Alpine passes: My top 10

Before you read, please note: this post was translated with the help of Deepl.
If you find any errors – please have fun first and then give me a hint.

What is the attraction of riding through mountain passes? Accelerating, braking, wobbling through hairpin bends at walking pace and then starting all over again – according to the motorcycle experts on social media, that isn’t fun at all.

This question has never arisen for me – it is pure necessity, because my home is surrounded by mountains. If I want to go somewhere, I have to cross a pass: in the west over the Fuorn, in the north over the Reschen, Stelvio or Umbrail open the way to the south. The pass-free journey eastwards through the traffic-choked Vinschgau valley has not been fun for years. So I ride the passes.

My ten
 favorite Alpine passes

#10 – Mortirolo (Italy)

For many years the Mortirolo Pass (Kurviger route from Grosio to Monno) was only my second choice. It shortened the journey home when I was heading over the Gavia Pass into Valcamonica and didn’t feel like taking the same route back or the detour over the Aprica Pass. Nevertheless, I didn’t like driving it. It always felt somehow tedious.

That changed during my Supermoto days, from 2002 onwards. On these bikes it became a favorite playground and the highlight of dedicated tours, revealing an unprecedented variety of riding options. Super steep, narrow and challenging in places, it entertained me magnificently and fascinated me with its panoramic views over the Valtellina valley.

I got caught in snowstorms on it, in incredible summer thunderstorms and got stranded due to sections of the route being blocked by mudslides. In 2019, I rode it during the Alpenbollern in company of good friends and spent the night in a rustic rifugio not far from the summit. The night-time ride from Grosio to the pass, in absolute solitude and accompanied only by the lights of the Valtellina valley, will remain unforgettable.

#9 – Tremola (Switzerland)

As boring as I find the road over the Gotthard Pass, as magical I find rolling over the Tremola (Kurviger route from Hospental to Airolo). When millions of hand-set stones pass under the wheels, my thoughts turn to the immense effort that was necessary for construction – and still is for maintenance.

While the traffic on the Gotthard rushes past me on the left and right, I enjoy the slow ride on the unique cobblestones. If the Gotthard is considered THE road monument in Switzerland, the Tremola is the reason why. The fact that the same stones and the same red center line are laid in sections in Splügen and on the Furka Pass is a nice reminder.

When the vibrations of the hewn granite reveal every loose screw connection on the motorcycle and produce completely new sounds, I think of a ride on the historic stagecoach from Andermatt to Airolo and the otherworldly price for it. I’ve experienced the Tremola several times with the Harley, with the Zero, with the convertible and with the Tesla. If I’m in the vicinity, I have to ride it. I have yet to conquer it by bike.

#8 – Gavia (Italy)

I got to know the Gavia Pass (Kurviger route from Bormio to Ponte di Legno) the direct way. Back in the days when there were no satnavs, I followed some motorcyclists into the Val di Sole. When they turned off towards Madonna di Campiglio, I lost my bearings. Only a map on the wooden wall of a kiosk brought enlightenment: Bormio would eventually lie to the north-west, my home is close by. However, I didn’t realize that the thin line on the map was not a “normal” road, but the unpaved, narrow and exposed Gavia Pass – until then I had never heard of it.

After the first bends, when the road narrowed dramatically and the asphalt turned into gravel and clay, I doubted my good idea in the saddle of my heavy Yamaha FZR 1000 Exup. But I had no choice: it was late fall, late afternoon. Turning around and riding back over the Tonale, through the Val di Sole, over the Gampen Pass and through the Venosta Valley wouldn’t have got me home before midnight.

So I struggled up Italy’s second highest pass, first in the rain and later in snowfall: both feet more on the ground than on the pegs, visor and goggles fogged up, freezing cold not only in my fingers, constantly in infight with the Yamaha, which was almost impossible to control in the steep hairpin bends. Fortunately, the chasms that opened up at the top of the Gavia were hidden by the thick fog – otherwise my fear of heights would have killed me.

At the top of the pass, I was gazed at in disbelief by the Alpini stationed there – they were expecting many things, but not a motorcycle making its way through the snow. Not at this time of year, not at this time of day, not with a guy in the saddle wearing thin, soaked summer leathers. Could they have imagined how happy I was about the relatively smooth tarmac on the way down to Valfurva?

