Comments and further facts

What are my criteria for inclusion of a pass in the list? Well, there are archetypical passes like Col de la Madeleine (1993m) where everything is just right and no confusion arise, more than over it’s exact height, that is. Many other passes are not as clear-cut. I add passes that are not recognised by a pass name: if the road climb climbs to a depression area in a ridge with at least a path down the other side, like at Les Rodomonts; Rosswagen; La Croix; etc. or if marked as passes on maps or on signs, but lacks a real pass name, like Pé de Börz and Chamm. I include genuine passes even if cartographers, locals and road planners has overlooked them and not given them (proper) names (or if the names are no longer in use or are not known). I have started to extend the list with some passes that typically ends with easy gravel to the pass (long gravel roads even if easy and harder ones are not included, short gravel if very difficult to cycle on are not included either) – the ones icluded should not be harder than some all paved climbs. So I am excluding roads like Plan de Corones/Kronplatz (also not a pass itself) even if they can be cycled on with a road bike.

Sometimes (as a bicyclist) you will not really use the pass in question in the historical way (e.g. taking off the road to follow a path down the other side). Sometimes you may not cross the ridge at the exact location where the pass is officially declared to be located on the ridge, but you still reach or cross the ridge at the same opening (usually at a higher place), so they are also included. Sometimes the ground is not really higher on one side of the pass, but if there are other good reasons to include it as a pass, I do so (e.g. Passo Scimfuss). Sometimes the pass road only crosses a spur in the ridge and returns to the same valley (those are dubious to regard as passes, but essentially belong to the same category) (e.g. Ova Spin). Sometimes a pass has the same route on one side of the pass as another pass. When in doubt, I include the pass if it is the destination of a meaningful climb and has no other obvious pass along the same road.

I try to give the height of where you as a road bicyclist reach the pass, not (necessarily) the highest point of the road (if away from the actual pass) or the “geographical pass” height, which is not of much interest. (I do not include the famous Col de Joux Plane (as a separate pass) since this pass is never visited and the sign is simply placed on the high point of the road passing over Col du Ranfolly (1658m) (likely for reason that the historical passage up here did cross the Joux Plane pass now on a path on the other side of the lake.) Some passes are really pointless from a road cyclist perspective, but are included for completeness (and if they appear in Club des Cent Cols pass catalogues). Passes through tunnels are recognised (named or not at the tunnel), if it involves a considerable climb up a mountain valley and all tunnel passes listed here involves such climbs, and this is also the reason why the Mont Blanc tunnel and Mittertörl tunnel (on the Grossglockner road) do not appear here. All climbs on asphalt not listed here are either: climbs up cul-de-sac roads in valleys; up on mountainsides; up to mountain summits or in some cases up to plains, though plains sometimes correspond to one pass or another (see Alpe di Suisi/Seiseralm and Plan du Lac). I tolerate up longer stretches of gravel (than earlier) at the end of a pass road if the continuation to the pass is not much more difficult than before (like Col du Lein/Pas du Lin and Plätzwiesensattel/Passo Pratopiazza) or that you are very close to the pass itself and could easily walk a few meters (less than 100m) to reach it (like the Mangart road). Passes excluded for example: Col de Restefond (330m on a bad track/path) and Col du Passer/Passet (carrying the bike up a staircase and some more meters along a path) falls just outside (I would maybe have included the last one if it was not for the obvious reason that the destination here is the higher Guelaz/Emosson pass on the road just before). Pointless passes with a gravel ending that does not add much to another nearby climb are not included even if easy. There will always be borderline cases and the list is subject to change.

Passes falling just outside the scope of this list that are often easy to reach for the road bicyclist includes and might well be worthwhile to visit, but could involve some walking or other problems: Col de Restefond (2680m); Bassa dell’Ajet (2310m); Forcella di Pradazzo (2225m); Riederfurka (2065m); Colletto di Ferrere/Ferieros (2044m); Col du Passer/Passet (1960m); (pass before) Monte Valsecca (1882m); Parwengesattel (1833m); Col de la Légette (1776m); Forcella Molon (1768m); Col de Maty (1749m); Passo Avanza (1734m); Rüwlispass/Rüwlissepass/Col de Zwitzereck/Reulisenpass (1718m); Col des Atres (1674m) (only 415m gravel, but bad/steep); Holzalmjoch (1640m); Passo di Sbarbatal (1602m); Rigi Staffelhöhe (1550m); Col du Drayon (1519m); Passo Valbona (1428m); Vikoler Jöchl (1406m); Bocchetta di Rubello (1333m).

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