Coltura-Valle Friz-Piancavallo

First time up this big climb with Fadeia; it worked real well.  The climb is pretty unique for our local area: long, steep, remote and beautiful.  I will try to ride it more often in future because it saves you having to drive somewhere to find a great climb.  It's right on our doorstep.

Horses grazing in the high country

The newly paved road is perfect

Clear view to the Adriatic Sea

Pastureland above Dardago 

Clouds focus spotlights on the terrain

Cliffs above Torrente Artugna

Wildflowers

Long hard climb

Mangart da Chiusaforte

I drove to Chiusaforte and headed up Val Raccolana, a deep narrow gorge with many waterfalls.  At Sella Nevea you top out at 1162 meters and then head down to Lago del Predil at 960 meters.  After the lake you ascend again to Passo del Predil at 1156 meters.  Now in Slovenia you descend to the turn off for Mangart at 1080, where all the saliscendi ends and you head steeply upward.  It's a beautifully-made road with switchbacks and tunnels, passing first through a rocky gorge then entering a tall dense fir forest.  With altitude this thins and eventually you're climbing rock with some nice alpine grassland.  The very top is a ridge line, dropping off vertically to the north.

The descent was much easier but I went slowly to avoid tourists in cars, motorcycles and a surprising number of cyclists.  I did get very cold, despite arm warmers and a wind vest; next time I'll bring legwarmers.  This is a beautiful climb, as are Vrisc from Kranjska Gora and Vrisic from Trenta.  Paradise!   

Peaks in the Mangart group

Laghi Fusine near Tarvisio

Fedaia clearly wants to keep climbing

View of the area you climb through

Lago del Predil

Mangart stats

Val Cimoliana

Up Val Cellina, through the tunnels, past Barcis again, but this time I rode to Cimolais and then turned up Val Cimoliana.  Beautiful mountains, streams, forests and at the end a famous pinnacle, il Campanile di Val Montanaia.  Today there were cars from Sweden and France parked at the trailhead, and I saw a gnat-sized climber ascending the vertical rock face.  The ride home is all downhill (almost) and felt dreamlike.  Probably not safe to ride in that condition  but I got away with it this time.   This area is too close-by to visit so infrequently.  I'll try to make amends. 

Looking up from end of pavement (sorry for poor photo quality)

il Campanile di Val Montanaia with a tiny climber
2/3rds of the way up the right edge

Gorgeous Torrente Cimoliana

Val Settimana

A favorite ride up Valcellina, turning off just before Claut and heading north up Val Settimana.  This road follows the river alternating between pavement and gravel.  Eventually it reaches  Casera La Pussa, where I explored around awhile.

The return was fun, slightly downhill and fast.  I got carried away and did one of the transitions to gravel (and bigger rocks) too rapidly , blowing both tire tubes.  So I replaced them and continued down  past Barcis and home.  Fun ride.

Casera La Pussa

Steep mountainsides above Valle Senons

Stream along Valle Senons trail

Cliffs west of  La Pussa

Cascata on Torrente Valle di Pes

GPS track is missing about 7km after I forgot to restart after tube change

Col Alt

Col Alt is a killer climb from Rugolo to a World War II memorial.  I've MTB'ed there before but decided to see if I could do it on Fedaia.  From Sarmede I made it up to about 530 meters but then I was toast.  After hyperventilating awhile I realized I wouldn't make it to the flat spot at 560 meters (turn off to Chiesetta Alpini) so I pushed.  There I remounted and wobbled up the climb to end of pavement at 760 meters.  As you know, the gravel road is even harder to climb, but I made it to the hiking path turn off at 776 meters.  It's grassy single track so I tried to shoulder the 20 lb bike but I was too tired even for that, and had to push it.  I reached the monument at 823 meters, sat down in the shade of the obelisk and ate a piece of cake a friend had given me.   

That revived me so I headed down.  After a brief gravel stretch I reached Strada del Patriarche and coasted down to Villa di Villa and then pedaled home.  Good challenge and I'll try again one day.

Fedaia under trail sign

Col Visentin and Pizzoc

Ridge above Col Alt

Monument to the Partigiani

Too steep for 28 tooth

Zoncolan da Ovaro

Zoncolan is one of the toughest paved climbs in Friuli.  I think only Passo della Forcella from Mione might be tougher.  I tried Ovaro-Zoncolan a couple of years ago and stopped many times to rest (I'd tell you how many but I was too knackered to count).  Anyway I've been riding more hard climbs since then and also installed a 32 tooth granny gear on the Viner.  It was hard but never felt like I would need to stop.

At the top the morning was crystalline with great views in all directions.  I rode back down to Ovaro for the first time- very steep descent.  Highly recommended.

I warmed up with a climb to St Maria Gort on
west bank of Torrente Degano

To the north gorgeous Austrian alps

View west up Val Pesarina 

Northwest toward Forni Avoltri e Sappada

View along the descent

Southwest panorama

Ovaro in Val Degano

I was lucky I started early.  On descent a herd of cows
was heading down the road toward pasture

Steep but climbable

Monte Faverghera

I've ridden most of this before but never all in one day.  After driving to Vittorio Veneto I rode over Sella Fadalto to Lago di Santa Croce.  About halfway around the western shore is a tiny turnoff for Cornolade.   This road ascends fairy steeply, but I tried a new variant from Cornolade Alto to Quantin: mostly above 12%,  which was a good warmup for things to come.

From here I took the main road up to Nevegal.  Not too steep, but things changed above Nevegal.  The road up to Monte Faverghera switchbacks though the trees and ski week rental flats up to around 1400 meters.  I continued up a little higher to look off the cliffs: hazy today but still a pretty sight. After descending past Nevegal take a left toward Ronce.  This paved lane soon turns into strada bianca: a gorgeous winding road through a shady tall fir tree forest.  Eventually it arrives in Ronce, where you follow more beautiful paved lanes across grassy meadows.  Next is the steep descent to Pian del Mont and onward to the bottom at Tassei.

From here you climb somewhat steeply to Valmorel, the start of miles of saliscendi across lovely countryside.  Eventually you sail down the wide hairpins to San Antonio, and join the main road for Passo San Boldo.  Not too steep, even in my tired state.  From here down to the pedemontana and back to Vittorio Veneto.  Very fun.

Lago di Santa Croce from 1400 meters

Strada bianca Via Ronce

The tall fir trees along Via Ronce

Adorable blond-maned mountain horses

Bee collecting wildflower pollen

Beautiful hills above San Antonio

Passo San Boldo tunnels

The climb from lakeshore to Monte Faverghera

Predmeja

I descended from Premedja last year after climbing from Kromberk to Lokve and Mala Lanza.   It stuck in my mind because of the twisty road and good pavement.  So today I tried climbing it from Lokavec instead.  Very wild feeling to it, deserted and not built-up.  At the top I changed the route, descending to Col and then Ajdovscina.  The ridge top ride has lots of saliscendi to workout on.  Then a fun, long and steep descent with good pavement and switchbacks.  Had a nice tailwind on the way back to Gorizia (which had been in my face going the other way).  Love riding in Slovenia, has a different feel to it.  

Ajdovscina from 900 meters

The road ascending from Lokavec  (the cliffs have short tunnels
blasted through them) 

The climb