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AMA Alps Challenge Part II (SPT22021)

Sunday, September 11, 2022 | Thomas Ritt / Dieter Arnoth | Europe | No comments

Thanks for joining us on this tour, guys. Hope to see you next year for The Challenge Part III

Arrival and Welcome Briefing

Arrival in Milano. We're ready to rumble!

The Welcome Bike.

Dieter, preparing the Briefing Flipchart

the welcome briefing

Bike Handover

1. riding day from Milano to Pontresina

Coffe stop in San Pelegrino … well known about the famous mineral water … exported in more than 135 countries worldwide..

lunch stop

on the way up to the hidden treasure Passo Vivione …. narrow road

… we did it …

in the afternoon Bernina pass

Group picture in front of Piz Palü and Morteratsch glacier

2nd riding day: Pontresina to Andermatt

The second riding day of the AMA Alps Challenge II was, well, challenging. Again. Five passes were on our list, four of them over 2,000 m high. Julier, Maloja, Spluga, San Bernardino, and - last but not least - Gotthard. 290 km of pure riding pleasure. Our sumptuous dinner was well deserved...

View of St. Moritz

The first pass from our Top-40-List

On the way up to Splügenpass (No. 2 on the List)

Picnic on Splügen, right next to the lake.

Not much water left in that lake!

San Bernardino Pass - not in the Top 40 but still a great ride!

Typical Swiss appetizer plate.

3rd riding day: Andermatt rest day

Andermatt is surrounded by a number of spectacular mountain passes. Furka, Grimsel, Susten, Gotthard, Oberalp, Nufenen... la crème de la crème in Alpine riding. Obviously, we have to spend a full day here. We call it "rest day", but of course, we don't rest, we ride.

First pass of the day: Furka

even James Bond was here

The beautiful Swiss Alps are all around us

the famous Belvedere

The remains of the once mighty Rhone Glacier

The Ice Grotto

This is what the scenery looked like in 1980...

on the way to Susten

4th riding day: Andermatt to Chamonix

nice bridge… but no bike allowed

hidden treasure pass

Chamonix

here starts the modern alpinism with first ascent to Mont Blanc

5h riding day: Chamonix to Aosta

What a great start to the day: at 7:10 a.m. the group takes the first gondola to the Aiguille du Midi, a secondary peak of Mont Blanc. In a few minutes it ascends from just over 1,000 to 3,842 meters. At the top we enjoy the literally breathtaking panorama.
Three (or four) exciting passes round off the penultimate day of riding on this tour.