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Monte Corno

by benemaxmsi on Monday 30 June 2014 16:07

This Sunday, June 29th 2014, I was out riding with my new club Fior di Frutta.  Heading towards Calvene and knowing that the ultimate destination was the mountain town of Lusiana I was confident that the upcoming climb was well inside my capabilities as I had done this ride myself and with some of our guests a few times.

On reaching Calvene the road takes a sudden upward turn and I settled into a rhythm.  The intial sections of the climb hit around 8% and serve as a good lung opener for the rest of the climb.  So far so good, I was climbing well, or as well as a 94kg rider can ride in the company of younger and lighter riders.  Realising that I probably should get a gel or a bar inside me I didn't panic as I knew that after the small village of Mortisa there was a flat section where I could refuel in relative  comfort without choking myself as you tend to do when trying to eat going uphill.

Thats when things suddenly took a turn for the unexpected.  Instead of following the road to Mortisa and Lusiana the club had instead decided to take a left turn and unbeknown to me were heading up to what I later discovered was the climb to Mt Corno.

Not quite knowing how long the climb was or the gradients involved I again settled in the a steady rhythm and prepared for the unknown.  I had been distanced by the lead group and still had a bit if a lead on the stragglers behind, so couldn't ask for info on the climb.  As it happens the road levelled out a touch to an average of around 6%, a nice gradient to grind out without going into the red zone.  The road was quiet and almost traffic free, tree lined for the most part and occasionally passing through some pretty small villages.

The climb went on on for much longer than anticipated, but with scenery like this I didn' mind too much.  Eventually I was caught by 2 of the guys from behind.  "How far to the top" I called out.  "Not sure, about 4 to 5km I think" came the reply.  OK, not to bad.  I was starting to hurt a bit but 4 or 5 k wasn't too bad.  By now we were riding through some low lying clouds which added to the experience.  Up ahead brief glimpses of the switchbacks up ahead would appear and I could see the riders I started with strung out at various points along the road.  I began to realise that the prediction of 4 or 5 km was way off!  Breaking through the tree line is always my favorite part of most climbs.  The vistas are usually stunning and the views down below are always impressive.  The climb to Mt Corno didn't dissapoint.

By now there was me and another big guy, Denis bringing up the rear.  Denis seemed to know the climb and assured me that we were on the final Km.  Pushing on past the final hairpin the road briefly flattens on the approach to the Cafe at Baita Mt Corno where the rest of the group were waitng patiently for us.  No coffee at the cafe though, for that we had a glorious descent to Lusiana to contend with, more my sort of terrain!

In summary, the climb from Calvene to Mt Corno is around 18k at a comfortable gradient average of 6.1%.  Not too steep but the distance can tire you out.  The road is picturesque in the early stages, running through forested areas and lovely small villages.  The latter stages are brilliant when past the tree line.  A great climb in a fantastic riding area.

Comments

Jan (English)

Your routes and your reports like this make me want to come over to ride. 😊

You say it's the local Alpe d'Huez. Does that also mean it's a big road with lots of traffic?

9 years ago - Inappropriate

benemaxmsi (English)

Hi Jan,

The Foza climb is a quiet road, in some parts quite narrow, you might see 3 or 4 cars during the climb. Most of the roads around here are pretty quiet, nothing like the Alps from what I've heard. The only busy road is Mt Grappa, but that is only on weekends and only on the main route from Romano, the other 9 roads are quite quiet and some of them you will hardly see a car at all. You will have to come over one day to try some Giro climbs. Cheers, Ian

9 years ago - Inappropriate

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