Mortirolo - Mazzo

The Mortirolo is considered to be the toughest mountain one can climb in Italy and many professional cyclers consider it as the most difficult mountain to be climbed in any of the three major tours. Lucho Herrera (1991) referred to Mortirolo as being the "Queen climb of Europe" and Lance Armstrong referred to it as the hardest climb he'd ever ridden.

The Mortirolo is situated in Lombardy and belongs to the Dolomites . Starting from Mazzo, the Mortirolo ascent is 12.4 km long. Over this distance, you climb 1300 heightmeters. The average percentage thus is 10.5 %.

Are you planning to climb the Mortirolo? Here, you find all the information to train to climb the Mortirolo successfully.

Look for other sides to climb the Mortirolo.

Since 2005, the Mortirolo will be/was climbed in the following big tour stages:
Giro d'Italia 2012 :  Caldes Val di Sole > Passo dello Stelvio on 26/05/2012
Giro d'Italia 2008 :  Rovetta - Tirano on 31/05/2008

Story by philip magnus from muswell hill, United Kingdom, submitted on 10/06/2013

OK this is a story about the Mortirolo road (not on Google maps) from Tovo di Sant''Agata, a village just south of Mazzo. I am 54 years old, endurance guy rather than climber.I rode this as part of the Gran Fondo Stelvio. It is just as steep as the Mazzo climb, but the last two kms are brutally steep, 23%, on a concrete track sometimes unsurfaced. I was riding 34/30 lowest gear. It was a tough grind for 8 kms before the hellish track. I cannot believe that the Zoncolan is tougher than this final stretch.



Still, I would do it again. The Fondo was tough but well organised

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Story by Robert Johansson from Malmberget, Sweden, submitted on 16/05/2013

Consistantly steep and long stretches with only a few hair pins makes this a really hard climb. I did it with 39/26 gearing and it was quite a challenge to keep the momentum.

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Story by Eudald Llagostera i Torrent from Barcelona, Spain, submitted on 06/02/2013

The know as Mortirolo is "Passo della Foppa". I''d climbed it 6 times. Being a very hard climb, is moreless the 50th in Europe. Nice to climb. I suggest the tour: Bormio-Mazzo-Mortirolo-Veglia-Ponte di Legno-Passo Gavia-Bormio, 110 km - ascent 3.200 meters.

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Story by Hugo from gembloux, Belgium, submitted on 28/01/2013

I climbed the Mortirolo in 2011 from Mazzo. Less difficult than the Zoncolan or the Kiztbüheler Horn but more beautiful. The main difference is that you can rest during some parts. A unforgettable climb with . I will come back in 2013

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Story by Robert from , The Netherlands, submitted on 27/07/2011

A couple of days after the Zoncolan, I climbed the Mortirolo and it was - or at least seemed - much easier. Still, the middle part (around 5 - 6 k total) is tough and I felt lucky that it was warm, but not hot (like the hell on the Zoncolan). If you can''t get up this beast, don''t try the monster at Ovaro!

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Story by Andy Shaker from Los Angeles, United States, submitted on 27/04/2011

I did the Mortirolo and Gavia for a 10,000 foot loop out of Bormio in July 2010. It was a hot day and the Mortirolo was nice because most of it is shaded by trees and the pavement is excellent. Very little traffic but the few cars always seemed to go by on the steepest sections of the narrow road. I was thankful about having a 30x27 since in the three days before I did the GF Pinarello, Sella Ronda Loop, Passo Fedaia, and Stelvio. When I reached the top my water bottles were empty and I choked down a dry salami sandwich not knowing that a nice café was about 1k down the other side. When leaving Bormio stick to the smaller roads below the main highway which is dangerous and filled with trucks.

