Hardest climbs on Sicily - duro salite sulla Sicilia

Asfaltate:
Monte Gradara 1165m (Partinico via Santuario del Romitello et Portella la Lupa 1024m)
Portella dei Monaci 786m (Enna) -- 31%
Monte Cammarata 1562m
et Etna da Catania, Nicolsi, via per Pedara et rifugio 1920m
(best asfalt climb on Sicily is Portella dell'Obolo 1497m)

Great photo!

Giorgio

eyeless2, 4/26/2013 12:29 AM:

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La voglio!

Aggiungerei la salita che porta da Messina città al santuario di Dinnammare. Ascesa di 20 km. Davvero bello il panorama da ammirare una volta arrivati in vetta.
Ma riguardo la salita di Portella dei Monaci quel 31% sta a indicare la pendenza max giusto?

Thiago Motta 89, 2013-05-06 15:22:

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Aggiungerei la salita che porta da Messina città al santuario di Dinnammare. Ascesa di 20 km. Davvero bello il panorama da ammirare una volta arrivati in vetta.
Ma riguardo la salita di Portella dei Monaci quel 31% sta a indicare la pendenza max giusto?

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santuario di Dinnamare 1100m - nice but when I visited I gave it the name Nottemare ;-)
- no visibility at all, the road was not very good (wondered why they do not keep it better as it would be popular in good weather) and it was cold and windy, but not terribly steep. It was quite steep the first part up via Castanea (& Portella Castanea) though from the sea!

Portella dei Monaci - max, si! Non lungo.

Pollina 760m is a bit of a climb too from most sides … .

Passo della Ciambra 983 - one of the hardest roads to handle - bad cobblestones on 25%! (I had to walk some) - I put up some more photos … .

Nice photos!
Portella dei Monaci is very hard to climb and can you tell me something more about Passo Della Ciambra?

Thiago Motta 89, 2013-05-07 17:08:

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Nice photos!
Portella dei Monaci is very hard to climb and can you tell me something more about Passo Della Ciambra?

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Thanks! Passo della Ciambra: take the SP52 from Finale, then turn off in Barello Basso on the small road (this is actually the SP52, the main road changes to SP60 here) to San Mauro Castelverde (passing Portella S. Maria 385m & Portella Ceravulo 695m). Continue, but do not go down to the SP60. Instead take left 1,5-2 km after the high point at San Mauro (gas station) - no signs at all, but it is asphalted and you can see it goes up the mountainside to the left. It is getting irregularly steep, but nicely asphalted to the top of the Ciambra pass. Then the road becomes something else - at first steeply down on asphalt and then a little gravel/sterrato, but good. It gets worse when you get to the cobblestoned passage next, where the road starts to climb with two ramps over 20%. I cycled up one of them and walked the other to save my tyres … . Then it is bad asphalt down to just before Castel di Lucio on the SP176.

A man meeting me in a jeep as I went up to the pass seemed like angry at me and I first thought it was because many cows decided to run away in front of me for quite a long stretch, making it hard for them getting them together again. But when I got down to the cobblestoned road, I thought that maybe he was just trying to suggest it was a bad idea going this way with a road bike … .

Great pictures! Madonie are full of climbs very beautiful and also harsh with wonderful views. Monte Cammarata is hard and the view is spectacular. Beautiful also Dinnammare. You must also try the climbs of Nebrodi and the other climbs of Peloritani such Mount Kalfa, and all 6 sides of Etna! Valerio, from Catania, Etna

this is the one!!
Looking good for Cancellara....