The Alpine Road over the Stelvio Pass

Appendix.

The Alpine Road over the Stelvio Pass. 4/6

(Continuation.)

The length of the road from Bormio to the Stelvio Pass is 20,400 meters (= 62,800 Parisian feet). The gradient is generally five to seven percent, and nowhere exceeds ten percent; nor is there anywhere along this entire stretch a point where the road descends only to have to climb anew. The number of bends is thirty-eight. Only by means of these was it possible to distribute the elevation difference between Bormio and the pass, which amounts to 1561 meters (= 4814 Parisian feet), evenly over a horizontal line of 13,700 meters (= 41,200 Parisian feet).

From the Stelvio Pass, one overlooks about a third of the entire length of the Stelvio (Trafoi) Valley, through which the waters of the Trafoi (Trafui), a tributary of the Adige, flow. The abyss presented by this valley appears so vast, and the impression made upon the imagination by the glaciers reaching deep down on the right and the shattered rock masses of the steep slope on the left is so formidable, that one would deem it impossible to descend here, were one not to see at the same time the continuation of the road twisting downwards on the left side in a multitude of switchbacks. One must negotiate twenty-two such turns almost without interruption before reaching a small patch of forest in which the road seems to come to an end. About 1000 meters from the start of the descent is a casino (for the snow clearers), and a second between the fourteenth and fifteenth turns. These huts, in each of which three to four road workers (rotteri) reside, are very useful to travelers in foul weather.

Beside that grove one passes a second, where the first cantoniera on this side of the road is situated. It lies beyond the thirtieth turn, opposite the Sulden, a glacier that descends from the highest summit of the Ortler peak into the depths of the valley, affording an extremely imposing sight. Huge obelisks, the remains of colossal ramparts of nature, rock fragments of all sizes and shapes—everything the imagination can conceive is seen in these icy wastes. If one adds to this the wondrous effects of light refraction, presenting objects now in a blend of sky-blue and green, now in the deepest blackness, now in dazzling white, as well as the deafening echo of falling avalanches, one obtains an idea of the sublime spectacle that nature affords at these heights.

The road now continues further downward and, having crossed the small transverse valley of Tarsch by means of a stone bridge, reaches the village of Trafoi, which, though poor enough, is nonetheless the first encountered from Bormio to this point. The climate here is already considerably milder. The road continues downhill until, after a final bend, it reaches the valley floor, where it proceeds more directly along the right bank. It nevertheless crosses the river three more times and then reaches the tollhouse of Gomagoi (Dazio di Gomagai), consisting of a few buildings, almost directly opposite the mouth of the Sulden Valley. Both streams unite here to form the Sulden torrent and flow into the Adige. By means of a fifth bridge, not far from the small village of Stelvio, from which the upper part of the valley and the pass take their name, the road crosses back to the right bank of the united torrent and follows its curves to the village of Schmelz, situated near the mouth of the valley.

Near this village, 1837 meters (= 5755 Parisian feet) lower than the pass and only about 14,000 meters (= 13,100 Parisian feet) distant from it in a horizontal line, the road's descent ends. One sees how necessary it was to increase the number of switchbacks to forty-eight in order to ensure that the gradient nowhere exceeded ten percent (= 5° 42' 38'') in the worst case. In addition, the steep sections of the road are interrupted by frequent horizontal landings where draft animals can halt and rest both when ascending and descending.

At the village of Schmelz, the traveler is refreshed by the sight of a wide plain and magnificent vegetation. From here, the road proceeds mostly straight ahead amidst meadows and fields up to the Bivio (fork) di Pradt, where a branch splits off to the left toward Agums, Glurns, etc., while the main road continues through Pradt and across the bridge over the Adige at Spondinig to Mals, where it joins the great postal road leading on the one hand to Innsbruck and on the other to Bozen. On the final part of the path, which traverses marshy pastureland over gravel beds deposited by the Sulden—which often covers the whole plain down to its confluence with the Adige—the road rests on an embankment adequately protected against water damage. The length of the road from the highest pass to the Bivio di Pradt is 24,400 m (= 73,114 Parisian feet) and from there to the Mals post house 3311 m (= 10,193 Parisian feet), making 27,711 m (= 85,307 Parisian feet) in total.

The construction method of the road is the same everywhere from Lecco to Colico, and from Sondrio to the Adige. The width of the roadway is 5 meters (almost 15 ½ Parisian feet), with a camber of 1/32 to 1/40 of this width. The surface consists partly of sifted gravel (Ghiaja vagliata) and partly of finely crushed stone. Where the road runs along rocky slopes, paved ditches are provided to catch and drain water. On both sides, larch wood posts are placed everywhere at intervals of 5 meters, standing 80 centimeters (= 2 feet 5 ½ inches) high—in some places, especially where there are slopes, double or triple that height—so that the road remains recognizable everywhere in deep snow. On the side facing deep valleys and chasms, the road is bordered by wooden or stone parapets. The galleries cut through rock as well as those built of masonry have gutters on both sides and, where they are considerably long, openings to admit the necessary light. The galleries built for protection against avalanches are equipped above the outer vault with a more or less sloped roof to allow snow to slide off more easily.

Since this new road through the Valtellina will be of great importance especially in wartime, its course has at many points been subordinated to purely military purposes; to avoid hazardous points, straight alignments were often omitted, however much this would have added to the road's beauty. In order to halt the enemy at suitable locations by blowing up the road, explosive mine chambers have also been installed there.

The opening of the road took place in the winter of 1824–1825. Since that time, it has served as the regular postal route from Lombardy to Tyrol, Salzburg, Bavaria, Württemberg, etc. Its main direction from southwest to northeast offers the advantage that the wind very rarely sweeps along its entire length, and the violent gales that sometimes make all other Alpine roads so hazardous are unknown here. The clearance of snow and the maintenance of the sled track at the highest points of the road are attended to by the aforementioned road workers and several detachments of soldiers, for whose accommodation a barracks was later built a short distance from the summit.

(To be continued.)