Tale of the Tape: Passo del Maloja

I'm going to periodically profile each of the big mountain passes we will be climbing on my upcoming Italy trip. There are four in total and I'll tackle each one in chronological order.


Pass #1: Passo del Maloja
Date: 9/27/08, Day 2
Distance: 32.0km (19.9 miles)
Vertical climb: 1490m (4,888 feet)
Average grade: 4.7%
Difficulty rating: 113.47

Maloja pass is in the Swiss Alps near the Italy/Switzerland border. Of the four mountain passes we'll be doing, it ranks 3rd in terms of difficulty but we will be climbing the pass on our longest riding day (80 miles) so it may end up being our most difficult ride. Maloja is really two separate climbs. Starting in Chiavenna, Italy (alt. 325m), we'll slowly ascend 29km (18 miles) to just past Lobbia, Switzerland (1,436m) at an average 4.3% grade. Then, the final 1.9 miles are at an average 9% grade til we reach the pass at 1,815m (x feet). This will be brutal but the views should be worth the work. Then it's a nice easy cruise to the ritzy mountain town of St. Moritz, Switzerland.