I arrived home completely chilled and at the end of my tether. Just before midnight after all … This ride could have been a massive disaster, but fortunately it only burned itself into my memory: Every time I visit the now completely asphalted Gavia Pass – after checking the weather forecast – I think back to it with a smile.

Portrait in MOTORRAD 6/2021 | Excerpt from the portrait

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Fear of heights
 and driving mountain passes

Like so many things, it diminishes with age. But 30 years ago, for example, when the drop-off behind the “Weisser Knott” on the Stelvio was still a single lane and not very safe, this passage cost me an insane amount of effort every time. The last blockade to date stopped me at the Col du Galibier in 2023: after stopping at the abyss for the following photo, I was unable to dismount or maneuver the bike.

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#7 – Albula (Switzerland)

Even the name Albula (Kurviger route from La Punt to Tiefencastel) meant nothing to me for a long time. In the early years of my motorcycling life, Switzerland was a great unknown – I hardly ever rode further into the country than Fuorn. If I did, the Albula was usually left behind. My colleagues preferred the Flüela or the Julier in their search for fast curves.

I experienced the Albula “properly” for the first time on a bike. Good friends of mine were taking part in the Slow Up cycling day for everyone and invited me along. They had heard about my plans to conquer the Stelvio by bike and recommended the Slow Up as training. So I conquered the north ramp in the rain one fall day and fell in love.

The Albula Pass is a scenic sensation. From the Engadin, a wonderfully rideable road leads into stony wilderness with mighty scree slopes. The northern ramp, on the other hand, winds its way through frightening masses of rock, before turning into a kitschy, beautiful landscape that seems to have escaped from a postcard. The Rhaetian Railway curves around the road, in Bergün the cobblestones shake all teeth, then a dream road leads down to Tiefencastel.

Thanks to the slow and concentrated ride on the bike, I still have every meter of the Albula in my head. That’s why the Albula is always booked on my trips, for example to central Switzerland – on the outward and return journey. It’s just too beautiful …

#6 – Grimsel (Switzerland)

The memory of my first Grimsel Pass ride (Kurviger route from Innertkirchen to Gletsch) has faded under the impressions of a violent motorcycle tour. That day, I rode Nufenen, Tremola, Furka, Grimsel, Susten, Oberalp and, on the way home, Flüela and Fuorn as part of a brisk group. All that remained was pain in an uncomfortable place.

A few years later, I took more time for the magnificent Swiss passes. The night-time drive to the pass initially revealed little, but the impressions the next day overwhelmed me. Apart from the sensational route, made for motorcyclists, I had never seen such stone colors before.

Sharp boulders lie together with organically rounded, pink-green rocks on the slopes. Meltwater seeps out of every crack, immense boulders lie in the middle of nowhere and I think I can still hear the roar of their fall. Man planted huge concrete walls in this wild nature, dammed up the water of the Aare in several large reservoirs and crowned everything with a noble hospice that feels like it is in the middle of the lake.

I didn’t get goosebumps at the then still partially frozen Totesee lake because of the low temperatures. The interplay of the landscape – the plain near Innertkirchen, vertical rock faces near Guttannen and finally the stark granite world not far from the top of the pass – left me speechless. The only six-kilometre-long Meienwang down to Gletsch, which doesn’t match the scenic impression of the northern ramp at all, increased my amazement even more.

For a week I rode the Grimsel on various motorcycles, in both directions, swiftly and lost in thought, alone or with friends; at some point I found the right words to describe this stunning stretch of land. Since then, a trip to central Switzerland without the passage over the Grimsel has been unthinkable.

Portrait in MOTORRAD 5/2023 | Excerpt from the portrait

#5 – Izoard (France)

I described the Col d’Izoard (Kurviger route from Briançon to Guillestre) as a “wonderful playground for everything that has wheels”. Outside of Switzerland, I don’t know of any Alpine pass with such a perfect asphalt surface, none with such a varied and captivating landscape.

The top of the pass, which is reached via the finest hairpin bends, is bare and covered in huge fields of rubble – in the Casse Déserte on the southern ramp, the traveler is treated to an unparalleled spectacle. You feel transported to a distant desert, experiencing a spectacle just one kilometer long with an overwhelming succession of impressions.

