Pale di San Martino San Lucano - Dolomiti and Sciliar-Catinaccio
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
408 km
Riding-time estimate
9 h 02
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
408 km from Rivamonte Agordino to Rivamonte Agordino, about 9 h 02 of riding. It goes by way of Marmolada, Puez-Odle / Puez-Geisler / Pöz-Odles, Sciliar-Catinaccio and back through Puez-Odle / Puez-Geisler / Pöz-Odles. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,950 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Scenic road chapters
Passo di Giau · Dolomites
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 43 km this is Passo di Giau · Dolomites, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
Length
43 km
Named road
Passo di Giau · Dolomites
Pass
Passo Valles
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Pale di San Martino San Lucano - Dolomiti
The Val di San Lucano is a deep, shadowed gash in the southern Dolomites, and the point here lies near Rivamonte and Voltago, in the Agordino, the upper valley of the Cordevole river. The big, pale walls on either side belong to the Pale di San Martino group, one of the nine sets of mountains included in the Dolomites World Heritage listing of 2009, and their sheer rock faces rise more than a thousand metres above the narrow valley floor.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pale di San Martino San Lucano - Dolomiti is where the day begins. Next is Marmolada.
2. Marmolada
The Queen of the Dolomites, they call her, and the Marmolada earns the title: at 3,343 metres, Punta Penia is the highest summit of the range, and its northern flank carries the largest glacier in the Dolomites, while the south face drops away as a sheer wall of pale limestone. That glacier is shrinking fast, and in July 2022 a large section of it collapsed, killing eleven climbers, a tragedy that brought the effects of climate change home to everyone who loves these mountains.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Marmolada comes up about 43 km into the recorded legs. Next is Puez-Odle / Puez-Geisler / Pöz-Odles.
3. Puez-Odle / Puez-Geisler / Pöz-Odles
Above Selva in Val Gardena and the villages of Val Badia, the Puez-Odle massif shows the Dolomites at their most theatrical: the jagged spires of the Odle, or Geisler, piercing the sky like a row of broken teeth, and behind them the Puez plateau, a strange high desert of grey scree, layered rock and hidden lakes. The area is a nature park in South Tyrol and one of the nine components of the Dolomites World Heritage site, listed by UNESCO in 2009 for its exceptional landscapes and geology.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 135 km into the recorded legs you reach Puez-Odle / Puez-Geisler / Pöz-Odles. Next is Sciliar-Catinaccio.
4. Sciliar-Catinaccio
Watch the Rosengarten at sunset from the valley of Bolzano and you will understand the legend. As the sun goes down, the pale dolomite peaks glow pink, then red, then purple, a phenomenon the Ladin people call enrosadira. According to the old story, King Laurin of the dwarves had a magnificent rose garden here, and when he was captured by enemies who had spotted his roses, he cursed the garden so that no one would see it by day or by night. He forgot the twilight, and so, for a few minutes each evening, the roses bloom again on the rocks. Together with the Sciliar, or Schlern, the great flat-topped massif to the north, the Catinaccio forms one of the components of the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage site, listed in 2009.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pale di San Martino San Lucano - Dolomiti closes the day.
Leg by leg
Pale di San Martino San Lucano - Dolomiti to Marmolada
Pale di San Martino San Lucano - Dolomiti → Marmolada is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Marmolada to Puez-Odle / Puez-Geisler / Pöz-Odles
Marmolada → Puez-Odle / Puez-Geisler / Pöz-Odles is 92 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Puez-Odle / Puez-Geisler / Pöz-Odles to Sciliar-Catinaccio
Puez-Odle / Puez-Geisler / Pöz-Odles → Sciliar-Catinaccio is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sciliar-Catinaccio to back through Puez-Odle / Puez-Geisler / Pöz-Odles
Sciliar-Catinaccio → back through Puez-Odle / Puez-Geisler / Pöz-Odles is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Puez-Odle / Puez-Geisler / Pöz-Odles to back through Marmolada
back through Puez-Odle / Puez-Geisler / Pöz-Odles → back through Marmolada is 92 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Marmolada to Pale di San Martino San Lucano - Dolomiti
back through Marmolada → Pale di San Martino San Lucano - Dolomiti is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.