I will have a few hours available to do a ride around the Sondrio/Tirano area in Italy. I would preferably like to do a long climb. Have done some research and narrowed it down to:
Passo San Marco from Morbegno
Passo Bernina/Forcola Livigno from Tirano
Campo Moro from Sondrio
Would like to request input from the Slowtwitch Brain Trust, for those that have ridden in that area, for the most recommended climb from the above options.
Thanks.
I don’t know the area of Sondrio too well but I’ve been in Valtellina a few times.
How many hours are we talking about?
On certain days some of the mountain passes are closed to cars. If your dates happen to coincide with one of them, it might be good to take it into consideration. https://www.valtellina.it/...hiusure-passi-alpini
Any reason why you aren’t considering any of the climbs around Bormio?
Assuming you’re not going there next week, most of the passes will be open so you’ll have plenty of choice.
The most epic route from Bormio would be Bormio - Umbrail pass - down to Switzerland - Prato allo Stelvio - up the Stelvio - down to Bormio. But other climbs are nicer and quieter (Torre di Fraele/Cancano or Gavia) . Stelvio can be pretty busy with cars and motorbikes.
Tirano to Bormio is mostly on a really nice cycling path, some of which was new or under construction the last time I was there 1.5 years ago. Coming down it’s faster to stay on the main road (some road cyclists still prefer the main road though).
The most challenging climb close to Tirano would be Mortirolo from Mazzo (or Grosio). If you wanted to make it a loop you could then go to Trivigno (the road Mortirolo to Trivigno is really beautiful and quite), then Aprica then down to Tresenda. Alternatively, you could go down to Monno, then Edolo, up to Aprica. From Aprica you could go straight down to Tresenda then Tirano or up to Trivigno, then Mortirolo and back some other side of Mortirolo.
A pretty epic loop would also be Mortirolo from Monno + Gavia from Ponte di Legno. There is a cycling path to Ponte di legno but most road cyclists stay on the main road.
I hope this helps!
Hi Marco. Thanks for the response.
I’ve got work in Colico right now, and I have a day that ends about 1 pm, and then have the afternoon off. Would like to get a ride in before 6/7 pm (after that it gets a little too cold for my Asian origins :-D), so that’s about 3/4 hours ride time, including potentially a drive to the start. Bormio is a little too far away to get a ride in before dark, so only considering the bigger climbs closer to Colico, hence Morbegno/Sondrio/Tirano.
I might have one full day available (later in the week) where the weather might co-operate (been raining heavily here in Northern Italy, hence the shortened Stage 16 of the Giro), so am considering a start in Bormio, doing the Cancano, and then across to Livigno. Stelvio and Gavia looks to be closed until June due to the weather and risk of landslides. Will keep an eye out if those road closures change.
Thanks again for your input.
On Sunday I did Mortirolo from Monno to watch the Giro. This one was open with no problem. The nice thing is that it has new tarmac because the giro just passed through it.
Afaik the only side that is closed at the moment is from Trivigno as I’ve been told there’s still snow because it’s always in the shade.
Mortirolo is lower than any of the other passes and always opens earlier.
Calling straight into the Comune (and/or checking the website) can be useful to know the state of the road (also calling a restaurant/hotel in the proximity of a road).
There’s the up to date state of the passes here: https://www.valtellina.it/it/situazione-passi
Often though cyclists manage to test the roads earlier than official opening days as one side is cleared before the other. I believe for instance Gavia has been cleared already on the Bormio side as I’ve seen pictures of it on Instagram with the snow walls. And people are definitely doing Stelvio from Bormio based on strava segments leaderboards. It was supposedly cleared for the giro to go through it after all. It was completely cut off only at the last minute because the weather worsened and the cyclists revolted.
And yes the weather has been quite unstable lately.
Foscagno from Bormio is typically quite or very busy because it’s the only way to access Livigno directly from Italy. Especially if Forcola di Livigno is still closed. It’s better to descend it than going up. I wouldn’t say it’s so busy that it’s unsafe, it’s just a little annoying. If you can go early in the day it might be a better experience.
There is a way to go straight to Livigno from Cancano with a MTB. I did it a few years back, it’s really nice and easy I’m not sure if it’s still covered in snow though.
i did passo san marco a LONG time ago - 2013 I think. It was a big climb but pretty ordinary in my opinion. I agree with marco v in that mortirolo would be my pick before san marco and definitely Gavia if you could swing it (and it were open - sounds pretty doubtful).
mortirolo is tough (ok, really tough) but very quiet and opens up near the top with solid views.
san marco would almost have to be ridden out n back if you’re hurting for time as the other side goes very far away from morbegno.
sounds like a cool problem to have - to need a cool climb to jam in while in Italy between Lake Como and Bormio! good luck!
Couple years ago we did the Forni climb, which is a brute, and then Cancano, which is more mellow but awesome. They might be low enough to be clear of snow. https://www.strava.com/activities/7730355872/segments/3000015774439131298