You have to ride the Izoard consciously – and want to ride it. Because between Briançon and Guillestre there is a much faster, but also less spectacular connection. The Izoard meanders parallel to this through the mountains far above. On my trips to Provence, I usually choose the route through the Durance valley – the small detour via the wonderful Col d’Izoard is always part of the route, even if my time management fails.

Portrait in MOTORRAD 15/2023 | Excerpt from the portrait

#4 – Mont Ventoux (France)

Yes, I know: describing the Géant de Provence (Kurviger route from Sault to Malaucène) as an Alpine pass is bold – but this colossus standing dominantly in the landscape is one of my places of longing. It is a constant presence on my vacations in the south of France, always looming on the horizon, attracting my attention, I am constantly looking for it.

On my first visit, the mistral almost blew me off my feet; the Ventoux definitely deserves its name “windy mountain”. I rode it several times under a cloudless sky, which is apparently rare. I couldn’t get enough of its three ascents; I ended up standing in the icy north wind and let it dry the sweat from my rapid motorcycle rides.

A special place: I looked from the Sommet du Ventoux to the Mediterranean, over the Drôme Provençal and to the highest peaks of the Alps. And I came back every year: no Provence vacation without a visit to the Ventoux, whether by motorcycle, car or bicycle. The contrast between its base, framed by lavender fields, vineyards and dense forest, and the bare summit region is magical, and I love to indulge in this attraction.

#3 – Ofen | Il Fuorn (Switzerland)

Switzerland only begins after the Ofen Pass (Kurviger route from Müstair to Zernez), according to my childhood memories. In fact, this mighty pass separates the Swiss from us South Tyroleans more than the barrier in Müstair. In countless trips to Zernez and back – unfortunately by car – I learned to understand the Fuorn. Especially in winter, when the road is wedged between meter-high walls of snow, knowing the next incline is crucial.

The Fuorn tempts you to speed up, friends of mine have been banned from driving for several years. The financial pain begins at 80 km/h, although you have to be able to drive at this speed throughout the entire route. As the only connection from Switzerland to the Val Müstair, the Ofen doesn’t offer any challenging hairpin bends, but it does offer plenty of flowing bends.

The adjacent national park fascinates with wilderness left to its own devices, and the alternation between pastures, gorges, wide stream beds and valleys that disappear into the mountains is even more fascinating. If you are out and about at dusk, there is always the chance of a rendezvous with the local fauna. The ride between Müstair and Zernez is a dynamic wellness program; I ride the Fuorn at least once every 14 days.

#2 – Susten (Switzerland)

In 2014, I went on a big motorcycle tour with my Harley. Seven days, ten friends and four dozen passes in Italy, France and Switzerland, including the Susten Pass (Kurviger route from Innertkirchen to Wassen), but I took very few memories of it with me. I couldn’t process all the impressions.

MOTORRAD wanted a portrait in 2021, so I set off again. I found Switzerland in all its beauty in the Meiental, just a few kilometers behind Wassen. The route – simply wonderful and a gift for motorcyclists. My heavy Road King soared to an altitude of over 2200 m, the bends to Innertkirchen were pure riding pleasure, the passing landscape was inspiring.

The next day, I switched to a Zero SR/F that Isa had brought over from Country Road. In front of Uli’s camera, we dived into the Susten together, rode up and down its ramps several times, celebrated its curves on the powerful roadsters and didn’t really want to leave.

Since then, the Susten Pass has been high on my list of “I want to drive again” passes. The book “Sustenstrasse” published by PTT Bern in 1948 begins with the sentence “… a valuable redesign of the centuries-old cross-country link between the important Alpine passes of Grimsel and St. Gotthard.” Valuable. That’s exactly what it is.

Portrait in MOTORRAD 25/2021 | Excerpt from the portrait

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Breakdowns
 and mishaps

30 years of traveling on mountain passes – what could possibly go wrong? Well, one of the things I learned: If the road climbs quickly, fuel consumption also increases rapidly. With a heavy passenger, for example, ten liters of fuel are no longer enough for a Suzuki RGV 250 to ride up the Stelvio Pass. And no: even a light RGV is not easy to push, especially not in midsummer and over several kilometers.

On-board tools are a great thing. One of my happiest moments was when I found my lost gearshift AND its screw on the Splügen at night, even though my Supermoto had everything but a bright light. Even more pleasing was the fact that the KTM’s rear bag contained the right tools for the repair.

