Top 20 Mountain Passes around Bezirk Hermagor

The small reservoir at the Nassfeld pass is beautiful, but unfortunately overrun by camper vans and motorcyclists on weekends.

Nassfeld is the largest ski area in the Austrian province of Carinthia. The ski area ranges from 610 m to 2020 m above sea level. It is open from December to April. Due to its location, Nassfeld, also known as the "snow hole," benefits from a microclimate that promotes snow reliability in the ski area thanks to frequent Adriatic lows from early December to mid-April. Additionally, mechanical snowmaking systems are in operation on all slopes. At the same time, with an average of 850 hours of sunshine during the winter season, Nassfeld is one of the ski areas with the most hours of sunshine in the Alps. The Nassfeld ski area boasts 110 km of slopes, of which 11 km are classified as difficult, 69 km as intermediate, and 30 km as easy. The longest floodlit slope in the Alps for night skiing, 2.2 km long, is also located in the Nassfeld ski area.

At the top of the pass, on the Austrian side, is Carinthia's largest ski area. The heart of the mountains is the so-called hotel zone with numerous hotels and holiday homes, surrounded by larger villages with alpine chalets since 2015 and 2023, respectively.[2][3] The valley towns are Tröpolach (Slovene: Tropolje, municipality of Hermagor) in the Gailtal Valley and Pontebba (German: Pontafel, Slovenian: Pontabla) in the Canal Valley. For several years, there have been plans to connect the ski area with ski lifts from the Italian Canal Valley.

The Nassfeld (Italian: Passo di Pramollo, Slovenian: Mokrine) on the Carnic Main Ridge is a saddle between the Austrian Gail Valley and the Italian Canal Valley. The pass is at an altitude of 1,530 m above sea level.[1] The surrounding mountains are the Gartnerkofel (2,195 m), the Rosskofel (2,239 m), and the Trogkofel (2,280 m). The Gartnerkofel is known for the occurrence of the cow's kick, a rare and endemic mountain flower.

...even if there is a prohibition sign here, this is the entrance! 🥾

The southern ascent begins on the SP110 coming from Via Guiseppe Mazzini. The first part leads relatively sharply up along the river before crossing it and turning right. From here, things really get going. Following several bends and straights, you reach a bridge after about 3.8 to 4 km and change from the west to the east flank of the mountain. Here you come to a relatively dark passage in a tunnel, but lights are recommended. Shortly after that, there is a second, unlit but very short tunnel. Shortly after that, you change back to the west flank. From here, a winding ascent begins with lots of bends, which repeatedly offers different perspectives back. The only problem here is the gradient of over 9 percent and more, so that (unfortunately) you tend to look at your handlebars as you drive up the mountain and hope that it will finally end. It's a very nice drive up, with impressive rock faces appearing next to you as you follow the winding road past all sorts of monuments. Once you get to the top, you're glad you survived the mountain, as the local mountains are characterized by their lack of rhythm and steepness. At the top, there are various restaurants and a total of three possible pass signs: directly at the "Al Gallo Forcello" hotel, in the middle of the lake, which is located above, and at the former border crossing.

The descent towards Tröpolach was tackled in pouring rain, which is why the impressions may be somewhat influenced. The asphalt is very nice, with a few bends in the upper section with good asphalt and a view towards the valley. However, as you speed up towards Tröpolach, you mainly ride through wooded areas, so you don't get much of a view. Instead, you whiz down long straights with easily visible waves, interrupted by a few bends in the lower section, in downhill style. The asphalt varies between good and brittle. There is also more traffic on the north side, as the upper Nassfeld seems to be a popular destination for day trippers.

As a pass, the Kreuzberg is rather unspectacular. There is no view here, and there is not much to linger on. It is more of a transit pass that connects the two valleys. Coming from Hermagor, it is a very long climb that becomes tough at the end. Coming from Greifenburg, it is very tough, especially after Pobersach/Waisach, it is just miserably steep with over 15% towards the turnoff to the very beautiful Weissensee. This means that there is a lot of traffic, especially on the northern slope - both downhill and uphill. Sports cars are also often tested here, so there can be some tricky situations here too. Better than driving early in the morning or later in the day when the excursion traffic has passed. Otherwise, it is mostly good asphalt!