Stelvio: Snow in July

Passo dello Stelvio

By Will on July 8, 2009 Famous, Favorites, Italian Alps, Italy, Snow

Passo delle Stelvio (Stilfser Joch in German) is one of the most famous, beautiful, high, and fun cycling rides anywhere.

I was afraid of bad weather but lucked out (a little snow!) and enjoyed one of the greatest rides of my life.

This is one of those climbs that many of us dream about – and it didn’t disappoint. With roughly 1800 metres of climb (6000 feet), it is a true giant (less than 50 metres from being the highest paved road/pass in Europe). But it’s the unbelievable surroundings and the never-ending hairpins that make this climb so memorable.

I won’t say much ….. I’ll leave it to the photos.

Half way down:

Cycle Route 237458 – via Bikemap.net

9.1 Awesome

Not much to say. An amazing place. Super high with nothing but hairpins. This is the best side of Stelvio, although the other two aren't bad either.

Views 9.5
Difficulty 9
Quiet / No Traffic 8.5
Fun Factor 9.5
User Ratings (18 Votes) 6.9

Cycling dolomites italy stelvio Stilfser Joch

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Will

Happiest while cycling uphill.

15 Comments

Eric on July 9, 2009 12:05 am

I didn’t know you miss our winter-cycling that much!
I expect you will do the Stelvio again this week when the weather gets better 🙂
Eric

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E on July 18, 2009 5:08 am

Wow, amazing post.

Great pictures! wonderful.

Thanks a lot!

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fptruedas on December 18, 2009 5:48 pm

bravo, bravisimo, una gran y bella ascension

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Adrian Goh on August 3, 2010 2:26 pm

Great pictures and ride. Will be planning such a ride in mid October 2010. When did you do the ride (what month-as there appears to be quite a bit of snow)? Is the pass still open in October?

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Will on August 3, 2010 3:21 pm

Adrian, I did this ride in early July. It had snowed the day before. October? It’s possible that it could be open. But it is also very possible that it will be closed. Hard to say, but don’t count on it – and even if it is open ….. bring very warm descending clothes. Good luck

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Pete on August 18, 2010 3:59 am

Will,
I had the pleasure of riding the Stelio this summer. This may well be the ultimate climb, with difficulty, beauty, weather, and history. Of course we needed to warm up on Martello, cause just the Stelvio would not have been enough for our guide. It just seemed to be so hard to capture the beauty in a photograph.
Pete

http://www.dolomitica.es/EtapasDolomiticaXTreme.asp

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AL on November 7, 2016 6:13 pm

Excellent challenge to be taken by me next year! thanks for sharing! : )

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Vaughan on July 28, 2017 2:14 pm

I did this with a friend a few weeks back from the Bormio side. Truly one of the great climbs. I must admit, I was probably the biggest guy on the mountain weighing in close to 100kg’s. There were a lot of little guys flying by, but spinning the wheels to the top was absolutely awesome. The ride for the most part is fairly easy until the last 3km’s where both the gradient rises as does the lack of oxygen, but it’s very achievable with a bit of training. Bormio is a cyclists heaven by the way and the photo’s you take along with the memories, will stay with you forever.

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