Sella Ronda

Il Giro dei Quattro Passi (or “Sella Ronda”) is a popular ride on the border of Dolomiti Bellunesi and Trentino Alto Adige.  Every July for one day, all motorized traffic is banned and the route is covered in bicycles.  This year they added another day, 18 September when I planned to go.  But the provision at www.ilmeteo.it looked bad, so I decided to try this week instead.

I drove away from home at 5:30 AM and arrived at Arabba (1600m) at 8:30.  I would recommend a flatter warmup (maybe from Pieve di Livinallongo), but I started right in Arabba.  From there, Passo di Pordoi (2239m) is a beautiful ride- covered in sunny meadows surrounded by peaks, with 33 tornanti lazily looping back and forth.  To your right looms imposing Gruppo Sella (3152m), the massive range you will circumnavigate for the next 50 km.    

The descent down the other side of the pass toward Canazei is a different environment.  It is covered in medium-size pine trees, and at this hour was cloaked in the mountain's shadow- very cold.  There’s a turn-off around 1750 meters heading up to Passo di Sella.  This was the hardest part of the ride to me- steep and cold, panting clouds of steam.  I soon warmed up and took off my windjacket, then continued grappling up the slope to 2244m.  Beautiful Sassolungo (3181m) towers to the west- I kept turning around to see it from different angles all the way to Passo di Gardena.

The descent from Passo di Sella to Plan de Gralba (1871m) was gentle and not too cold.  It passes through the rolling meadows of Val Gardena, very pretty. After the Plan you climb gradually up to Passo di Gardena (2121m).  

The view of green meadows descending to Corvara is gorgeous.  It’s a very long, easy descent, lots of tornanti, peaks to admire, mountain bike tracks crossing the road, and today a raduno of old Triumphs, wallowing around curves and straining up hill.  All the while, Gruppo Sella dominates the scene, high above on your right.

Corvara (1522m) is a big tourist area, and the start of the climb to Passo di Campolongo (1875m).  It’s quite steep up until Corsa Alta Badia (golfing), then mellows out.  After the pass is a fun descent to Arabba.

Can’t beat the scenery on this ride- really magical.  I’ll have to try it in the opposite direction next time (hopefully soon!)

Tornanti on climb to Passo di Pordoi

The meadows below Passo di Pordoi

Gruppo Sella (3152m) looming above the meadows

Close up Gruppo Sella

The last of the 31 tornanti on Passo di Pordoi

Sass Pordoi (2950m)

El Capitan-like rockface towering above climb to Passo di Sella 

The Marmolada glacier (sorry about the haze)

From Passo di Sella looking back at Gruppo Sella

View down Val di Fassa toward Canazei

Sassolungo (3181m) above Passo di Sella

Cinqueditta (2918m)

Looking north across Val Gardena

Gran Cir (2592m) above Passo di Gardena

Close up of tall spires along Gran Cir ridge

Looking back at Sassolungo from Passo di Gardena

The view toward Corvara from Passo di Gardena

Sass Songher (2665m) above Colvara

Satellite view

Left to right: Passi Pordoi, Sella, Gardena, Campolongo 

Casera Crosetta

Casera Crosetta is one of several backcountry shelters on the rim of Alpago, a beautiful bowl-shaped valley east of Belluno.  I've climbed a number of nearby mountain roads but never this one.  Today was my chance.   

Woke up at 3:30AM for some reason and it was raining.  I had breakfast and fed the animals etc, and the rain continued.  So I took a nap.  Woke up around 8:30AM and the rain had quit, so I got ready and left about an hour later.  When I headed out, my neighbor Nerina advised not going too far because of the heavy cloud cover.  She's lived here a long time, so I was a little worried it would rain later.  

I turned off Via Pedemontane (30m) below Sarone and started the gentle pre-climb.  A fellow and a very cute girl passed me, the girl standing in her pedals on the 5% grade.  I was hoping this would continue until Il Cansiglio, but they veered off at Sarone, only a few hundred meters later.  I was rather crestfallen, as she really rocked that tight pair of Exte Ondo's.

