Timmelsjoch Question ?

Von Stolberg

To Harwich and beyond!!!
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July should see myself and young 'fs996' from this Parish heading North-East up from Stelvio/Gavia direction.

we can run a loop up to Landeck, Oetz way, and enter the Timmelsjoch from Austrian side, or,

run up through Bolzano, Morano way and enter Timmelsjoch from Italian side.

Assuming we have a jolly good mooch about at the summit, and glacier, etc etc,
My question is: Do we miss anything if we cut out the bit between Oetz and Soelden?
having got there via say Gavia, Tonale passes etc.

(Apologies, I have contravened normal practise and commenced constructing my own gpx files, LOL ) :augie
 
If you are doing a loop, either clockwise or anti-clockwise, I don't understand how you will avoid the Oetztal, without doubling back on yourselves. Am I missing something?

Personally I prefer the Rombo north to south, just the way the journey unfolds. The Museum at the Hochgurgl toll station has now re-opened apparently.
 
The southern part of the loop seems to be via lowlands, valleys etc so I’d say we’re better off taking the northerly route in. From St Leonard there’s also the Jaufen pass which looks good and may be an onward possibility for you the next day. Depending on my plans I may join you for that bit then loop up towards Innsbruck then back west.
 
If you want to be tight you can do the Timmelsjoch from the south and then turn around before you get to the toll booths and head back south into Italy, loads of Italians do.

If you are there though take in the Timmelsjoch, the Oetz glacier road and the Silvretta Alpine road.

Timmelsjoch imho runs better north to south and then you can do a loop around the Jaufen to Vipiteno then south and there is another pass from Bolzano that brings you back to St Leonhard and the Timmelsjoch.

The Oetz valley is a pleasant road and Oetz itself at the north end is a nice little town for an overnight stop with decent hotels and restaurants
 
I hope the weather will be better for you than it was for me on 13 September 2012…. It was -2 C at the top, sleet and blowing fit to bust.

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Oddly enough, there’s no other motorbikes up there or, as I recall, no other vehicles either.

Have fun!


PS I still have the same excellent tank bag.
 
I hope the weather will be better for you than it was for me on 13 September 2012…. It was -2 C at the top, sleet and blowing fit to bust.

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Oddly enough, there’s no other motorbikes up there or, as I recall, no other vehicles either.

Have fun!


PS I still have the same excellent tank bag.

It can be nice up there at times; can't remember the exact year; but we did stay in Oetz for one night;
 

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Was bloody roasting when I was there in 2013, even at the top it was about 20c and the valley floor was a rather unpleasant 35c.
 
As Wapping points out, it can be a tad changeable - best watch out for Panoramablick each morning on TV for the weather word. Sleet & thick fog can make the ride interesting.
 
Thanks all, Tiimelsjoch North to South sounds worthwhile then.

Plan is to stop over at San Leonardo, and the next day I’m off Dolomite direction to Cortina for a mooch about.
 
Thanks all, Tiimelsjoch North to South sounds worthwhile then.

Plan is to stop over at San Leonardo, and the next day I’m off Dolomite direction to Cortina for a mooch about.

If you are in the Cortina area the Staller Sattel is worth a look as is the Plocken Pass with WW1 museum near the summit
 
If you are in the Cortina area the Staller Sattel is worth a look as is the Plocken Pass with WW1 museum near the summit

As are the other 30 or so passes that can be covered in just a couple of days riding from a base in the Dolomites ;-)

Another museum worth a stop:

https://www.cultura.trentino.it/eng...of-the-1914-1918-War-in-Marmolada-Fedaia-Pass

Not very big so unless you like to study every exhibit in intense detail you can get around in an hour or so.

