Comments and further facts

What are my criteria for inclusion of a pass in the list? Well, there are archetypical passes like Col de la Madeleine (1993m) where everything is just right and no confusion can arise, more than over it’s exact height, that is. Many other passes are not as clear-cut though. I add passes that are not recognised by a pass name, if they are the goal (a depression area in a ridge) of a climb with at least a path down the other side, like Salzmatt; Les Rodomonts; Rosswagen, La Croix, etc. or are marked as passes on maps or on signs, but lacks a real pass name, like Pé de Börz and Chamm. I include genuine passes even if cartographers, locals and road planners has overlooked them and not given them (proper) names (or if the names are no longer in use or are not known).

Sometimes (as a bicyclist) you will not really use the pass in question in the historical way (e.g. taking off the road to follow a path down the other side). Sometimes you may not cross the ridge at the exact location where the pass is officially declared to be located on the ridge, but you still reach or cross the ridge at the same opening (and usually at a higher place), so they are also included. Sometimes the ground is not really higher on one side of the pass, but if there are other good reasons to include it as a pass, I do so. (See: Passo Scimfuss.) Sometimes the pass only crosses a spur in the ridge and returns to the same valley (those are a bit dubious to regard as passes, but essentially they fill a similar role). (See: Kasereck and Ova Spin.) Sometimes a pass has the same route on one side of the pass as another pass. When in doubt, I include the pass.

I try to give the height of where you as a road bicyclist reach the pass, not (necessarily) the highest point of the road or the “geographical pass” height, which is not of much interest. (I do not include the famous Col de Joux Plan (as a separate pass) since this pass is never crossed and the sign is simply placed on the high point of the road passing over Col du Ranfolly (1658m), for the likely reason that the historical passage up here did cross the Joux Plan pass.) Some passes are really pointless from a road cyclist perspective, but are included for completeness. Passes through tunnels counts (named or not at the tunnel), at least if it involves a considerable climb up a mountain valley (and all tunnel passes listed here involves such climbs). All climbs on asphalt not listed here are climbs up cul-de-sacs in valleys; up mountainsides; up to mountain tops or in some cases up to plains, though plains usually tends to correlate to one pass or another (see Alpe di Suisi/Seiseralm and Plan du Lac). Small very short gravel road passages may be tolerated, but are noted in comments (as these conditions are often subject to change and there could be road works even on otherwise good climbs). I may tolerate up to around 500m of gravel at the end of a pass if the continuation to the pass is not more difficult than before no matter what weather (like Col du Lein/Pas du Lin (actually 1 km, but nearly flat) and Plätzwiesensattel/Passo Pratopiazza) or that you are very close to the pass itself and could easily walk a few meters (less than 100m) to reach it (like the Mangart road). But (for now) Col de Restefond (330m on a bad track/path), Gopplerlücke (800m good gravel road), Pass Tiarms (770m steep gravel, with bar across), and Col du Passer/Passet (carrying the bike up a staircase and some more meters along a path) falls just outside (I would maybe have included the last one if it was not for the obvious reason that the destination here is the higher Guelaz pass before). A gravel road pass like (Col de la) Croix de Coeur has a better surface than some obscure asphalt roads, but still it does not belong in this list as the stretch with gravel are a bit too long on both sides. There will always be borderline cases and the list is subject to change.

Passes falling just outside the scope of this list that are usually easy to reach for the road bicyclists includes: Col de Restefond (2680m); Bassa dell’Ajet (2310m); Forcella di Pradazzo (2217m); Passo della Costazza/Baita Segantini (2182m); (Col de la) Croix de Coeur (2174m); Pass da Tiarms (2148m); (Goletto del) Giogo della Bala (2136m); Lai da Vons (2075m); Nallpass (Alp Nova) (2074m); Riederfurka (2065m); Gopplerlücke (2050m); Col des Andérets (2030m); Churerjoch/Joch (2020m); Col du Passer/Passet (1960m); Raues Joch/Freiburger Hütte (1918m); (pass before) Monte Valsecca (1882m); Pertet à Bovets (1840m); Pas de Croisette (1820m); Bocca di Tratto Spino/Tredes Pin (1778m); Col de la Légette (1776m); Forcella Molon (1767m); Col des Bouquetins/de Beaucul (1759m); Passo Avanza (1734m); Passo del Dil (1723m); Rinderalp (1690m); Col de Wild Boden (1651m); Passo di Sbarbatal (1602m); Forcella Ciandolàda (1582m).

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