Stelvio Pass

[snapper8v]

At the begining of October, I'll be travelling down to san Marino for http://www.rallylegend.com/ and will be returning via the Stelvio. my question is, will it still be open mid October? I've tried Googling it but haven't found any specific date when it shuts due to the weather conditions. I'd rather know now so that I can plan another route back. Thanks.
LAWRENCE

[snapper8v]

Yeah, I've been reading some of the posts when I done a search, but personally I've always wanted "to do" a hairpinned mountain pass. It may be over rated, but I think the views (on a clear day) should be fantastic, from what I've seen posted up on the web. On the way down into Italy (via Mont Blanc) we'll be going the back way into Turin & the roads there look good. I'll post up a review & photos when I get back. More info gladly received please.

LAWRENCE

[snapper8v]

What do you suggest then???

[snapper8v]

What's inspired me to do the Stelvio is last years Top Gear programme. I'm expecting quite a bit of traffic, but the 'Grale should hopefully make light work of it. At the end of the day, this is my 1st European mountain pass & as you say, Stelvio's got a lot of history. Anyway, does anyone know when it actually gets closed to traffic please??? Thanks.

LAWRENCE

[snapper8v]

That's more like it, cheers fellas

Chrisr29, if you count Hardknott & Wrynose (up in the Lake District) as mountain passes, then yes. Really looking forward to this trip as it's been in the planning since last year. Hey, so what if it's raining, snowing or whatever, it should be a great experience. I've got a set of brake pads on order for the old girl.

[snapper8v]

To Chrisr29,
Hopefully the link works, but if not, they're both a mere 393metres. The passes are to the West of the Langdale Peaks which in turn are NW of Ambleside. Both are VERY narrow, but Hardknott has a lot of hairpins, but doesn't compare to Stelvio.

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=323500&amp...

[snapper8v]

To F308MAN,
Thanks for that link, it was sent to me earlier as well. I've heard a lot about the St Bernards pass so I'll take a browse through that site when I've chance & see what's on offer. Back in Sept '06, I went down to Turin for the Lancia Centenary and vowed to go back & do a pass, the roads look fantastic & the scenery......A short(ish) vid from the "Public Day" in Turin where all 300 Lancia's decended onto Piazza San Carlos from 4 different locations, and we had a few ex works Grp A & Grp B cars in our convoy. Fantastic week with a police escort everytime we went in/out of the city plus doing a standing start with an S4!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d5NoCp-n2Q

[snapper8v]

Thanks for the comment about the vid. I've still got Stelvio as my number 1 road, but I'm also highlighting others, where's that road in the 2nd photo? The 1 thing going against finding other roads is the timing, we're due to be back in blighty on Tuesday morning, having left San Marino on Sunday morning & getting to the Alps Sunday evening, which leaves Monday to do a pass or 2 before catching the Eurotunnel at around midnight Monday.

[snapper8v]

"apologies if i've spoilt your anticipation."

Far from it, if anything I may be increasing my stay . I'll take a look at the maps later on today.
LAWRENCE

[snapper8v]

What's the script when entering Switzerland, I've heard that there's a 40 euro charge? Thanks.

[snapper8v]

Thanks for the info. I've been in touch with them, but they don't accept my type of debit card, so I'll have to pay locally. At least I've been made aware of it. Set of to Italy this coming Monday & will be doing Stelvio a week on Monday.

[snapper8v]

Wow, what a week! You can keep your Snake Pass etc, we done the Stelvio Pass, Umbrail Pass, the road from Stelvio to Davos, ST Bernard Pass & the road to Val d'lsere then into Turin, oh & the Rally Legends was good as well http://www.lawrencecliftphotography.co.uk/30360/in... After a trouble free run of 2,863 miles (averaging 23 MPG) we arrived back home yesterday. We visited the Ferrari museum @ Maranello, plus a glimpse of the Ferrari test track from the road. Maranello Rosso/Abarth collection in San Marino http://www.maranellorosso.com/file/inglese/colle.h... . The rally was the main reason for the trip & we weren't disappointed. The sight, sound & smell of the cars was amazing. Best sounding were the 037's, S4's, 6R4, & the Stratos' & Porsche's with their straight through exhausts! The "mainland" Europeans know how to spectate with their air horns, bottles of wine & flags/banners, VERY excited when a driver gets the car sideways! We recced 3 stages including the stage around the industrial estate & got a little bit carried away, much to the satisfaction of the spectators that had already bagged their spot to the extent that we had another go ;-). The only slight downside was the cancellation of the 2nd run through the industrial estate on the Saturday due to the large crowd numbers, but apart from that we had an enjoyable rally, especially after signing on, I met with Miki Biasion who accompanied me to my car for a photo plus he also autograped the roof. Before the rally had started, we met up with Howard & Dan who'd also "done" a few pass' in Switzerland, and on the way back home on Sunday we had lunch beside Lake Garda & came across a 1.3s Fulvia & Fiat 500 in the car park, but prior to lunch we had a bash at a little tunnel blasting ;-). After lunch, we followed the Fulvia & 500 through some more tunnels & I must have scared the little 500 with more blasting! Time was pressing on & we tackled Stelvio at around 18.00 arriving @ 18.20, now that's a prioper climb. We passed 2 motor homes coming down & their brakes absoloutely stank! You couldn't really get any proper speed up, I managed to grab 3rd max, but it wasn't about the speed just the thought of tackling one of the most famous roads there is. The summit is 9,045 feet & we thought that we were unfit, then realised how high we were. Monday we left for the 600 mile/12 hour trip back to Calais but what goes up must go down, so we went down the other side of the mountain & done the Umbrail Pass. We were told that it wasn't really a nice road, but have learned that if anyone tells you that, it'll probably be a good one as there was a good gravel section! As we dropped down into Tschierv, we were greeted with a Swiss picture postcard view of green pastureland, pine trees & snow capped mountains, just fantastic. Thanks to Paul & Michael you accomponied us down to Turin in the Clio V6, Mick, Chris, Kev & Phil in the rear engined Beta & Passat chase car, but above all Howard & Dan, Simon & Jordan, we'll cherish those memories for ever ;-). Here's to next year.

[snapper8v]

Hi'ya Rainer,
Switzerland is great, but the price of fuel!!! 1.86euro per litre!

[snapper8v]

Yes, sorry, just checked the receipt & it was 1.86 Swiss Francs.

[snapper8v]

Well here's what we got up to on the way back from Rally Legends in San Marino. The drive down the other side of Stelvio, the Umbrail Pass, certainly concentrated the mind with the "safety" poles!!!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ap6nfc_nS4M

[snapper8v]

Definitely from the NE. As you turn off the main road, there's a nice long straight for a mile or so and you'll be able to see the mountain up ahead. Then it starts to get twisty amongst the trees and eventually you'll come out from the tree line & you'll see the rest of the climb/hairpins. We're going back next year & will approach via the Umbrail Pass. We didn't realise that theres a selection of hotels at the summit, which was very handy. It's quite amazing at how quickly you get to the summit due to the steep climb between hairpins. I didn't really notice at how high we'd climbed until reaching the top due to concentrating on the driving bit. Go over & enjoy it.