The high passes of the Alps tour, 2019

Normally my wife and I are the kind of riders that prefer to do our own thing and to explore what comes our way as we find it. On this trip however we chose to do a tour with the motorcycle rental agency of Central Italy Motorcycle Tours. I previously had a good experience renting a moto from them on two separate occasions so it was natural to choose them again for a group tour. The tour we chose was the Swiss Alps, Stelvio Pass and Dolomites in mid-July. Here is the itinerary as described by Francesco, the owner.

“It’s a loop ride of 7 days out of Milano. We start with the Swiss high Alpine passes out of Andermatt, also known as the BIG SIX: the Susten, the Grimsel, the Furka, the Oberalp, the Neufenen and the Gotthard. These passes are amazing for quality of roads and views.
We then move to the east across the amazing San Bernardino pass and, making base in Livigno, we tackle the Grison mountain passes and Stelvio.
We save the best for last, and from Livinio we head to Colfosco in the heart of the Dolomites and enjoy these amazing mountains. A truly amazing tour of the Alps in only 7 days.“

In this tour we would start in Milano and ride to Andermatt Switzerland where we would stay for two nights. Then on to Livignio Italy for two nights, and finally to Colfosco Italy for another two. Staying over at these locations allowed for a full day of light touring between transit days and to see a little more of the local area. I really like this format for a tour! The motorcycle we chose was a 2019 BMW 1250 RT. I normally ride a 2008 1200 RT myself so there would good familiarity with the machine. This one was near new, in excellent shape, with side and top cases and it was a joy to ride! This is a great bike for two up touring with no shortage of horsepower!

For this trip we would be joined by my good friend and motorcycling buddy Craig, from Utah. Craig would be riding solo and would be on a Ducati 900 Multistrada. Our ever smiling host and guide Francesco would be the last member of our group on a BMW 850 GS. There were others that had also booked this trip but they cancelled at the last moment. That pretty much left us on a personally guided tour for our small group, a feature that we would enjoy very much throughout the trip.

Day 1: We departed Milan and headed for Lake Maggiore, riding the shoreline of this beautiful lake to the end. Then turning to follow the River Toce’ up to our first alpine pass, the Simplon Pass and into Switzerland, with lunch along the way. Descending the other side of the Simplon to the Rhone River valley before ascending again to its source, the Rhone Glacier on the Furka Pass. Then it was all downhill into Andermatt, and a local gasthaus that would be our home for the next two nights.

Day 2: This day was a big loop ride starting in Andermatt then around to notable high passes in the area, including; The Susten, Grimsel, Neufenen and finally the Gotthard Pass. After a big day in the high Alps, and in sometimes wet conditions we returned to Andermatt and a big meal at a local favorite restaurant, the Three Kings.

Day 3: We left Andermatt on a grey morning and went immediately over the Oberalp Pass which is the headwaters of the Rhein River. Always on the lookout for tasty treats, we took a coffee break at a little cafe on the Lukmanier Pass and had the most wonderful little pastry which resembled a donut! Francesco really appreciated making this discovery with us! Moving forward we continued on to the San Bernardino Pass, the Julier and Bernina Pass and back into Italy at Livigno, our home for the next two nights. The Hotel Silvestri was quite accomodating and also had a nice bar and restaurant in the building.

Day 4: Another layover day and a great loop ride day. Livigno makes a great base camp, from which we started over the Passo del Foscagno, and then on to conquer the Passo dell Stelvio, and the highlight of the tour! Numerous switchbacks and tunnels lower down give way to more open country higher up. This is perhaps the most popular pass for both cyclists and motorbikes in the region and it was pretty busy.

At the summit Francesco guided us to a restaurant with perhaps the best view of our route down the other side of the Stelvio. We had coffee and Strudel before tackling the descent, then stopping in the town of Glorenz where we lunched. We briefly looped back into Switzerland to the village of Santa Maria, where the third road up to Stelvio starts from. It’s the Umbrail pass which rejoined our outbound route just short of the Stelvio summit. We then returned to Livigno after riding back down the Bormio side of Stelvio.

Day 5: Departing Livigno along the shores of Lago di Livigno we cross back into Switzerland for the third time and into perhaps the longest tunnel I have been in, the Munt la Schera which is over 2km in length. It is a single lane toll tunnel with alternately controlled one way traffic. Down the valley we cross into Austria for the first time and our lunch stop in Umhausen with perhaps the best Wienerschnitzel ever! Continuing up the road we climb to the Passo del Rombo (Timmelsjoch) and are once again back into Italy and the heart of the Dolomites in the town of Colfosco.

Day 6: We spent a full day riding over the best Dolomite passes in a large circuit from our hotel in Colfosco. The Gardena, Sella, Pordoi and Campolongo Passes along with a couple of others that slip my mind. This most beautiful section of the Alps leaves us with an impression that will last forever.

Day 7: On our final day we leave the Dolomites behind and head back to Milano via the Campolongo and Pordoi Passes and then down to lower elevations. We had a lunch stop at the beautiful Lago di Carezza, known for it’s stunning color and backdrop. The Passo del Tonale is our final high mountain pass before we descend into the flatlands below.