The Stelvio at its summit is a strange mix of mountain and market. At 2,757 metres, it is the second highest paved pass in the Alps, and the car park is crowded with coaches, camper vans, motorbikes and stalls selling sausages, hats and souvenirs. Cold wind blows across the saddle even in July, so keep a jacket in your top box. Ahead the Ortler massif, the highest peak in the eastern Alps at 3,905 metres, rises over the glaciers, and on a clear day it is worth taking a moment to look at it before the stalls draw your attention.
The road itself was built in the 1820s under Austrian rule, designed by the engineer Carlo Donegani to link Lombardy with the Tyrol and bring troops and goods over the mountains. It was a serious piece of engineering for the time, with hairpin after hairpin cut into steep slopes, and it still follows the line he chose. On the northern side, from Prato allo Stelvio, there are close to fifty numbered hairpins, which you can count on the way up or down; on the side toward Bormio, the road is longer and more open, with several tunnels cut into the rock.
Riding it is exciting but demanding. The road is narrow, with low walls and big drops, and the hairpins are tight enough that a loaded touring bike needs real care. Coaches coming the other way take the whole width on corners, so wait until they are clear. Surface quality is usually good but can be damaged by frost heave, and in early summer there may be patches of gravel or meltwater. The best time to ride is early in the morning, before the traffic and before the clouds roll in, or late in the evening when most people have gone. Weekends in July and August are crowded.
The pass is closed in winter, usually from late autumn until late May or June, depending on snow, and it can close for a few days even in summer after a storm. Food at the summit is basic but filling: sausages, sandwiches, strudel and hot chocolate, all priced as you would expect for a place where everything has to be brought up by truck.