Dolomites Sella Ronda Overnight Scout · part 2

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Campolongo Pass

   Campolongo is the quiet pass in a family of loud ones. At 1,875 metres it links Corvara in Alta Badia with Arabba and the upper valley of Livinallongo, and on the Sella Ronda it is the stretch that most riders ride without thinking, between the more famous climbs of Pordoi and Gardena. That undersells it. The road winds up through pasture and scattered spruce from Corvara with a long, relaxed run of hairpins, and from the top the whole of the Sella massif stands over you, a pale, castellated block of limestone that looks as if it was built rather than eroded.

   Read the complete Campolongo Pass write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Campolongo Pass is where the day begins. Reckon on about 8 °C colder than the valley, and more in the wind. Next is Gardena Pass, climbing 261 m.

2. 2. Gardena Pass

   Gardena Pass joins two Ladin valleys: Val Gardena on the north side, with Selva and Ortisei, and Alta Badia on the south, around Corvara. At roughly 2,100 metres it is one of the four passes that circle the Sella massif, and the road runs between the great rock walls of the Sassolungo and the Sella, with their pale dolomite faces that glow pink at sunset.

   Read the complete Gardena Pass write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   You top out at 2136 m here. The road climbs 261 m on the way up to it, steadily. Reckon on about 10 °C colder than the valley, and more in the wind. Nothing on this route is higher. At this height the road is a summer one: snow gates can stay shut into June and shut again in October. Next is Val Gardena overnight base, mostly downhill.

3. 3. Val Gardena overnight base

   Val Gardena is the valley where the Dolomites speak Ladin. The language, a Romance tongue descended from the Latin of Roman soldiers, survives here in a handful of valleys, and in villages like Selva, Santa Cristina and Ortisei you will see three sets of names on every sign: German, Italian and Ladin, so Selva is also Wolkenstein and Sëlva. The altitude of 1,560 metres puts you in Selva, at the top end of the valley, where the road to the Sella and Gardena passes begins and the walls of the Dolomites are close enough to touch.

   Read the complete Val Gardena overnight base write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 30 km into the recorded legs you reach Val Gardena overnight base. You lose 576 m on the way down to it, steadily. Reckon on about 6 °C colder than the valley, and more in the wind. Next is Back to Chur, mostly downhill.

4. 4. Back to Chur

   At 593 metres, in a wide bend of the Rhine valley, Chur makes a strong claim to be the oldest town in Switzerland, with traces of settlement going back thousands of years and a Roman presence from the first century BC. It has been the seat of a bishop since late antiquity, and the bishop's court, with its cathedral, sits on a terrace above the old town. Down below, the narrow streets and squares of the Altstadt, with painted houses, fountains and arcades, are a pleasant place to wander after a morning in the saddle.

   Read the complete Chur write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back to Chur closes the day. You lose 967 m on the way down to it, steadily.