In the summer of 2012, I was completely out of shape. I had spent a lot of time cycling, much more than usual, and even in the Netherlands, I could hardly turn the pedals. Overtrained? In hindsight, perhaps the only logical explanation. Anyway, the bike had to come with me, and I planned a trip from Serfaus over the Pillerhöhe to the Hahntenjoch in Imst. In retrospect, I should have turned back at the Pillerhöhe. I was truly struggling to make progress. But I just didn’t want to admit defeat and continued on to the Hahntenjoch. The climb started there. After a long struggle and at about 80% of the climb, I had had enough. I couldn’t go on anymore and began the return journey (where it was still quite a challenge to climb back up the relatively easy Pillerhöhe from Wenns, but I eventually reached Gacher Blick and was allowed to descend).
It would take 11 years before I would again steer my bike through Imst on my way to the Hahntenjoch. Now with fresh legs. The Hahntenjoch is a pass, which means you can start it from two places: Elmen and Imst. I choose the latter. According to Salite.ch, the climb is 14 kilometers long. Imst is at 826 meters and the pass at 1884 meters. So you overcome a height difference of 1058 meters. This results in an average gradient of 7.6%.
The climb starts steeply. Already between the houses in Imst, the gradients quickly reach double digits. With about 15 percent, you reach the first hairpin bend. The next stretch along the meadows towards the Linserhof is flatter and invites you to shift up. I couldn’t remember this part anymore, which shows how exhausted I already was here in 2012. In the forest, it goes uphill again. With a few hairpin bends, you cycle around a left turn where the view opens up more. The next stretch is beautiful and what the Hahntenjoch is known for. You cycle along cliffs and steep slopes full of rock. It seems like a kind of moonscape here and there. When I cycled here in the morning, everything was quiet, but in bad weather, there is a good chance of rockfall here. Two weeks after my ride, thunderstorms swept over Tyrol and there were as many as 14 (!) places where large or smaller landslides had occurred on this stretch. You can imagine what it’s like when you cycle past those fields of rock. The road maintenance crews have a big job to clean everything up, which resulted in the pass being closed for 5 days. They made a nice video of it that also beautifully shows the pass itself: Aufräumarbeiten Hahntennjoch – YouTube By the way, the video also indicates that from now on, when there is a weather warning, a traffic light will turn red. Fine, with bad weather, you have nothing to do on this pass.
The part of the climb along the cliffs is also tough. It climbs steeply, and long straight sections don’t make it any easier. Just after Melkalpe Maldon, there are two more hairpin bends, marking the beginning of the last part of the climb. Once you’ve reached that point, it’s just a final sprint to the pass summit. The pass itself is nothing special. There are a few limited parking spaces, and that’s it. The Hahntenjoch is really a beautiful climb to do, definitely worth it. However, this climb is taken over by motorcyclists on weekends. So, the best time is during the week and early in the morning. The descent back to Imst is straightforward and fast. Depending on the amount of traffic, you can speed down here.
