Sandjöchl/Passo del Santicolo
	Height	Climbing height
	2165m	1100m (Gossensass/Colle Isarco)
	Difficulty	Beauty
	5 (5)	3-4 (5)
How to get there	The climb starts from the south above Sterzing/Vipiteno (948m) at Gossensass/Colle Isarco (1065m). You have to turn off the old Brennerpass road and go past Gossensass and continue 1-2 km and then take a fine tarmacced road up going under the railway and crossing the railway track at one point higher up. You soon discover the right road that continues up and which is a good looking gravel road. The reason I give this pass the highest rate for difficulty is that I always judge the passes with a road bike and 23 mm tires in mind. This road had been newly re-gravelled when I was visiting and they had not put just a little new gravel on it – it was not much better than any sandy beach you could find. This beach also had an angle … . So unless it has become a firm nice road since 2003, you could forget about it. It was slightly dangerous going down as well (and hard for the hands on the brakes). R1-2 10 km.
Other comments	There is an alternative road to the top taking in the neaby Flachjoch and possibly other passes (if you like) starting at Brennerbad (first houses on the Italian side below the Brennerpass. I got a flat near the top where the photo is taken and was lucky to get help with some spare tire sidewall from a mountainbiker there. They told me that it would not only be likely that I would get another flat if taking the way over Flachjoch, but damned certain, so I never explored the other passes up here even though I hated the idea of getting back down on the road I came up. With a mountainbike this is an obvious route to explore. There are some quite nice views on the way up and at the top, but it was not worth the trouble in 2003. There is a water tap early on the asphalt road just as you get out of the woods. [r1326]