cycling Oetztaler Gletscherstrasse - Pitze

Starting from Zwieselstein (1.463m) and only 2 Km after the climb start and I was already shouting “very hard”. The sun exposure and the gradient were taking its toll and I was already asking myself if I could do this one. No other cyclists in sight and slowly the dense forest would only unveil more climbing asphalt. After the 5th Km of the climb finally some rest. A 500m descent to a €16 car toll and the next 800m of gradient to climb. The next 6,5 km of the climb were of a different type. Great scenery and with the goal almost on sight. At 2.643m a cross road gives access to the Tiefenbach tunnel and after a second rest, a short descent of 200m. Finally, the 1,7 km and 8,5% gradient tunnel that would finish at 2.822m of altitude (I had no idea of how long and steep it would be). Nevertheless, the pace improved as the finish line was finally on sight – a small dot of light in the end of the tunnel. I never experienced cycling in a tunnel, it was cold, humid, wet and that dot of light hardly increased with my strongest pedaling. Finally I saw the light and there it was, the 2822m sign.

My personal climb rating: 4 stars

Very demanding climb, only in the middle at the ""Mautstelle"" a few hundred meters flat. I did the climb twice in a week, the first time I started much to fast and had to pause for a few minutes after 3 kms. Second time I did it non stop but with a more moderate pace. Truly a climb that deserves a top 20 ranking in the most difficult climbs.

My personal climb rating: 4 stars

I cycled this climb twice in one week (week 31, 2008) and during the first attempt I blew myself to pieces! I had to stop several times to control my heartrate and came to the conclusion that you have to start with a moderate pace to complete this one. The second time I managed the climb non stop and I felt quite good. My Sigma computer registered 13.6 km length (from Gasthof Grauer Bär in Pitze to the parking area at 2800 m) and 1370 height-meters. This means a average of just over 10 %. Conclusion: a really hard climb but with a great scenery so very good fun in total.

My personal climb rating: 5 stars