Zell am See – Stelvio Pass (385km)
Well, Sunday was expected to be the highlight of the trip and it delivered - in spades.
We awoke to a crisp alpine morning and managed to get underway about 09:00am leaving Zell am See to the north. We wound our way along some beautiful valley roads eventually picking up the motorway at Wörgl for a fast cruise down the A12 past Innsbruck before turning south near Lansdeck. That’s when the fun started.
Once off the A12, we were back on the so-called “B” roads taking Route 180 south toward the Italian border and the approach to the Stelvio Pass. The ride was lovely as we wound our way through a beautiful green valley bordered by mountain peaks between over 3000 meters high.
As we were running low on fuel, we decided to stop in Nauders which is the last town before entering Italy. It was a pretty routine stop, and as with most gas stations near borders, had a long line of cars looking to top up. While waiting our turn in the queue, we noticed an unusual car sitting at the pump just ahead of us which in the end turned out to be another Wiesmann. This one was a GT Coupe not a roadster like the one we had spotted in Zell am See.
I know we are all Porsche fans here but in the end we are all car guys, and you cannot help but admire something unique like a Wiesmann when you see one. When I looked these up on-line that night to learn more about them, I had no idea how expensive they were.
A base roadster goes for nearly $250k with the coupe coming it at around $400k. For a car running BMW engines and transmissions, that seems like quite a lot. I have no idea whether they are worth it or not, but at least two wealthy people in Austria (a country with a population smaller than Indiana) seem to think so.
If you want to read more about Wiesmann, check out this Wikipedia link:
Wiesmann - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
So much for the distraction.
Once topped off, we were back on the road and entered Italy about 3km further on. Crossing over a slight rise as we entered Italy, we were presented with a breathtaking lake sitting at about 2,500m and stretching for about 5km. The water was spectacular with the midday sun glistening off the water and there was a beautiful church steeple sticking out of the middle of the lake. It was apparently buried when the lake was formed after the south end of the valley was dammed up. There were also at least 30-40 kite surfers running from one end of the lake to the other as they took advantage of the constant mountain breeze. It was an absolutely pleasant surprise and something we never expected to see on our way to Stelvio.
After spending about 30 minutes enjoying Lake Reschensee, we got back on the road and turned off after about 20km at Spondining as we began our ascent toward Stelvio. We knew we were on the right track as we began to encounter numerous motorcycles, bicycles and soccer moms in mini vans. We also feared that the experience we had read so much about was about to be overrun with obstacles. Unfortunately, our worst fear proved to be the case.
The road up to the Stelvio Pass from the north side (our route) is narrow (barely allowing two cars to pass each other in many cases), steep (sometimes rising several meters in a single curve), and packed with inexperienced drivers in mini vans. There are roughly 45 switchbacks on the way up and as you get closer to the top, many of the turns are 180o numbers that literally turn right back on themselves.
Needless to say, traffic backs up at several of these points which obviously takes the fun out of what could be a fantastic run if you could have the road all to yourself. Obviously something that is only possible if you are Top Gear.
In any case, we made it to the top and still enjoyed the nerve racking run despite the challenges which I think in the end added as much to the excitement as the road itself did. Despite these challenges, I would still recommend the experience to anyone having the chance to do it. The view, the road and the final arrival at the top are all unmatched experiences you have to do at least once in your life.
Now, of course, arriving at the top is somewhat anti-climactic as there is not much there aside from about a thousand motorcycles, a dozen T-Shirt shops and a spattering of bratwurst stands. By the way, you have to eat one of these – they are fantastic.
However, the one admiration I had after arriving, which I did not appreciate on the way up, was for those who did the route on bicycle, especially those who did it on a tandem bicycle. This is a road that climbs nearly 2,000m over a span of less than 10km. Doing it in a car is exciting, a motorcycle is no doubt harrowing, on a bicycle – you have to be nuts or in tremendous physical shape. My hat is off to all who made this route under their own power. Congrats!
I will break this post here and will create another for the ride off the south side of Stelvio and on to Passo di Gavia (Gavia Pass) and Lake Garda.
Enjoy,
Mike & Chris
