Rosengarten-Umrundung / Passo Principe
Description
The base for the tour is Welschnofen, but the route can also be easily started in Val di Fassa. The Welschnofen variant starts with the Carezza cable car, after which you pass the Karerpass on trails and gravel roads and ride down into Val di Fassa on single trails on the east side. Here you already have a wonderful view of the southern flanks of the Catinaccio. But that's no comparison to what lies ahead. Instead, you roll up the Val di Fassa on the cycle path and turn left in Pera to climb up into the Val de Vaiolet. This ascent is initially on an asphalt road, then changes to gravel and after the Rifugio Preuss the path becomes narrower but still rideable. Fit or motorized mountain bikers ride up to the Passo Principe. This is the culmination point. If you haven't had an eye for the scenery yet, you should take a good look around here at the latest - you are in the middle of the Catinaccio massif. High above is the Kesselkogel, at your feet the wild Val Vaiolet and opposite the no less wild Grasleitental valley.
The descent begins at the Passo Principe. The alpine and challenging trail leads through the monumental rocky landscape down to the Grasleiten hut and then follows the mountain flank on the right-hand side. The trail is exposed here and, for safety reasons, you may even have to push the bike if in doubt. Especially as there are also many hikers on the hut trail here. Once you have negotiated the steep sections, the path becomes smoother and smoother, leading down to St. Zyprian as an excellent bike route. Now it's time to take the gondola back to the Niger Pass. Here you should definitely ride on the roof in the convertible version. The last departure is at 5.45 pm (please check before the tour!). Back at the Carezza cable car, there's another dessert in terms of trail fun. The final descent to Nova Levante leads along the fun Carezza Trail to Nova Levante.
Note: There are a lot of hikers on this route. It is therefore advisable to tackle the route outside the main season, ideally in the months of September and October or early to mid-June.
Map & GPX-Track
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Details of the tour
46 km
1670 m
2830 m
1 day
Welschnofen
Welschnofen
2007
well suited
More information
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Video
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User comments (9)
About the author: Thomas Giger
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
Not for the faint-hearted - epic Dolomites tour with limits (and views) at the limit
Date: June 14
Starting point: Pozza di Fassa
Group: Sporty bikers in their mid-40s (Bio & E), technically experienced
What a tour! The scenery begins with a real postcard panorama and ends with a mixture of amazement, pushing, swearing - and respect for the mountains. We are a fit group - not pleasure cyclists, but what awaited us here pushed even us to the limit.
The climb from Pozza di Fassa is a long one, but the scenery is simply a dream. If you ride here with your eyes open, you almost forget how steep it gets. Some tour commentaries read "99% rideable" - to be honest: we laughed. Or rather snorted. The loose surface and the increasing steepness take their toll. Our group pushed an average of 100-150 m - more trail running than uphill biking.
At the top of Passo Principe, we think we've done the worst - far from it. The hoped-for descent? Not at all. Instead: Shouldering the bike, 200 m descent - steep, blocked, nothing to ride. And then the trail: technically demanding, steep, often sloping and always with tricky key sections. If you're looking for flow here, you'd better turn around.
But: the further you ride, the better it gets. The trail becomes more rideable, the landscape remains gigantic. A reconciliation with the day begins. The Cabrio gondola and the Carezza Trail are really fun - flowy, playful, just what we needed after the wild ride.
Conclusion:
An epic day in the Dolomites that demanded everything from us - physically, technically and mentally. The view? Overwhelming. The route? Brutal. Too tough for "normal, well-trained bikers". Pleasure bikers or e-bikers without trial ambitions should better choose an alternative.
If you take on this tour, you won't get a classic trail experience - but a real adventure. But as always: a matter of taste.
Rode the tour today with the e-bike.
Still partly snow at the top but soft and easy to ride.
Tour easily doable with Bosch 750 battery plus range extender
Or 2 x 500 watt battery.
Up to the highest point in the uphill 99% rideable.
Easily manageable as a day tour, took 6 hours including a break for food.
Tour ridden yesterday with e-bike. The descent up to the first plateau above the Grasleitnhütte is snowy throughout, but easy to ride - better than when there is no snow! Contrary to the warnings of concerned locals, it was also safe in soft snow. Then snow-free and a high alpine super experience. We also recommend the return trip on the new Tiers gondola with the option of riding up on the roof of the gondola. The route is one of the most comprehensive you can do on an MTB: Asphalt, trail, carrying, challenging, flowing, steep, flat, fast, tricky and even a built bike slope at the end with the Carezza Trail. The tour is an absolute highlight for fit bikers with good riding skills, especially because of the extraordinary Dolomite scenery.
Hi,
Rode the e-bike today on 19.06.!
Pretty loose gravel from Vajolet onwards. Only recommended for uphill specialists!
150 meters below the saddle was the end of the ride. There was still too much snow...so carry it!
Descent to Grasleitenhütte was the first 300-400tm of snow surfing! If you can do it and have fun, it's better than loose gravel...which then followed the snow!
It only gets better when you see the hut!
Have fun following...but I would wait another 2 weeks!
Greetings Stefan
Yesterday I rode the tour from Val di Fassa in fantastic weather. As an experienced high-alpine biker in good physical condition and capable of suffering, I don't find the tour description from the Vajoletthütte appropriate. In my opinion, the bumpy path is only partially rideable even for specialists, at least without a powerful motor. The descent from Passo Príncipe starts out flowing, but after a few hundred meters the fun is over, the trail is probably mostly lost in a scree slope. Only when you are almost within sight of the Grasleiten hut is it clearly recognizable and signposted again on the right-hand side of the mountain. From the hut onwards, the trail is challenging, but rideable apart from a few key sections.
Even though the tour is very strenuous uphill for a long time, I would prefer an enduro bike for the technical descent from Passo P..
Or use an e-bike, but I'm out of that. Spread over 2 days, with an overnight stay in a hut, this mega tour certainly offers even more fun and enjoyment.
Fantastic, epic tour, but very ambitious as a one-day tour. It is better to combine this with the Niger Pass - Tiers tour for two days with an overnight stay in Val di Fassa. This can even be done as a round trip from Bolzano.
As a one-day tour, I think it is best ridden on an e-bike. Otherwise, spending the night in the Rifugio Vajolet (or one of the other huts) is also an experience and in summer you can start the ascent before all the hikers.
We rode the tour at the beginning of September, split over 2 days with an overnight stay in the Rifugio Vajolet.
Basically a magnificent tour with top panoramic views.
The trail from Passo Principe is a bit gravelly at the beginning and sometimes difficult to find.
From the Grasleiten hut, the trail becomes challenging but we found it rideable throughout.
The tour should generally be ridden at off-peak times and in the low season.
At the Niger Pass, you should ride a little further to be able to ride the Carezza Trail from the start. According to the track, you cover a lot of Elevation loss on a forest road until you reach the Carezza Trail.
can you send me the GPS data
jasmina.preisser@freenet.de