Passo di Stelvio

Couple of days later we were on the move again, this time north-bound, over the Gavia, down to Bormio and then over the Stelvio down to our final destination - Prad. However, what we realized once we left Bormio, that there was a timed event up the Stelvio and the road was closed.



After a 3-hour delay, we finally proceeded up the Stelvio, along with hundreds other who have been patiently waiting all morning to make it up to the pass.



And the views were once again stunning. Pictures don't do it justice...



We winged it and found a room at Hotel Stern in Prato. To our surprise it was better priced than our Hotel Mignon in Ponte di Legno, with bigger rooms, more comfortable furnishing and bigger TV - remember, TdF and the World Cup were both going on!

The next day we hooked up with couple of our friends who were visiting from California and were touring Italy, France and Spain in search of the longest and steepest climbs and fastest descents. Up next was the Stelvio with its 48 switchbacks and 25km ascent.

Kuku!


After a quick pit-stop to refuel liquids and sugars, we were off to tackle the last couple of Ks. Name of the hotel where we stopped is escaping me right now - it is about 5k from the top near switchback 14. They had totally awesome capuccinos everywhere we stopped - I think Starbucks' baristas should pay Italy a visit.

Here is the view of the hotel from the top:

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And we were off again:



At the top of Stelvio with Peter, Sharon and Greg. Prato di Stelvio is in the valley behind us.



We decided to stop for only a few moments as the clouds were gathering and chose to pose for one more picture at the top before dropping down to Switzerland and returning via Santa Maria back to Prato.



We got a little rain coming down - it was coming down with typical Swiss precision, with each rain drop perfectly spaced out from the next.