homeTimmelsjoch/Passo del Rombo
Timmelsjoch/Passo del Rombo Height Climbing height - length
2475m
Sign 2509m
1800m - 29 km (St. Leonardo); 2158m - 49.1 km (Merano/Meran)
1223m - 21.6 km (Sölden); 1894m - 54 km (Oetz)
Difficulty Beauty
4-5 (5) South; 4 (5) North 3-4 (5)
How to get there

From St. Leonardo in Pass. (675m) in Italy this is a long and hard climb. (One could start the climb even further down at Merano/Meran (317m).) Between Moos in Pass. (1007m) and Schönau/Belprato (1759m) one will find a steep section, but first after Schönau the serpentine pass road starts. They close the road at Schönau and at Obergurgl (1850m) on the other side at 8 pm each day, which is relatively early for the passes that closes at night. It is however possible to get under the turnpike with your bicycle and enjoy the pass without cars (or almost – I saw one (probably a local)).

From deep down in the Ötztal you get up from Oetz (781m) via Sölden (1418m at turn off for Ötztaler Gletscherstraße) on a more evenly steep road, which is not as steep as on the south side. Note that there is a long tunnel near the top on the Italian side that is not lit, but which is not a big problem as it is straight and flat. On the Austrian side of the pass the road goes down (very fast descent here on a straight road) and then up again a little before it descends to Obergurgl.

Other comments This pass is particularly beautiful on the Italian side up from Schönau. You will get a similar feel as when approaching the Stelvio pass from Prato when you close in on Schönau and notice that the serpentines are so long and many that you cannot even makes sense of where they lead (something which you can do at the Stelvio pass though … ). There are places to stop at along the way if you should need to, but on the section between Schönau and Obergurgl you are left to rely on your own resources. There are plenty of accomodation down at Obergurgl and at most other villages on either side. You could go up another road over 2000m at Zweiselstein (1453m road descends from 1488m if coming from Sölden) to Rofen/Venter Tal (2033m)
[AT-7-2474, BIG 614]
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