Leonie and I had camped Friday night in Zernez in Switzerland after driving down after work. The plan was to do some road cycling so we set off at the not-so-early hour of 11 am towards Stelvio Pass in Italy. It was a hot sunny day with not a cloud in the sky and we sweated our way up and down over Ofenpass, followed by a long but quite scenic slog up Umbrailpass and finally across the border into Italy. From there it was just a small ascent to the top of Stelvio Pass which turned out to be overrun by motor cyclists, road cyclist, and other tourists.
We had a short stop at the top and then descended and started the long slog back to Ofenpass. We arrived there around 7 pm and rolled the rest of the way down to the bus stop near the tunnel to Lago di Livigno. Leonie was very keen to take the bus from there and after all we did have 3100 vertical metres in our legs by then, so we headed back by bus to Zernez, cooked dinner and crawled into the tent.
Above left: We set off from Zernez early in the morning. Well, early it wasn’t, but it was at least still morning – just. We headed off towards Ofenpass. Above right: Arriving a little after midday. It seems the pass is also known as Pass dal Fuorn.
Above left: From the first pass we headed down from 2149 m back into the green lands – and the heat. Above middle: Much heat with snow up above. Above right: Eventually we began to climb again. This time we headed up Umbrailpass.
Above left: Which started out nice and green. Above middle: And got more snowy on the way up. Above right: There was a fair bit of snow at the pass. From there it was a very small dip down into Italy and then up to Stelvio Pass.
Above left: Stelvio was overrun with tourists and cycle tops for sale. Above middle: This is a view looking down the side of the pass that we didn’t ride up. It’s a mix between green summery cycling and some ski touring on the right. Above right: Leonie arrives at the top of the pass.
Above left: Snappage in the sun. Above middle: Interestingly it looks like summer has arrived on one side of the valley but winter is still there on the other. Above right: Not looking too tired yet, despite being rather tired.
Above: Only 1300 metres to go!
And Strava says: