An especially interesting subgroup of passes in the alps
are border passes between Austria and Italy. The border
generally runs along one of the main ridges of the central
alps. These border crossings have a turbulent history
spanning two world war. But this region is also a single
cultural entity, Tirol, today politically divided into
south, north and east. The Klammjoch is fairly good dirt
road between South Tyrol and East Tyrol, that some people
also cross on road bikes. It has an extensive stretch
above treeline.
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01.(00.0km, 856m) START-END EAST: Huben
02.(05.5km, 1088m) Hopfgarten iD
03.(17.0km, 1310m) Schwarzach
04.(21.0km,1387m) St Jakob iD
05.(26.9km, 1569m) stay right, left goes to
Staller Sattel
06.(42.0km, 2288m) TOP: Klammjoch
07.(50.7km, 1571m) START-END EAST ALTERNATE:
Rain in Faufers /Riva di Tures
08.(61.1km, 882m) turn left in Sand in Taufers /
Campo Tures
09.(73.5km, 822m) St Georgen / San Giorgio
10.(75.9km, 834m) START-END EAST: Bruneck /
Brunico |
Approaches
From East. Sankt Jakob is a good
starting point for a ride up Klammjoch. But the the very
bottom of this approach is really much lower, and common
to Staller Sattel. At
the bottom of the Defereggental lies Huben at 819m. Looking
for an even lower point to start the day, one could also
choose Lienz at 673m. From Sankt Jakob the road to the pass
heads east, paralleled on the other side of the river by a
partly unpaved bike path. The junction to Klammjoch is signed
as Oberhaus. A narrow paved road that can only fit cars in one
direction (but is open in two directions) climbs to the (guest
house) Oberhaus Alpengasthof - great care required
because of the narrow road and rare, unexpected cars. Peaks
above 3000m, still covered in snow in June appear between the
trees. Since there is practically no traffic, the background
of the rushing mountain stream is the loudest noise. From
Oberhaus the sharp peaks flanking the Klammjoch become visible
for the first time as backdrop to the Schwarzachtal (tal=valley).
Some up and down through the trees gives way to steady
climbing, leading to a large cow herding complex at treeline,
the Jagdhausalm. Along the way are several ingenious cow
gates, that only consist of a flexible stick of sorts. You can
cycle right through it without stopping, but cows are
extremely unlikely to cross these barriers. At the Jagdhausalm
are two conventional gates as well as stone walls and old
picturesque alm buildings. From here the route climbs sharply
to what looks like could be a summit. But not so fast, this
false summit is a good vantage point onto another old alm (old
herding vilage), but there still is more climbing to be
done. Steep V shaped canyons merge into a green, yet treeless
valley. Finally a few switchbacks climb to the highest visible
point, and then its still another 100ft or so to the unmanned
border crossing at the summit. The entire unpaved part of the
route is extremely smooth. The upper part is crossed by wooden
drainage channels every few hundred feet. They are easy to
ride across and provide such good drainage, that even after a
day of non stop rain the route can be relatively dry the next
day.
From West. (also described upwards) A steep paved
climb precedes the arrival at Rain. This village lies up on
the northern flank of the valley, so climbing up to it
provides a grand panorama of the mountains surrounding Grosser
Lengstein (3236m) and Dreieckspitze (3031m) to the south.
While turning the switchback at the church, you can't help but
notice the churchyard, that must be in one of the most
beautiful locations for such a thing in the world, at least on
a sunny day. All the crosses are stylistically similar to
provide a coherent image. The narrow paved road aims straight
ahead for a group of sharp peaks. Passing a parking lot, the
route turns smooth dirt. Later passing an old alm that looks
like a village from the middle ages, the road eventually turns
south a bit, and then engages in dozens of switchbacks that
work their way up the pass.
Tours
Dayrides. An out and back ride from St Jakob iD
<-> Klammjoch <-> 2 miles beyond Rain-Taufers
measured 42 miles with 5900ft of climbing in 5:3 hours. The
Osttirol tourist bureaus also are happy to give away a map
with cycling routes, containing amongst others the
"around the Riesenferner Group" day ride which
goes over Klammjoch and Stallersattel and measures 104km and
2200m climbing, when starting in Sankt Jakob.
Klammjoch
Highest Point: 2288m
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| Eastern Approach: |
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drop
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from Huben (856m)
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1432m
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42.0km
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~50m
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from Sankt Jakob iD (1387m)
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901m
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21.0km
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~50m
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| Western Approach: |
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from Bruneck (834m)
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1454m
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33.9km
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from St Georgen (822m)
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1466m
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31.5km
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from Rain in Taufers (1571m)
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717m
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8.7km
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back to Cycling
Passes in Europe
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