- Ascent
- 1272 hm
- Distance Ascent
- 15.9 km
- max. gradient
- 13 %
- ø gradient
- 8 %
The Penser Joch (Passo di Pennes) from Sterzing is an HC climb of 15.9 km with 1,272 m of elevation gain at an average of 8 %, peaking at 13 %. The road climbs out of the Wipptal to 2,211 m and drops on the south side through the Sarntal towards Bozen. After two flat kilometres at the start, the rest averages close to 9 %.
The Penser Joch, Passo di Pennes in Italian, is the second big climb out of Sterzing in our list, alongside the Jaufenpass. From Sterzing it is 15.9 kilometres and 1,272 metres of climbing up to 2,211 metres. The 8 % average understates it, because the first two kilometres are almost flat. After that the road climbs at close to 9 % on average.
The Penser Joch at a glance
The key figures from Sterzing: category HC, 15.9 km, 1,272 m of climbing, 8 % on average and 13 % at its steepest. The road leaves Sterzing in the Wipptal and climbs to the pass at 2,211 m. On the south side it runs down through the Sarntal towards Bozen. In our list the Penser Joch belongs to the Eastern Alps region.
The climb from Sterzing
The first two kilometres are barely a climb at all and serve as a warm up. Then it gets steep abruptly: between about kilometres three and five lies the hardest section of the whole climb, with two kilometres at around 12 %. After that comes one clearly calmer kilometre, the only real breather higher up. Anyone who went into the steep start too hard will appreciate it.
The last ten kilometres average close to 9 %, and none of them drops below 7.5 %. The gradient swings evenly between 7.5 and 10 %, with the second to last kilometre among the steepest. There are no more flat pieces before the top. This part asks for a steady pace rather than a lot of power.
How it compares to our 100 climbs
On gradient the Penser Joch is well up the list: only 20 climbs are steeper on average than its 8 %, eight in the Eastern Alps. At 2,211 m it also finishes high, 29 climbs end higher. With 1,272 m of climbing it sits in the upper middle, 37 climbs have more. The comparison with the Jaufenpass, which also starts in Sterzing, is obvious: 15 km and 1,146 m at 7.6 %, so slightly shorter and a little gentler.
Practical tips
For the steep section after the flat start a compact gearing with a large sprocket makes sense. The first two kilometres are a good warm up, do not waste them. At 2,211 m it is much colder than in Sterzing, so a jacket for the descent is a must. Heading south you roll through the Sarntal towards Bozen, the way back to Sterzing is the same road.