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Story by Richard from Manlius, NY, United States, submitted on 31/05/2010

I climbed the Mortirolo in late May 2010, the day the Giro went through. The climb is very hard with some very steep pitches, but not anywhere near as hard as the Zoncolan, which I had done a few days earlier. The Mortirolo allows you to rest a bit on the switch backs where the Zoncolan has very few. All the same, you need to bring your best legs for this climb and make sure you pace yourself from the very beginning.

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Story by Oyvind Aas from Oslo/Tremezzo, Norway, submitted on 08/07/2009

I climbed the Mortirolo and the Gavia on a hot day in august 2009. (32 degrees C in Mazzo at the start). What a relentless climb. So narrow, shaded and dark. So evil yet so grand and beautiful. 34x25 was tough, but doable. Made it over in just over 1 hour and 5 minutes with a couple of stops for photos. Amazing how the 8-9% gradients felt like false flats. I suffered on the Gavia later in the day, but the combo is a great ride, especially if you get picked up in Bormio.

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Story by Amelia Dunn from , United Kingdom, submitted on 08/05/2008

Relentless!! Reaching Pantanis Memorial corner seemed to take forever, and how brilliant that was riding past the legend..... I think the ipod helped, and listened to Anthems 1991-2008 was just the right tempo, oh and x6 +watt gel packs too. Still a great achievement, dont forget the great rifugio on the descent towards Aprica, which serves cold beer! and the Chicken & Chips van by the picnic area on the Mazzo side, just before the summit. This climb is a must.

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Story by Stephen Howells from Tavira, Portugal, submitted on 26/06/2008

I rode the M.Pantani Gran Fondo (Great except the descents were NOT closed to traffic fully) but only had 39x26 due to lack of time to get lower. The only bits where I felt my knees were going to pop were the slightly easier bits- And there were not many! It was only pride that prevented me stopping- I saw one bloke try to stop and his leg wouldnt support him so he slid back down the hill... I reckon 34x28 is about the gear to race up it ideally for most good amateurs: If you need lower than that MUCH better to stop and admire the view! The climb after the top (Where there was a feed zone) nearly had a grown man crying!

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Story by Simon Nicholson from Morton, Illinois, United States, submitted on 02/10/2008

I rode the Mortirolo the first week of September 2007 the day after tackling The Stelvio and the day before th Gavia. I can say this mountain is unforgiving and you better make sure you are geared right. I came with a 36x17 and it put me to the test. The middle section is killer with grades nearing 20% for a short time. At that time I was barely moving faster than 4 mph. The top is a wonderful sight although it is somewhat misleading when you get up to the camp area and you still have more to climb. On the way down, make sure you have plenty of brake, once you let go you take off pretty quickly and the road is very narrow with tight turns. Overall, it is nice to say that I have ridden it, would not be running back to do it again next year though.

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Story by Ton Couwenberg from Handel, Netherlands, submitted on 09/03/2007

I climbed the Mortirolo as part of a cycling holiday of Krol-actice. It was on a wet foggy day which made the road quite slippery. I was not really prepared for the steepness of the climb and had to do it with my 39x26. It really is a hard climb bot surely not undoable! The saying that you cant get any rest during the climb is simply not truth. Several curves are flat and even pieces of 7% can give you some rest after bearing 17.5%. My time was surely not the best on the Mortirolo (1:17) but it gives you a kick to hit the top.

Story by Mark Moroney from , Ireland, submitted on 27/06/2007

I climbed the Mortirolo on June 24 as part of the Granfondo Pantani. It is really tough and the hardest climb I have done. It starts hard, gets harder, is hard in the middle and the last 3 km are the easiest, only 9%! Bring a low gear. I had a 30x27 and could have used more althogh the fact that I had 120km in the legs did not help. Its reputation is well earned and if they dont call it "il brutto", they should!!

Story by Mauro from Tirano, Italy, submitted on 06/01/2007

I live at the bottom of Mortirolo.It is a hard climb. first 3 km not too much hard, ok for to prepare because from fourth until ninth Km there is the hardest part;last 3 km little less steep but some hard steps. Important to start calm, and pedal with agility.

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