Castelrotto, then over the Isarco river and up to the Renon plateau, north of Bolzano, opens up another garland road at lofty heights. The route takes you past churches, villages, vineyards and lush gardens, then over Klobenstein. The topography is also chunky, it's all up and down. The cyclists have the road to themselves, dripping with sweat. Here and there, if you please, while they're hanging around in these hanging gardens, they feast on an apple, grape or plum picked from the orchard.
The fire brigade on the Penser Hoch
The journey over the passes of Tyrol, East Tyrol and South Tyrol is also a journey into the history of the regions. Tyrol and East Tyrol belong to Austria, South Tyrol has been part of Italy since 1919. That was a while ago, but there are still sensitivities between German- and Italian-speaking South Tyroleans - as the two foreign cyclists experience on the last evening of their tour on the Penser Joch.
During the ascent in the Sarntal valley towards the north, rain falls, a cold wind blows and wafts of mist drift across the road. The rain gets heavier and heavier, the wind colder and colder. On arrival at the top of the pass, the cyclists no longer have a dry thread on their bodies. The landlady, Carla Leitner, wearing a dirndl, welcomes the pass riders and soon serves them a sumptuous meal. The cyclists were exhausted on arrival, warmed their bellies over dinner and revitalised. After the meal, they join a few locals at the bar. Two of them, Franz and Joseph, are in a cheerful mood. They are wearing firefighters' uniforms because they have just come from the twentieth anniversary of the volunteers. One of the cyclists has put on his only dry jersey for dinner. Plain blue, it discreetly bears a small Italia emblem on the left of the chest. Fireman Franz immediately recognises this emblem. With a meaningful undertone, he asks the cyclist if he feels like he's in Italy. Fireman Joseph then says that the cyclist might even be Italian in person. The fireman laughs, but the Italian jersey obviously gives him pause for thought. In conversation, however, Franz and Joseph remain true to their polite Tyrolean humour. As the two cyclists listen to the locals, they realise that some injuries can hurt for almost a hundred years. And they learn that a Tyrolean pass ride can be more than just a magnificent sporting experience.
Information about the pass trip
Journey
Railway
Jenbach, our starting point and destination in the Inn Valley, is well connected by train: Trains run from the west via Innsbruck, from the north via Rosenheim and Kufstein, from the east via Kitzbühel and Wörgl. The International Cycle Card for cross-border cycle transport costs nine euros and includes a parking space reservation. Info: www.bahn.de
Car
Jenbach is located on the A12 motorway with connections to Innsbruck, Rosenheim, Munich and Salzburg. 520 kilometres from Frankfurt am Main.
Best time to travel
All passes and the mountain road to Rifugio Auronzo are open from the beginning of June to mid-October; if you can, avoid the busy months of July and August. Even in midsummer, the nights in the mountains are cold and the stages begin with a descent, so an extra layer of clothing, long gloves and a helmet cap are a good idea.
Food & Drink
Tyrol, East Tyrol and South Tyrol enrich and surpass each other with regional culinary delights, with which the wines of South Tyrol and Trentino are a perfect match. Most of the dishes, from soup to dessert, are so tasty and high in calories that even active cyclists can leave the muesli bars at home.
Languages
German is spoken from Jenbach to the border between East Tyrol and South Tyrol, Italian up to the Sella Pass, and then mostly German again for the rest of the journey. Many South Tyroleans are bilingual.
Accommodation
Day 1: Edelweißspitze, Edelweißhütte, telephone 0043/(0)6545/7425, www.edelweissspitze.at
Highest point (2,571 m) on an almost two kilometre detour from the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. Double room with breakfast from 78 euros.
Day 2: Three Peaks, Rifugio Auronzo, telephone 0039/0435/39002, www.rifugioauronzo.it
The accommodation is located at the end of a seven-kilometre cul-de-sac above Lago di Misurina. A double room with breakfast in the hut of the Italian Alpine Club with its self-service restaurant costs 84 euros; there are also cheaper 6-bed rooms. Members of non-Italian Alpine Clubs can also take their ID with them and receive a 10 euro discount.
Day 3: Passo Sella, Rifugio Carlo Valentini, telephone 0039/0462/601183, www.rifugiocarlovalentini.com
The hostel can be reached via the narrow, one kilometre long access road from the pass road. A double room with half board and excellent cuisine costs from 120 euros.
Day 4: Penser Joch, Alpenrosenhof, telephone 0039/0472/647170, www.penserjoch.com
In this down-to-earth hostel with nutritious cuisine, a double room with breakfast is available for 85 euros.