After the top of this climb (1118m), I cruised across Piancansiglio, and down through the pretty towns of Spert, Tambre, Borsoi and Cornei (456m).  At this last town, you turn right and head upward toward Lamosano (725m) and then on to Funes (820m).  The road onward and upward to Casera Crosetta is well-marked with little wooden signs.  Almost immediately it hits a wall of 20-30%.  I made it a little way up this slope then died.  Donned cleat covers and walked on till it flattened to 10-15%.  The road is very well paved.  I continued on up the hillside till the next +20% stretch and walked again.  I think this may have happened a third time.  Pavement ended around 1100m, but the strada sterrata looked good so I tried it.  Not bad but after a few hundred meters I reached a crossroad and decided to turn around (1115m).  So I never reached the Casera, but there is a great picture here, as well as several pictures of Alpago's surrounding peaks here.

Cruised down to Cornei, and started the climb back up to Il Cansiglio.  I was sore but had enough strength left to spin right up the hill, only standing to stretch my lower back occasionally.  Again across Piancansiglio (quite windy), back up to La Crosetta (1118m) and thankfully downhill again to Sarone.  I was pretty beat but just kept on going nice and easy till I got home.

View of southern Alpago, with Monte Pizzoc (1565m) on right

Close up of Tambre and surrounding towns

Lago di Santa Croce, flanked by Monte Pizzoc, left,
and Col Visentin (1763m), right

Funes backed by Monte Venal (2212m)

Funes with Monte Teverone (2345m) on left,
Monte Venal behind

Close up Lago di Santa Croce, Mt Pizzoc and Col Visentin

Map of the climb

Close up of Funes-Casera Crosetta climb

Left Il Cansigio, center Casera Crosetta

Steep Casera Crosetta ramps

Bicycle Race

Raining buckets here so this is the closest I'll get to riding today.  A friend on Facebook reminded me of Freddie Mercury's birthday so here's my all-time favorite cycling song

Giro di Lago del Vajont

North of here in the mountains there's a strange lake.  It has the fourth tallest dam in the world (262 meters), a little pond a kilometer upstream from the dam, and in between, a mountain sitting where the lake is supposed to be.  In 1963 when they filled up the lake, it undermined the base of steep Monte Toc (1921m) to the south, and half of the mountain collapsed into the lake.  The water was instantly displaced and killed over 2,000 people in surrounding villages and downstream at Longarone, on the Piave River.

I've driven or ridden many times along the main road on the north shore of the lake, but always wondered about the little villages I can see on the opposite shore.  Today I decided to check it out.  After the easy climb up Valcellina to Cimolais, and the brief ascent over Passo San Osvaldo (827m), I arrived in the valley at the top of Lago del Vajont.  I rode along the north shore by Erto and on toward Casso.  There was a turn off to the left marked Pineda.  It climbs across the huge mass of rock and dirt which split off from Monte Toc, along the heavily-eroded hillsides where the surging water gouged tortuous channels into the earth.  Then finally it reaches 800m, begins to descend and enters another world.

Instead of sun beating down on scrubby trees and arid grass, you're now immersed in cool green forest as you descend steeply to Pineda, a small group of farmhouses.   Then you cross a high bridge over a gorge with white water stream.  I guess this would all have been underwater if the lake had remained.  You ride through several unlit tunnels, luckily short or with side openings to admit light.  Eventually you arrive at Liron, a semi-level location on the hillside with meadows.  As I approached I noted an older man on a bike balancing a 20-foot long skinny tree on his shoulder (maybe 4 inches in diameter at the fat end) while pedaling along the twisty narrow lane.  By the time I caught up he had already dismounted and was carrying the tree uphill to the back of his house.  Those are some amazing bike handling skills.

