Exploring under Sciliar, EMTB

Exploring west of the Alpe di Siusi beneath Sciliar. Lower elevations but still well above the bottom of the valley containing the motorway linking Italy and Austria. Beautiful rolling countryside with a combination of minor roads, cycle tracks and little used single track in the woods, plus delightful chalets and farms.

Staring from Ortisei and catching the Mont Seuc gondola. As you exit the gondola a jaw dropping panorama comes into view. The Alpe di Siusi (largest high alpine meadow in the Alps) stretches out in front of you. It's surrounded by unmistakable Dolomite mountains; the Sella Group, Sassolungo & Sasso Piatto, the Catinaccio, Monte Pez and Sciliar. It's easy going across tracks and roads to Compatsch; one would easily forget that you're around 1700m elevation. Then picking up a sequence of small and very quiet forest tracks beneath the Seiseralmbahn gondola, leading into the town of Siusi (allo Sciliar). From here it's mainly an easy cycle track until the pretty hilltop town of Fiè comes into view. Unfortunately the time and remaining distance dictated that I couldn't stop to explore Fiè – another time.

The return is completely different beginning with a meandering route through minor roads and singletrack in the woods to the outskirts of Siusi. On through Kastelruth without stopping to climb again to Tiosels. A rural diversion is pleasant to avoid the main road before swinging by the large church of St Michael. The next section of off-road is the sting in the tail: a steep rough climb up through the woods of Salames (1562m) marked in red on the GPS track. To finish it's a fast curving road descent back to Ortisei.