Bike service
Zell am SeeBicycle centre, telephone 0043/(0)6542/53151, www.fahrrad-center.at
Lienz: Probike Lienz, phone 0043/(0)4825/73536, www.probike-lienz.at
Sterzing: M2-Bike, phone 0039/0472/760470, www.m2-bike.com
Info
Tyrol advertisingPhone 0043/(0)512/7272-0, www.tirol.at (also information on East Tyrol)
South Tyrol Tourism Information, Phone 0039/0471/999999, www.suedtirol.info/de
Literature & Maps
Sporty and technical: Matthias Rotter: "50 Alpine passes for racing cyclists", 144 pages, Delius Klasing, 2015
Historical and cultural: Steffan Bruns: "Alpenpässe. Geschichte der alpinen Passübergänge", Staackmann Verlag; Volume 3 "Vom Inn zum Gardasee" (2010) and Volume 4 "Von der Donau zur Adria" (2011), each 19.90 euros.
Map: Marco Polo "Vorarlberg, Tirol, Oberbayern, Südtirol", 1:200,000, Mairdumont 2015; 9 euros. Depicts the entire circular tour.
The five stages
The round trip begins in Jenbach, Tyrol, then takes a detour via the Grossglockner High Alpine Road through the provinces of Salzburg and Carinthia, crosses the Austrian province of East Tyrol and reaches the Italian province of South Tyrol. From there, the journey continues with a short detour through the provinces of Belluno and Trentino back to South Tyrol as far as the Brenner Pass, where it reaches the starting point of Jenbach, back in the Austrian province of Tyrol. The five-day journey travels along and between the rivers Inn, Ziller, Gerlos, Salzach, Fuscher Ache, Möll, Drau, Eisack, Sill and Inn again. The striking passes, the pegs of this adventure so to speak, are the Grossglockner in the east and the Penser Joch in the west. The northernmost pass is the Gerlos, the southernmost the Fedaia.
The tour climbs ten difficult crossings and mountain roads, travelling from one Tyrol to the next, with the special feature that the cyclists do not spend the night in valley villages but in pass hostels. Advantage: The day begins with a descent without sweating. Disadvantage: You are guaranteed to break out in a sweat on the final ascent. On three out of five days, there are more than 3,000 metres of elevation gain on the schedule, and long ramps with a gradient of between 12 and 16 percent require a corresponding mountain transfer.
Day 1: To the Grossglockner High Alpine Road
150 kilometres, 3,020 vertical metres, max. 14 % gradient
The day begins gently uphill in the Zillertal, then moderately up to the Gerlos Pass, after which the Gerlos Alpine Road leads past the Krimml Waterfalls down into the Salzach Valley. We follow the Salzach, sometimes with heavy motor traffic, but mostly on the Tauern cycle path, and reach the tough Grossglockner High Alpine Road, which is 12 per cent steep in long passages and, at the very end, leads to the Edelweißhütte on paved roads with a gradient of just under two to 14 per cent.
Day 2: At the foot of the three peaks
146 kilometres, 3,300 metres in altitude, max. 16 % gradient
After the Hochtor, the highest point of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road at 2,504 metres, there is a long, fast ride down to Winklern. Your legs warm up again at the small Iselsberg Pass, after Lienz the Pustertaler Höhenstraße begins, an up and down back to the Drau, then it's time for the finale through the Höhlensteintal valley and the 16 per cent steep toll road up to the Rifugio Auronzo, at the foot of the Three Peaks.
Day 3: Into the heart of the Dolomites
93 kilometres, 3,300 metres in altitude, max. 15 % gradient
After the descent, the route is easy over the Passo Tre Croci (1,809 m), and then things get serious: the Passo di Giau (2,236 m) leads through forests and pastures and is noticeably tougher, but the following Passo di Fedaia (2,057 m) offers the steepest climbs. But that's not the end, because the last ascent to the Sella Pass (2,241 m), gentle and regular, seems to have no end.
Day 4: Over the Ritten into the Sarntal
103 kilometres, 3,000 vertical metres, max. 14 % gradient
The descent down to Ortisei is a pleasure, then the varied topography takes you up and down to Castelrotto, steeply down into the Isarco Valley, only to climb just as steeply on the other side through orchards and pretty villages up to the Renon plateau, on roads that seem to belong to cyclists. There's not much going on on the road up through the Sarntal valley either.
Day 5: Sneak paths at the Brenner Pass
109 kilometres, 1,000 metres in altitude, max. 10 % gradient
After the Penser Joch, beautiful Sterzing and an asphalted cycle path await us on the Brenner Pass. In Matrei, we leave the old Brenner road to cycle down into the Inn Valley via Patsch on a little-used, scenic road.
