‘The ski lifts are going and the café is in après ski mode’
small rocks intermittently striped with struggling green vegetation. (t looks like one of those two-coloursand-in-a-bottle souvenirs you sometimes see at seaside resorts and feels like riding through a gravel quarry that could shift at any time. Which it clearly does. Another few kilometres of this strange landscape brings us to probably the most iconic section of the ( ahntennjoch(a narrow
- but still two lane - tightly winding snake of a road clinging to the side of the crumbling cliff to the right, and unconvincing hori(ontal tree trunk guarding against a plummeting drop the ravine floor to the left. This is one of (urope’s standout motorcycling sections, but is also sadly the scene of many unfortunate accidents in the summer months, when overeager riders take too many chances passing slow cars.
A further 3km or so of clinging to the cliff face bring us away from our rocky adventure and back into more familiar territory. A wonderful downhill blast through the forest mixes straights, curves and hairpins to delight. As our descent flattens out we spot a turning to the right signposted (The Belmont ( otel’ a short diversion later we emerge on a sunny plateau above (mst and take lunch on the wonderful Belmont Terrace. (art one of this ride is over. ( ext we head to a completely different experience.
The Kaunertaler Gletcherstrasse
This road’s stats are impressive( 2(km long, with 29 hairpins which climb 1(00m in altitude. (t is the second highest paved road in Austria and at the foot of the Wei(seeferner Glacier, where it ends, it reaches an altitude of 2((0m. Two hundred metres higher than the mighty Grossglockner road. Because of the extreme climb, it passes through every vegetation level in the Alps. (t is said that what can be experienced here in a very short distance can otherwise only be found on a trip from ( orth Germany to Greenland. (nitially the descent continues as we (ig (ag our way down to the village of ( auns where a sharp left turn leads us to the floor of the ( auner valley. The distant snowcapped peaks of the ( t(tal Alps and occasional glimpses of Austria’s second highest peak - the Wildspit(e, draw us forwards and hint at what is to come. As we leave ( auns and pass Berneck (astle on our right the road is a narrow winding rural ribbon through deciduous forest and wide fields dotted with makeshift sheds. (or a while we snake along the valley floor with the river to our right and pass through picturesque villages until we arrive at the toll just after the village of (eichten. ( 1( each and the real fun begins.
Counting ibex
(nitially the road continues on the same trend. Gently snaking along the valley but the incline is a little more and the deciduous forest has been replaced by pines that encroach on both sides. (very km is marked by a sign with a cutout ibex (the ( auner valley is home to the largest ibex colony in Austria( and a number counting up from the toll booth. At kilometre (we hit the twisties with hairpin number 29 (they count down towards the top(. A short series of climbing hairpins reveals a strange vision ahead of us that turns out to be the massive dam wall of the Gepatsch reservoir. (ompleted in 19(( this 1(0-metre high rockfill dam (the highest in (urope(holds back a reservoir of 140 million litres of water.
As we crest the climb and pass the (nfopoint café the turquoise glacier water of the reservoir leads away towards the ever closer snowcapped ( t(tal Alps. The narrow broken road winds alongside the left-hand side of the reservoir with occasional small waterfalls dropping down to the road from the left. At the end of the reservoir the climbing hairpins start again. After kilometre 1( a sweeping right-hand turn takes us across the (aggenbach river to one of the most enjoyable hairpin sections of the ride. A steep spiral of curves with alternate views of the snow-capped Alps above and the turquoise blue reservoir below lead us up above the tree line and into the snow.
We are on top of the world and the last few kilometres to the foot of the glacier are a wonderful twisting ribbon through a snow and rock desert with blue skies above. As we pull into the carpark past Austria’s highest bus stop and make our way between parked cars and skiers clamping their boots on, the glacier is right there in front of us. The ski lifts are going and the café terrace is in full apr(s ski mode. (t seems so strange to be amidst all this on a motorbike. ( ndoubtedly one of the most varied and spectacular days riding we have ever done. A dream ride if ever there was one.
‘Views of the Alps above and the blue reservoir below’