Monte Festa MTB

Monte Festa is a fortress built around 1900.  It sits atop a 1000-meter high peak with 360-degree view of northeast Italy, even into Austria and Slovenia.  I've ridden up the road on adjacent Monte San Simeone several times, but have always been wary of Festa.  It always seemed a little too wild and rugged.

As it turns out it isn't bad at all.  I followed a paved branch off of the San Simeone road up to end of pavement around 400 meters.  From here it's about 7 km of gravel and rock, averaging 8.6% gradient.  There are switchbacks and some drainage, stone buttressing, even a few short tunnels, so it's not a rough-hewn fire road.  At 632 meters is an excellent overlook platform with great views of Lago Cavazzo and the area.  Onward to 900 meters there's an area with some ruined concrete buildings I'm guessing were a non-fortified support area during peacetime.  Now up steeply on narrower rocky trail to the fortress at around 1000 meters.  It's worth the ride up just for the views.  I explored a bit and headed down.  I made it down without wrecking, though my fillings got a thorough looseness checkout.  Looks like they're all still there.  Great climb which I'd love to ride again.

From 632 meters Lago Cavazzo

Monte Faeit to the west

To northwest Tolmezzo and the Dolomite above Ampezzo

This area is known for its butterflies, attracted by wildflowers

View northeast up Fiume Fella

Monte Amariana in background

Monte San Simeone to east

Artillery mount: the Italians destroyed all of their guns before the
Austrians captured the fort so they couldn't be used against them

The north gun battery

View from west gun battery, looking at the route I rode

Another fortress to the west.  Must explore.

Lago Cavazzo from 1000 meters

Fortress entrance

Interior of the fortress 

Stavoli Palar MTB

I drove past the Grifoni Riserve at Lago Cornino to Alesso, west of Lago di Cavazzo.  I parked, got on my bike and turned left onto the narrow road marked loc. Armentaria.  It starts climbing steeply immediately: 3.5 km averaging 12.6%, at times reaching 20%.  The pavement ends and a nice gravel road continues gradually rising.  There's a great lookout point with 300 degree panorama at 7.5 km:  tree-covered mountains in all directions.  This valley is almost completely undeveloped, with only a handful of houses on thousands of acres.

The gravel road ascends to Forchia Armentaria at 800 meters.  Here you take the right fork and begin descending.  The loose gravel isn't too bad when descending, and they've concreted/asphalted some of the worst sections.  This descent continues to around 480 meters, with some saliscendi to keep you from getting complacent.  After crossing Torrente Palar you ascend steeply upward again, till Stavoli Palar around 520 meters.  Like me, a friendly Italian MTBer was concerned with the disparity between the map and the actual road, but we both  made it eventually.  

The climbout is another killer, 2.3 km averaging 12.3% with points of 18.5%, about half of it on gravel.  I'm omitting the saliscendi ascent because it's too complicated to calculate.  Once you make it to Forchia Armentaria it's a fun ride from then on.

I want to come back here and try a dirt road that heads up to Monte Flagjel around 1300 meters.  Also another looks like it connects with Valarzino near San Franceso.   Splendid area for riding.    

Start of the climb in Alesso

Monte Chiadins to west 1051 meters

Northwest Monte Piombada, 1744 meters

Close up Piombada

View down Valle di Palar toward Alesso;
left, Monte San Simeone, 1505 meters

Close up Alesso

Stavoli Palar

Downstream Torrente Palar

Toward headwaters of Torrente Palar

Monte San Simeone

Monte San Simeone is an annual pilgrimage for me.  Today the weather was temperate and clear, and the grifoni of Cornino wildlife reserve were making the most of it.  Don't think I've ever seen so many of them at once before.  After watching this spectacle awhile I continued up past Lago di Cavazzo to start of climb.  The climb was perfect: not too hot and the road surface wasn't as bad as I'd remembered.  After the top (1187 meters) I rolled down into some pretty green meadows with the tree-covered summit of Monte San Simeone above in the distance.  The paved road ended so I retraced a bit, then hiked up to Chiesa di San Simeone and a clearing atop the hill with a nice view. 