Back to the TJ, I find it is hard to work into a really good circular route, and the Oetz Valley to the north feels like a longer slog than it really is, a couple of options here;

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/4142030

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/4142049

But I would rather spend my time based around Andermatt, Livigno or the Dolomites (Personally I actually prefer the Grand Alps area to all but the Dolomites) and think the TJ is best worked into a "transit day" on your way to / from another location, and North to South would be better as you have a lot of good roads at the Southern end, although some OK stuff to the North on the other side of the A12 Motorway which we have used a few times on the way out / back, but not good enough to tempt me to stop there for a few days to loop about and explore.
 
Rasher makes some very good points.

Base wise in the Dolomites, I’d suggest Arabba. Failing that, anywhere fairly central and on a crossroads / T-junction, as that will give you more choice as to the direction to take in the morning and the direction by which you return in the evening. Arabba satisfies the central location and T-junction tests, as does, say, Canazei. Cortina meets the crossroads test but, in my view, is not central enough. It does though have the advantage of being a big town…. But pricey.
 
If you are in the Cortina area the Staller Sattel is worth a look as is the Plocken Pass with WW1 museum near the summit

One for you fs996, as you head back across to Lienz, Grossglockner way :moped:
 
Dont know if it's any good to you; but we stayed here in Arabba; clean and comfortable and a cracking view of the mountainside whilst having breakfast in the morning; as for Cortina; great place but expensive; whilst we were there a young blonde pulled up in a Lancia Stratos and parked amongst the Mercs; Lambos and Ferraris and compleatly stole the show;:D; they aint shy with the money and class around that way. We also woke up to snow in the morning whilst camping there in August.
 

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whilst we were there a young blonde pulled up in a Lancia Stratos and completely stole the show

They''l no doubt be thrilled by a portly old KTM loon, surviving on a diet of Belvista biscuits and hotel breakfast baps stuffed in pockets ;) :D :D
 
Ha, this appears a day after booking hotels for September.
I had trouble finding rooms at same gaff for six blokes who won’t share, made even more tricky as many places wanted a min 3 night stay.
 
Ha, this appears a day after booking hotels for September.
I had trouble finding rooms at same gaff for six blokes who won’t share, made even more tricky as many places wanted a min 3 night stay.

Wing it, bikermate style.
 
Ha, this appears a day after booking hotels for September.
I had trouble finding rooms at same gaff for six blokes who won’t share, made even more tricky as many places wanted a min 3 night stay.

Where?

If you are insisting on a particular town then you may be very limited, I have regularly stopped with groups larger than 20 all over the Alps, although probably booked around Dec / Jan by the fellow who sorts it out - and he will sometimes wing it with a large gang of bikermates.

Perhaps you need to enlarge your search area, but also take into account some parts of Europe are a bit behind us on booking sites, or may only have a selection of their rooms avaiable for booking that way - so start emailing some and asking.

Another thing I noticed is some do not seem to bother putting rooms up on sites until after the Ski season, they wait until that had ended, shut up shop for the whole month and then come back from their own holidays / break and maybe think about a lick of paint here and advertising some rooms there.

Others have a very short summer season, I have stayed in a few where they may not open until early July and then shut again at end of August or start of September.

We typically book some Hotels (especially if we want to stop at one place for a few days, then I can plan circular routes knowing start / end points and ensure we don't have 3 nights in a dump) but others (particularly on "transit days" when moving between the longer stops) we often just ride until we feel like stopping and then find somewhere and it has never proved difficult, although 6 rooms would be harder and require starting to look a lot earlier in the day

I also think a lot of ***** these days book rooms all over the place with late cancel and then decide what the are doing last minute and then cancel a load of rooms, so you might find more availability nearer the time, or at the last minute.
 
Rasher makes some very good points.

Base wise in the Dolomites, I’d suggest Arabba. Failing that, anywhere fairly central and on a crossroads / T-junction, as that will give you more choice as to the direction to take in the morning and the direction by which you return in the evening. Arabba satisfies the central location and T-junction tests, as does, say, Canazei. Cortina meets the crossroads test but, in my view, is not central enough. It does though have the advantage of being a big town…. But pricey.

Campitello also a good shout. Lovely small town, 2km down the Fassa valley from Canazei.
 


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