Passo Rolle is one of the great classics of the Dolomites, at 1,989 metres, and the reason is not just the road but what it looks at. As you reach the top, the Pale di San Martino rear up on the southern side in a wall of pale, jagged rock, with the Cimon della Pala and the rounded Cima Vezzana lighting up in the sun. The pass connects the Fiemme valley around Predazzo with the Primiero valley and San Martino di Castrozza, and has been a crossing for centuries, used by traders and shepherds long before the road was paved.
The riding is excellent. From the Predazzo side, the road climbs through dense spruce forest with long, flowing bends and a handful of hairpins, then opens onto meadows near the top. The tarmac is good, the gradients are manageable, and the views get bigger as you rise. On the south side, the descent towards San Martino di Castrozza is exhilarating, with the great wall of rock looming ahead. Traffic can be heavy on summer weekends, with motorcycles, cars, cyclists and campervans sharing the road, so go early or choose a weekday if you can. Weather can change fast, and fog or storms often build in the afternoon.
The top of the pass has a hotel, a couple of bars and a car park, and there is a chair lift station nearby. Coffee and a slice of apple strudel are the natural order of business, and the buzz of other riders compares notes on lines and weather. Local specialities include polenta, cheese, mushroom dishes and speck, and prices are what you would expect of a popular Alpine pass.
Moena, about twelve kilometres away, is a larger resort town with services, and Feltre is the bigger town to the south. It is best to top up before you go over the pass, since the roads connecting are long.
This region was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before 1918, and the front line of the First World War ran through these mountains, so the landscape is marked by trenches, forts and memorials. A quiet moment at the pass, looking at the peaks, is a good reminder of the history.