- Ascent
- 968 hm
- Distance Ascent
- 29.1 km
- max. gradient
- 15 %
- ø gradient
- 3.3 %
The Gerlospass from Zell am Ziller is a category 1 climb of 29.1 km with 968 m of elevation gain at an average of 3.3 %, peaking at 15 %. The road climbs out of the Zillertal through the Gerlos valley to 1,531 m and drops on the far side to Wald im Pinzgau. A steep ramp at the start is followed by a long, almost flat section.
The Gerlospass links the Zillertal in Tyrol with the Pinzgau in Salzburg. From Zell am Ziller it is 29.1 kilometres and 968 metres of climbing up to 1,531 metres. At 3.3 % it has one of the lowest averages in our list. But that number hides a clear shape: a steep start, a long flat middle and a rolling final part.
The Gerlospass at a glance
The key figures from Zell am Ziller: category 1, 29.1 km, 968 m of climbing, 3.3 % on average and 15 % at its steepest. The road leaves the Zillertal at Zell am Ziller and climbs through the Gerlos valley to the pass at 1,531 m. On the far side it drops down to Wald im Pinzgau. In our list the Gerlos belongs to the Eastern Alps region.
The climb from Zell am Ziller
The climb starts with its hardest part: after an easy first kilometre, kilometres two to eight average close to 8 %, one of them at 10 %. This ramp out of the Zillertal brings about half of the climbing. Then the character changes completely: for about ten kilometres the gradient stays below 3 %, and most of these kilometres are even below 2 %. Ride the ramp too fast and you pay for it later, because the flat section also wants an even pace.
From about kilometre 19 the road gets hillier again: sections of 4 to 7 % alternate with one almost flat kilometre. Around four to five kilometres before the end comes a short dip where the road drops slightly. The last three kilometres climb once more, first at just over 6 %, then more and more gently. So the 3.3 % average is the result of one steep ramp, a lot of flat road and a rolling finish.
How it compares to our 100 climbs
At 3.3 % the Gerlospass has the lowest average of all 28 Eastern Alps climbs in our list, and across all 100 only two are gentler. At 29.1 km it is also long: only eleven climbs are longer, in the Eastern Alps only the Kaunertaler Gletscherstraße. With 968 m of climbing and a finishing height of 1,531 m it sits in the lower field. The Sölkpass follows a similar pattern with a long flat middle section, at 26.3 km and 4.4 %.
Practical tips
For the steep ramp at the start a compact gearing with a large sprocket helps. After that pacing matters more than gearing, the long flat middle part is best ridden at an even pace. At 1,531 m the top is only moderately high, a windproof layer for the descent is usually enough. Heading east you drop to Wald im Pinzgau, the way back to Zell am Ziller is the same road.