I descended until 375 meters, where I reached the junction for Monte Festa and turned off to check it out.  Pavement ends after 1.5km but a gravel road continues to the fortress.  I will try to mountain bike that in September or October.

Got a bit fatigued on the way home but never bonked, thanks to the unseasonable 20℃ with a light breeze on an August afternoon.

Beautiful turquoise water of Lago di Cornino

Just a few of dozens of grifoni riding the thermals
along Tagliamento's cliffs   

In clearing above chiesa looking west

San Simeone summit- must hike (maybe MTB?)

The chiesa with mountains to northeast

Monte Palantarins towers above Fiume Tagliamento (left)
and Torrente Pakar (right); another MTB ride

Southern end of Lago di Cavazzo and mountains to southwest

Hang glider taking off from the steep pastures

Monte Festa (left) with pre-World War I fortress
on top

Lago di Cavazzo, created by retreating glaciers

Pieve di Santo Stefano, Cesclans

Monte San Simeone

Beautiful day so I rode back up past the Grifoni Refuge, Lago Cornino, up la Strada di Bottecchia to Lago Cavazzo, turned right at Interneppo and headed uphill.  Above Interneppo the road levels out in a low pass, where you turn left toward Monte San Simeone.  After briefly rising through the forest, the road tilts upward more steeply.  Like Pian delle Femene the gradient here is relentless.  There are stacks of switchbacks with curved tunnels at the ends to ease the grade, but it still averages 8.3% for 10.5 km.  At the end of the road (1190 meters) are beautiful grassy meadows with spectacular views.  The panorama to the north is blocked by the forested summit of Monte San Simeone (1500 meters).  I saw the path leading to the top so I'll probably try to bike up with sneakers in my backpack next time and then hike.

The only problem with this climb: the roadway is pretty torn up and there are many fallen rocks.  I was doing good descending till around 430 meters when my rear tire went flat.  If I had descended more slowly I probably could have avoided the flat and saved some time.  But no big deal, it was a nice break changing the tube on a sunny day accompanied by birds singing in the forest.

The ride home went well, though my leg muscles were fatigued.  This is another wonderful climb that makes you want to return every year.

View toward Gemona from 1200 meters

Looking south at Cuel di Forchia and Monte Cuar
rising above the Tagliamento River

Westward sea of mountains stretching to Veneto,
Friulian flag waving in the breeze

Monte Palantarins (1050m) shares the same "island" with Monte
San Simeone, surrounded by the Tagliamento River and Lago Cavazzo 

Mountains to east stretching toward Slovenia

Baby blue Tagliamento River

Monte San Simeone

One of my all-time favorite climbs, Monte San Simeone rises like an island between the Tagliamento River and Lago Cavazzo.  It is completely wild, with a fantastic wild flower "garden" covering the meadows near end of pavement.  The road itself was built by the Italian army before World War I, and has a mostly steady (though steep) gradient for its 13km. 

I left home around 0600 and felt kind of sluggish- just need to synchronize my Circadian rhythm with my "ride before it gets hot" program.  After Pinzano I passed by the Grifone Rifugio at Lago Cornino, but no one was flying.  The sun hadn't yet heated the cliffs to create updrafts so the giant birds couldn't launch from their nests.

I climbed above Lago Cavazzo up past Interneppo with its beautiful murals to the little pass at 315m.  Here you turn off onto the climb proper.  It's shady and moderately steep at first, then past the turn off for Monte Festa (another WW I fortress), followed by gradually increasing sun exposure and steepness.  At 500m begins a neat series of tornanti, with U-shaped tunnels at the northeast ends.  After this series, you start longer, steeper meandering switchbacks.  There are some shady sections but mostly sun-exposed, so I felt quite clever climbing before 10 AM.   

