After breakfast and before leaving the hotel in Mühldorf I asked the man running the place if he thought the Burgstallberg would be a good climb and he said it is a forbidden road, which was likely why I had not heard about the climb before I found it during my search for all paved +1000m climbs in all of the Alps. He suggested I visited another place (not such a big climb) and that I would never been let up this road. I said thanks and decided to have a look for myself. The climb starts in the Mühldorf village (601m) and the road seemed open even if there was a sign suggesting it was a private road (the turnpike was open as a lorry passed me by just before I started on the climb, I realised on the way back down). A few people were working a bit on the road higher up and only 2-3 cars and no one told me to stay away, so I continued up and it was a great road for road cycling.

Burgstallberg (1603m) is a 10.05 km climb at 10.0% with 1002hm (991hm according to RwGPS (and 980hm for the descent), thus online rendering of values are too small). The steepest kilometre is 12.5% from the turnpike and max ca. 15%. (I was 6 out of 18 on Strava, now 7 out of 19, so not alone up here.)

The best part of this climb might be the good and fairly even road, but the views are good too. This photo was just to document that the Burgstallberg is outside the road and that the high point of the road might qualify as being a pass, but just cutting a corner. The road then descends and a gravel road goes high up to Schoberboden at over 2200m, but the gravel section was too long to appeal to me, but might be possible (never checked it out but think I saw a mountain bike photo suggesting some stones). The asphalt goes up again to a dead-end at nearly the same height as here.

Not too interesting top, but nice.

Near the top on the way up the best views were found and it is quite lovely here with almost no people around.

Here is one of the first places when coming out of the woods below where the views open up.

Good enough room to pass under even with lorries. I was soon back down again after these photos.

It was now rather warm down at Möllbrücke (557m), but I had a some stretch of fairly flat roads ahead of me now. I had not cycled this road between Möllbrücke and Oberdrauburg (at the Gailbergsattel) before and it was a bit ups and downs as one is not supposed to use the main road much of the time and it anyway looked like a good idea here. Close to Greifenburg it is the main road into the village. I stopped by a café looking very dated, but it was kind of charming.

In Greifenburg (640m) a little known very long climb starts. (One could start down from the Drau river too at 589m.) This is the climb to Emberger Alm (1765m)/Dünhofenhütte (1772m). This is just like Burgstallberg almost exactly 10.0%, but for 1132hm and 11.4 km.

The Dünhofenhütte was a quite nice place and I had a good Radler here. Lovely views too, but not so much views on the way up.

Here the bigger restaurant where the asphalt stopped until recently when it has been paved a bit longer (and think it was not so long before paved up from a lower parking to that restaurant).

One more photo of Dünhofenhütte.

Had to take more photos (up the mountain itself it was not so interesting from here).

A final one (displacing the one I choose to post on Facebook). I am looking south here and I was going straight up the lowest passage in the middle here. As I started on the way down I looked back up behind me and saw grey clouds, which also made me leave after not so long at the gasthaus. I did not get so far and then I had a little rain so hurried on down the best I could in the hope of escaping worse rain and so I did.

Down to the Drau river and then I started the climb up to Weissensee (did not see it) and the Kreuzbergsattel (1073m). I had not checked this pass out and thought it was not a particularly difficult passage, but I was in for a surprise. This was not easier than the Windische Höhe road (next pass to the east at a similar height). 8.1% for 6 km does not sound so bad, but max was over 18% and steepest kilometre is 11.6%. Here at the top. Fairly boring views in either direction.

I got down the other side in good speed while it got more and more flat and then rain again caught up with me. It started to get wet on the ground and I started to get very wet, but then it stopped again, so I decided to just push on to escape it for the rest of the day (and I did, eventually).

Because of the mountain after Kreuzbergsattel it is a bit of detour via Hermagor to reach Tröpolach (604m). Here it was time to revisit the konditorei and have a coffe and cake before taking on the last real climb for the day up to Nassfeldpass/Passo di Pramollo/Pas dal Pramuel (1530m). I also confirmed to the owner of Rosa dei Venti that I would indeed arrive for the night at the good B&B outside Moggio Udinese where I have stayed like three times before now. Here I just arrived at the pass and the border to Italy at last.

It was a nice evening and very little cars here. I saw two cyclists on the Kreuzbergsattel, but none here.

Over on the Italian side it looked a little abandoned and I soon started to get a little bit worried about the passage down here. There were a sign at the start saying the road was closed during the day and that it was only open in the evening between 18-20 and it just happened to be after 18, so should be open and I had no warning on the way up, so just to go on.

Abandoned and lonely were the words for the road here on this Tuesday evening. It took quite some time before I met a single car and even then I did not feel too confident.

But what lovely views there are down the south side of this classic pass!

This road seems to be under endless maintenance work and even so it seemed like a battle that is slowly being lost … . It feels like it was a different universe I visited on my first visit here in year 2000 – this was a terribly good road filled with enthusiastic visitors, but now, not quite so and more of dystopia. This might well change again if things are going better in Italy and tourism will go back to a more normal state.

The area around the tunnel here has probably always been a problem-area. It was all dark (even if only shortly on my first visit and paved with easy cobbles) and I lost direction (first time I had that experience). Now it the tunnel is good and lit. The road is better down from here.

Also very nice down the end of the road with views up toward Passo del Cason di Lanza/Pas di Lance/Lanzenpaß.

Turned around after passing this sign to take a photo as one here rather rarely have all the local names written including two less well known name variants for Passo del Cason di Lanza – Sella Lanza and Siele di Lance.

Now it felt like the day was mostly over, but it is still a bit to go down here. I stopped at Dogna looking up the Jôf di Montasio and not often one has such a great a view from a big road.

The road to Ovedasso was closed, but passable and in an even less good state than earlier. A bit rough here and there, but all passable. It is also a very up and down road, with some nasty stone paved drainage passages. I did not remember the road as being as long as it was, but at last arrived a little after 20 and was in time for dinner. They also had more guests and they looked a bit tired, but so was I as well. A nice evening and I had a good sleep.