In 2008, I stayed with my family and other relatives in Kaltenbach, Zillertal. This is one of the possible starting points towards the Zillertaler Hohenstrasse. This (toll) road runs high above the Zillertal with a maximum altitude of just over 2000 meters at Melchboden above Hippach. There is quite a lot of information available on the internet about this climb, and all the stories report on a tough, steep ascent. One of the first days of the vacation, we decide to drive up by car. Because it’s raining heavily and the road is particularly narrow in various sections, we give up after about 5 kilometers and turn back.
However, at the end of the first week, on Friday, the sun is shining brightly, and I decide to go for it. From Kaltenbach, the first two kilometers gradually ascend, and then the climb really starts.
The road is very narrow and winds its way up between the Alms. It’s already above ten percent gradient here and there, and the legs are being tested significantly. It’s beautiful here, climbing is very different from on the ‘major’ roads of the Kaunertal or the Grossglockner. I cycle slowly through the forest and reach the spot where we turned around in the car almost a week earlier. The meter shows 5 kilometers, and I realize I’m not even halfway yet. However, the smallest gear has been engaged for a while now, and it won’t change for the next few kilometers. With a left turn, the road bends into the forest and becomes steeper and steeper. It’s now consistently 10, 12, 15%, and when it really starts to strain the legs, it gets even tougher with gradients up to 20%! Indeed, this is not a relaxed day today, no, it’s tough. The lightest gear possible, trying to keep pedaling. It’s not easy, I hope for a hairpin bend, but for now, the road continues straight through the forest. Cars struggle to pass each other here and there; it’s narrow! The speed drops to below 10 kilometers per hour, and I’m struggling.
Then the first hairpin bends come into view. That’s nice; in the bend, the legs can relax a bit. It remains steep between the bends. After a left turn, the toll station appears, nothing more than a makeshift barrier across the road and a man in a chair who seems to have been doing this job all his life. I wonder about that, finding a job in the Netherlands is not that difficult, but here? Should you be happy to have a job? Moving a barrier up and down all day while sitting in a chair, no thanks. Or am I just spoiled?
Be that as it may, I keep cycling and now reach above the tree line. The first three kilometers after the toll station are steep again, with gradients again between 10 and 15%. The surroundings here are beautiful; on the left, you now overlook the Zillertal far below.
By now, we’re already 1100 meters higher. The odometer shows 9 kilometers, which means about another 1.5 kilometers to go. After a few turns between the Alms, now above the tree line, I reach the first summit of the Zillertaler Hohenstrasse, at the Kaltenbacher Skihutte.
Between the various huts, I look down contentedly. It was quite a climb; I dare say this is the steepest climb I’ve ridden so far; it was particularly steep. Time to look at the statistics. On the site salite.ch, the climb is described as Rifugio Kaltenbach, a difference in altitude of 1183 meters over 10.2 kilometers means an average gradient of 11.6%!
Indeed, compared to this, for example, the Stelvio, although at about 28 kilometers quite long, with an average of 7.4%, is a ‘piece of cake.’ I continue past the huts and start the descent. That’s right; the hard-earned altitude meters must be given up immediately as we descend again to the next point of the Hohenstrasse, the junction at Stoana Alm. There we turn right and start climbing again. And steep again, of course.
Towards Zellberg Buam, the road winds slowly uphill through a piece of forest and some hairpin bends. At Zellberg Buam itself, you see the road dauntingly steeply climbing up on the other side of the valley. Fortunately, that’s about the last effort before we arrive at the highest point of the route, Melchboden at 2000 meters. Many tourists are taking photos here, and I also decide to stop for some food and drink. At Melchboden, the descent to Hippach also begins. The descent is fast because this side of the climb is quite steep too. Arriving in Hippach, we turn left through the valley back to Kaltenbach. All in all, it was not even 50 kilometers, but it feels like much longer. A tough climb today, not one to enjoy quietly, no, this one is really for the achievement, with many kilometers in the red in a row. For the enthusiast…
