Bormio onwards

Ride over the Hardknot Pass in the Lake district. If you can manage it's tight steep turns, you will have no trouble in the Alps.
 
Ride over the Hardknot Pass in the Lake district. If you can manage it's tight steep turns, you will have no trouble in the Alps.

Hardknott and Wrynose done fully loaded up with camping gear. And to be honest found it more tricky heading from West to East... And probably trickier to negotiate than Stelvio (also fully loaded)
Stelvio done, as I was up early enough to get up there before the throngs, but got to admit, going down the hairpin side, although a challenge, become a bit well "tiresome" once you started meeting other "stuff" coming up the other way !!!
Gavia, will have to wait on the list for another time ....
Mother of all storms drifting through the Garda region just now !!!
 
Hardknott and Wrynose done fully loaded up with camping gear. And to be honest found it more tricky heading from West to East... And probably trickier to negotiate than Stelvio (also fully loaded)
Stelvio done, as I was up early enough to get up there before the throngs, but got to admit, going down the hairpin side, although a challenge, become a bit well "tiresome" once you started meeting other "stuff" coming up the other way !!!
Gavia, will have to wait on the list for another time ....
Mother of all storms drifting through the Garda region just now !!!

Easy to go down the Stelvio because you have a good view of traffic coming up.
Therefore you can adjust speed accordingly to time the hairpin when it's clear (as with all hairpin bend type passes).
Not so easy on the way up.
A more difficult pass which is nearby is the Umbrail (much tighter/steeper turns).
I did it on the way up and needed to look up and back to glimpse stuff coming the otherway before each hairpin.
Lovely road at its summit though.
 
The Gavia Pass and SS42 eastwards is a much nicer road than the congested SS38 :thumby:
 
Bormio onwards......

Hi, for what it's worth, I would go the Gavia route.
Here's why, since the Top Gear crew did the 'greatest driving roads' episode, the Stelvio has become popular and in fact it is great - to look at !
The view down over from the top is something else, fantastic. However, IMO the truth is that the road up from Bormio is better.
We did both of these passes a few years ago, went up from Bormio and down over the Stelvio, we intended to go back up but the road was crowded by 10.00am with bloody coaches among other vehicles and they struggle with tight hairpin bends, so we 'happened' to find the Gavia on out way back !
Even now, several years later we still refer to it as the Goat herder pass, in places it is barely wide enough for one car width and we met traffic on it ! But for the views and the thrill - areas of sheer drop and NO barriers, it is hard to beat.
All joking aside though, both are great, the Stelvio is probably on everyone's bucket list, do them both - and every other Pass you can find - they are all great !
 
We came over the Timmelsjoch visited the motorcycle museum, followed onto the Stelvio then Livigno stay at Hotel Galli
Very nice and reasonable garage underneath for parking.
Cracking days riding and views superb.
If you haven't done it . It's worth a peak.
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