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Croce delle Scale

Monti delle Scale (Bormio)

The Monti delle Scale was a small but important fortress high above Bormio during the First World War. Anyone standing at the top will recognize its military significance: the panorama extends over towards Stelvio and down to the entire valley floor of Bormio. Today, the summit is a destination for mountain bikers with a head for heights and technical skills.

Description

From Bormio, you initially head up the pass road in the direction of Passo Stelvio. You pass the Bagni Vecchi and a little later turn left onto a gravel road. Follow this and master the long climb up to Grasso di Solena. The gravel road is quite steep - if you want to make life easier for yourself, take the serpentine road from Pedenosso to the Torri di Fraele. However, this road is often quite busy due to the many day-trippers. After the Grasso di Solena and a short downhill section, the suggested gravel variant takes you to the dam wall of Lago di Cancano. The second part of the ascent begins here - initially harmless on a road, then the path becomes steeper and steeper after the Torri di Fraele until the pushing section to the summit begins at the tree line. The path gets progressively worse, is slippery in places and the bike has to be shouldered for the last few meters. The terrain here is very steep, so the tour is only recommended for mountain bikers who are used to carrying their bikes in alpine terrain. Finally, you reach the other side of the mountain and the summit of Croce delle Scale with its wonderful view through the remains of the military installation. The descent leads through the north side of Monti delle Scale and is great fun for good riders. Only in the middle section do you have to cover a few meters on foot through a rocky passage. The path winds its way down to Lago delle Scale, where the second part of the descent begins a little later at the Torri di Fraele. The fast but somewhat slippery singletrail crosses the serpentine road several times and later leads down to Torripiano as a flowing, fun singletrail parallel to the road. Finally, you roll back to Bormio along the asphalt cycle path.

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Map & GPX-Track

The map is only available to Ride subscribers.
The Ride-Subscription is available at ride-mtb.com/abo

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31 km

1575 m

1575 m

1172 above sea level

2461 above sea level

1 day

Bormio

Bormio

1523

not suitable

Thomas Giger
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Restaurants

Ristoro Monte Scale

Ristoro Solena

Shuttles

Bikeschools

No bike schools are registered for this region. Registration as a partner takes place here.

Bikeshops

No bike shops are registered for this region. Registration as a partner takes place here.

Bikehotels

No bike hotels are registered for this region. You can register as a partner here.

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Written by ride-r on 24. July 2025

Quite ok, you can do it once...

Portrait Thomas Giger

About the author: Thomas Giger

Thomas Giger has been the editor of Ride MTB since 2002 and is a regular online and print author. Over the years, he has specialized in tourism topics and is particularly well known for his blog-style columns. He is also one of Ride MTB's active tour authors.

Thomas Giger has been the editor of Ride MTB since 2002 and has had a significant influence on the tour database. His focus is on single trail tours. There are few who know the trails in Switzerland as well as he does. However, his areas of expertise also include Aosta, the French Western Alps, and the whole of South Tyrol.

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Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.