Eventually you leave the climb up the sheer slopes on the mountainside and begin to climb across and up alpine meadows.  Lots of wildflowers.  Some great views of the surrounding mountain ranges and valleys here, though it was hazy today.  I rode up to the turn-off for the quaint stone church San Simeone (built in 1330).  But the paved road didn't end here at 1180m like last year- they've laid concrete roadway over the next ridge and down to the edge of Pian dai Purcei, a flattish area of grassy meadows and woods.  Behind and above this is the summit at 1505m, which can be reached on foot. 

I descended fairly quickly, though never wide-open: there are no guard rails, so the slightest error and you will be base jumping without a parachute.  I had a pinch flat and changed it: mis-timed my bunny hop on one of the abrupt transitions.

Ride home was hot but not unbearable.  I was very tired when I finished,  not to mention hungry and thirsty.  Next stop Sella Ronda!

Pieve di Santo Stefano on ridge, Lago Cavazzo below

Close up Santo Stefano

Pian dai Purcei at end of new concrete road;
summit Monte San Simeone in background

Wild roses in alpine meadow

Close-up wild rose

Tagliamento River near Bordano

Some of the steeper spikes

Monte San Simeone 2011

A beautiful Spring day, time to climb one of my all-time favorites- Monte San Simeone.

Long, easy, flat warm-up to Pinzano, then the rollers to Flagogna, and up the Strada di Bottecchia along the Tagliamento.  At Cornino, dozens of grifoni spiraled, glided and swooped along the cliffs of the nature reserve.  Some cruised over me low enough I could distinguish the colors and pattern of their underwing feathers, and their "bald" heads.  I had to pull over to watch this spectacle for awhile to avoid veering over the embankment.

At Interneppo, I turned right and climbed past the butterfly mural houses to the little pass above Bordano at 315m.  Here I turned left and began an easy ascent through the woods.  The road to Monte Feste forks to the left, but I continued more steeply to the right.  After a kilometer or so of prelude, the tornanti up the mountainside begin.  These are long switchbacks that climb at 10-14% along the rocky cliff-face, then double-back in short u- shaped tunnels at the eastern ends.  At the western ends, the road turns back above a vertical drop- off with wonderful views of Bordano, Monte Brancol to the south, and Lago Cavazzo.  This continues uninterrupted up to the transition onto the altopiano.  

The road now meanders its way steeply around and onto the grassy meadows, past a few little stone houses.  A group of parapendio riders ascended the thermals coming off the stone cliffs, starting below me and eventually floating far above in the sky.  At the end of pavement (1206m) I took a short walk up to Chiesa San Simeone, a small stone church dating from 1330.   Hard to imagine people living here back then, hiking the paths all the way up from Bordano, building stone churches, etc.

I rode down clutching the brakes, as the road is concrete and bumpy, with much fallen rock, branches etc.  There are no guardrails so margin of error is zero.  After the little pass at 315m enjoyed some nice fast curves down to Interneppo, then long downgrade to just north of Peonis.  A few rollers from here down through Cornino (grifoni were back in their nests) to Pinzano.  They were repaving the road from Pinzano toward Spilimbergo in preparation for next month's Giro d'Italia.  They also have repaved part of the Strada di Bottecchia- very nice.

Didn't bonk on the remaining flat cruise home, but fighting the headwind was a struggle with my rubbery legs.  I was so tired when I got home I took a hot soak and fell asleep.  Will sleep soundly tonight. 

Chiesa di San Simeone, consecrated in 1330 

Chiesa on the altopiano (1220m),
Monte Lavara (1908m) to the west in background

Looking north across the altopiano toward the summit
of Monte San Simeone,  1505 meters

The climb proper- 886 meters in 10 km, roughly 8.9% grade

Steepest bit is 21.2%, with a couple of near 20% stretches,
and much 12-14%

Good satellite view of altopiano and the summit to the northwest