Pässlich 01 - Alternativroute

As I have already written, I am presenting you an alternative route for the first stage of the "Pässlich-Tour." This route is about 40 km longer than the original one but is less heavily trafficked. There is always a bottleneck in the Alps – usually several. On this alternative route, these are Reutte and especially Imst. However, the legendary Hahntennjoch pass awaits the route completer. Now, to the route itself.

The start is in Ohlstadt. First, you follow the federal highway B2 towards Garmisch-Partenkirchen before having to bypass a tunnel in the first village named Eschenlohe, since it is closed to two-wheelers. On the busy B2, you ride relatively flat until Oberau, which is reached after 10 kilometers.

At the end of Oberau, you have to turn onto the equally busy B23. With this turn begins the first climb of the day. You ascend to the Ettaler Sattel. Initially, you ride the first approximately 2 kilometers with a gradient of 1.7 percent before the first ramp with a max gradient of almost 9 percent awaits at the outskirts of Oberau. Then follows the lower hairpin, considered the last flat part of the climb, as in the hairpin area the gradient rises to a max of 2 percent. Then you climb with an average gradient of 6 percent. In the upper part of the climb, there are again very short, barely noticeable sections with 12.5 and 10.5 percent gradients. Once you have left the upper two hairpins behind, the Ettaler Sattel at an altitude of 869 m above sea level is reached.

Now you continue relaxedly through the monastery town of Ettal until about 800 meters after the exit from the town where you have to turn onto state road St2060 towards Linderhof. Expect moderate to busy traffic until Schloss Linderhof.

Since the turn onto St2060, the road climbs. Although it is not steep uphill, it is steady and continuous. This is the ascent to the Ammersattel, which you almost have to yourself from Schloss Linderhof onwards. Here, don’t expect a breathtaking Alpine pass, because the Ammersattel is rather unspectacular from a cycling perspective. However, it scores highly in terms of landscape as it lies within the Ammergau Alps nature reserve. Until about 3 kilometers past Schloss Linderhof, it goes reasonably comfortably with a max gradient of 2 percent. From now on, it gets a little steeper because before a slight descent there is a section with an average gradient of 5 percent. Hairpins become visible now. The border, visible by a small parking lot on the left, is crossed and two hairpins with a max gradient of 9 percent are climbed. The Ammersattel at an elevation of 1118 m above sea level is reached. Unfortunately, there is neither a sign nor a parking lot there to pause.

The descent leads down to the idyllic Plansee. The word descent, like ascent, should not be overestimated – with an average gradient of 2 percent downhill and some flat sections, it is not the fastest descent in the Alps. The steepest section awaits you almost at the end of the descent with a gradient of about 6 percent.

From here, the route runs slightly uphill along the northern shore of the lake. As soon as you cross the small bridge at the other end of Plansee, you are already on the Roßrücken, a slight elevation before the short descent to Reutte begins.

You pass through the town of Reutte. Thanks to the roundabouts, passing through is no problem. The Lech is crossed by a bridge. Now you are on the Lechtalstraße, which will be under your wheels for the next nearly 25 kilometers. The Lech valley itself is a wild romantic valley where the road steadily rises slightly. Once the town of Elmen is passed, you realize what’s ahead. Turn left and climb the legendary Hahntennjoch.

Already from Elmen, you look directly at the impressive, famous ramp. The first 700 meters are really hard, as the gradient is constantly between 12 and 15 percent. For the next 10 kilometers until Bschlabs, the climb is more manageable with gradients from 7 to 9 percent. On this part of the route, you also pass through several tunnels. Then follows a short flat section with a small descent, which is a perfect chance to catch a breath. Now the small town of Boden is reached, and now it really starts. You have to get out of the saddle and pedal standing up, as the climb up to the summit, which leads through seemingly endless switchbacks, awaits you with gradients up to 15 percent.

The descent to Imst starts gently and quickly becomes steeper, as the gradient on this side of the pass reaches up to 15 percent.

Imst is reached, which is the bottleneck of this route. It is a bottleneck because traffic from the Inn valley, the Pitztal, the Fernpass, and the Ötztal all converge here. Therefore, when passing through Imst and later on Tiroler Straße towards Ötztal station, expect heavy traffic. The busy section of the route is about 8 km long. Tiroler Straße is left before Roppen, choosing to cross the town. Once the Inn is crossed, a final small climb leads to Sautens, the destination of the first day.