Day 7 - Canazei (I) to Stelvio (I) to Santa Maria Val Mustair (CH)

 Day 7 - Canazei (I) to Stelvio (I) to Santa Maria Val Mustair (CH)


Thursday 20/06/2023

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Stelvio and Umbrail Passes into Switzerland


Today we planned to ride the famous Stelvio pass in Italy and then the Umbrail pass on into Switzerland. According to all the information we could find (Google and signs on the road), it unfortunately indicated that the Stelvio was closed. We nevertheless chose to ride on and make a decision just before we had to.

We left Canazei just after 9am and rode through the Karer pass to Bolzano where we stopped for supplies and an early lunch. My cold isn't getting any better and today's wild temperature swings aren't helping.

We rode on to Meran which was super hot and humid. 34C was a killer on slow roads. Because the Stelvio was closed from the South Tyrol side we chose to ride straight into Switzerland via Glorenza which is a lovely walled medieval village - well worth a visit. Once in Switzerland the weather turned as we started to go up the Umbrail pass. It got wet and windy pretty quickly so we had to stop to put our waterproofs on.

It got wetter and colder as we proceeded up. Lots of snow and great views but the roads were wet and narrow and the driving / riding was particularly poor so we took it really steady. At the top of the Umbrail pass we crossed back into Italy and found that the Stelvio was in fact open in both directions (up and down) which was great news.

We first rode down the road and experienced 10's of hairpin turns, raging rivers and waterfalls. It was really impressive and the old tunnels in the side of the mountain were amazing but ofen dark and twisty and with melt and rain water gushing into them from above.

Close to the bottom we turned around and headed back up the road and on up to the highest section. The top section was incredible. It stopped raining but the temperature dropped to 10C and there was a really chilly wind. There was snow everywhere but on the road and it was almost as snowy as the Timmelsjoch pass we did in Austria. We stopped at the top of the pass for photos (2758m up) and then rode up even higher to a hotel and viewpoint which will have been above the highest pass in the Alps (Col d'Liseran which is 2770m up). 

My summer gloves were soaked and my heated grips stopped working in Belgium so it made sense to go downhill and out of the cold quickly. So we rode down the top bit of the Stelvio and into Switzerland and down the Umbrail pass again. 

We stopped at a forest campsite by a big river towards the bottom of the Umbrail pass but I suspect that we are still some way up so it will be a chilly night.

We made the food we bought in Bolzano and endluged in some more box wine delights after exploring the area on foot. We have given up keeping-up with the football but apparently England were drawing with Denmark.

Tomorrow we have a slightly longer day doing some passes in Switzerland before crossing over to Austria and doing some high passes there before finishing at lake Constance in Bregenz.


Mileage: 1294
Beers / Drinks: 49 beers + 7 bottles/boxes of white/red + Konrad's mountain tally
Fines: 0 (me and Konrad may have fines in post)
Bribes: 0
Ass pain: 3/10
Mechanical issues: 2 - puncture and my heated grips have broken (long start, flat battery and overheating excluded)
Accidents: 0
Wetness: 6/10 
Coldness: 5/10 (very warm 34C in Bolzano but 10C and rain at the top of the Stelvio)
Theft count: 0
Country Count: 7


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