After more forest riding you arrive at Prada, another big meadowy area overlooking the gorge.  Continuing, you ride a hundred meters or so of dirt and gravel, then the pavement resumes before reaching Marzanna.  You begin to descend and the road becomes permanently strada sterrata, though no problem even with 23mm tires.  Along here I encountered the only other cyclist on the giro di Lago del Vajont, a pretty girl on a mountain bike.  After some more short tunnels you arrive at a modern concrete bridge over Torrente Vajont.  Took some pictures here and after a brief climb out, arrived back on the main north shore highway east of Erto.  Easy ride home from here.

Definitely want to try this again, possibly the other way round.  It would be a great workout climbing the section near Pineda.

Remnant of the lake, viewed from atop the
landslip which now fills the basin

Close up of lake remnant, with mountains
above Cimolais in background  

Tributary entering from the south,
viewed from high bridge after Pineda

Meadow at Liron

Big meadows at Prada

The eroded gorge of Torrente Vajont
before it enters the lake basin

Torrente Vajont tumbling westward toward the lake

The town of Erto on the cliffside to the right

Monte Toc (1921m), with shining rockfaces marking
the landslip's origin  

Satellite view of Giro di Lago del Vajont

Left- Passo Sant Osvaldo, center- hilltop above Pineda

Malga Monte Fara

Malga Monte Fara is very close to our home, but I never knew until a mountain biker I was chatting with, Ermiono, mentioned it.  Today was my first chance to ride it.

Quite stormy off-and-on this morning but there was a brief gap in the weather so I went for it.  Up through the long tunnel to Andreis, then along Torrente Alba and up the road through Bosplans.  There is a scout camp in the valley below and apparently they have a brass and woodwinds band, which sounded pretty good in the natural amphitheater of surrounding cliffs.   I continued climbing to their accompaniment up to 650 meters, where a gravely, washed-out road turns off to the right, with a wooden sign pointing to Malga Monte Fara. 

After making your way through the initial gravel stretch, it improves a bit- now a narrow, roughly paved lane with lots of loose gravel washed down by the rains.  It's not bad if you can keep traction on the loose material covering the steep incline.  I stood on the steeper parts, feathering the force applied to my rear tire as required.  But below 13% I tried to stay seated to keep some weight on the rear wheel.

I reached a small group of hikers.  The lady in back heard me panting, turned and saw me, then announced "Attenzione! In arrivo una ciclista a dietro" like it was a race.  Then the other hikers cheered me on "Coraggio!" "Bravo!" etc.  That was fun.   

Eventually I reached a homemade gate of sticks tied together to keep the sheep and goats from escaping.  I closed it behind me and continued to the malga at 950 meters.  I descended very slowly because of the surface and rejoined the main road above Bosplans.  I didn't even think about descending the way I came, instead heading upward for Pala Barzana.  Soon the black clouds to the north began drizzling on me, but it felt good as I climbed through the dense forest to Pala Barzana.  From here I rode downhill gingerly because of the damp pavement and spruce needles in the road.

The rain picked up as I neared Pian delle Merie.  Luckily the road was closed for repair and there was a deviazione through Val di Frina, which is a bit shorter.  They've paved this road since last I tried it,  much nicer now.  Below Poffabro the deviazione ended and I sped through Val Colvera and the tunnels toward Maniago.  Here it was dry, so I slowed some and headed toward Montereale.  But the rain resumed near Maniago Libero, and continued over the bridge at Ravedis, through Montereale and almost all the way home.  

I'll try this again on a clearer day this Fall and try to get some fotos of the lovely rock formations above Andreis as well as the meadows on Monte Fara. 

Rustic gate

The malga at 950 meters and grazing sheep

Tabacco map showing the turn off after Bosplans

Malga Monte Fara left, Pala Barzana right

Some of the steep, loose slopes

Satellite shot

Max speed is wrong- caused by loss of GPS signal in tunnels