It’s bad when someone steals it – and you end up in a breakdown. That’s what happened on the Gavia Pass, als ich einmal einen Platten hatte.

What’s practical on mountain passes is that you can usually always get down. When the drive belt of my Zero SR/F snapped during an overtaking attempt, I still managed to get back down into the valley rolling. And yes: even an SR/F doesn’t push easily when the momentum of the descent eventually fades.

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#1 – Stelvio (Italy)

Of course, only the Stelvio Pass (curvy route from Spondinig to Bormio) can be number one on my list of favorite passes. No pass is closer to my front door, none have I ridden more often, none have I conquered as much – whether motorized or under my own steam.

It pulled my teeth in the first few years. On the Suzuki RGV 250, I learned to deal with the engine breathlessness at altitude. I had to come to terms with the weak brakes on the Suzuki LS 650. I struggled with the weight of the Yamaha FZR 1000 Exup and experienced the lightness of motorcycling on the Yamaha TRX 850.

I drew lines in the hairpin bends on the supermotos and no longer just rode up the mountain, but turned it into a sport. I trained for a summer to get to the top by bike in the fall. I immersed myself in electromobility on the Joch and now prefer to ride it with the Zero SR/F, which could take me – if I put my mind to it – to the top of the pass faster than ever before.

The Stelvio still shows me something new on every single trip, tells me about its 200-year history and fascinates me. I’ve driven up it thousands of times, but never fallen. And there’s a good reason why there are so many stories here on MotorProsa about the magical hairpin bends of the Stelvio.

Portrait in MOTORRAD 5/2020 | Inside Stilfser Joch: Vor neun, nach vier

And there
 are even more …

Umbrailpass • Flüelapass • Gampenpass • Ötztaler Gletscherstraße • Penserjoch • Staller Sattel • Timmelsjoch • Passo Campolongo • Passo San Pellegrino • Passo San Boldo • Col de la Machine • Malbun • Karerpass • Mendelpass • Lukmanierpass • Col de la Bonette • Jaufenpass • Passo Manghen • Berninapass • Passo San Marco • Nufenenpass • Julierpass • Passo dell’Aprica • Nigerpass • Col du Glandon • Großglockner • Pragelpass • Passo Tonale • Col de Larche • Katschberghöhe • Grödner Joch • Oberalppass • Brezer Joch • Col du Galibier • Norbertshöhe • Col du Mont-Cenis • Arlbergpass • Pordoijoch • Splügenpass • Sellajoch • Col de la Lombarde • Piller Höhe • Würzjoch • Passo Fedaia • Reschenpass • Col du Lautaret • Nockalmstraße • Col de Vars • Forcola di Livigno • Col de Montgenèvre • Panoramastraße Oberaar • San-Bernardino-Pass • Passo Giau • Malojapass • Klausenpass • Großer Sankt Bernhard • Col de la Forclaz • Monte Grappa • Passo Valparola • Passo Rolle • Col du Petit Saint-Bernard • Panoramica Zegna • Gotthardpass • Passo Falzarego • Campo Carlo Magno • Pian delle Fugazze • Col de l’Isèran • Gorges de la Bourne • Col d’Allos u.v.m.

Thank You’s
& High Fives

Even 2024 would not have been so easy to ride without my partners. I therefore raise my front wheel in thanks for

• Moppetfoto.de
  I always have a lot of fun in front of your lens
• Zero Motorcycles Europe
  For the provision of test motorcycles
• Die Wortwerkstatt
  For the organization and provision of test motorcycles
• Motorpresse Stuttgart | MOTORRAD
  Thanks to you, I’m experiencing so many Alpine passes all over again
• MoHo Motorradhotels
  You know what motorcyclists want – and need
• Rukka Motorsport
  Always well-dressed – and well protected
• Nolan Deutschland
  For your first-class helmets
• SW-Motech
  For your ingenious and well thought-out luggage solutions
• RideLink
  Thanks to you, I know where I’ve been
• Cardo Systems
  Your products make motorcycle work so much easier
• Alpengasthof Tibethütte
  For your always heartfelt help with every request around the Stelvio Pass

Would you like to tell me
 your top 10?

Feel free to write them in the comments – I’m curious!

Susy always impresses me with her incredibly detailed and complete posts. She already wrote down her top 10 in April 2024, which unfortunately went completely unread by me, so be sure to click over to her sensational post!

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