The best road cycling routes around Avers

Beautiful road that runs along Lake Mezzola, away from traffic.

Morteratsch glacier reached its greatest extent in 1857 AD (after the Little Ice Age 13th/14th century - 19th century) up to 100m from the RhB stop, since then a constant retreat. However, as a tree find from 2018 (C4 + Dendrochronology) of a 10400 year old larch shows, that the glacier after the last ice age, (Pleistocene 20000-14000) at the beginning of the Holocene approx. 10000 years ago, the glacier retreated even further than today. Minimum was around 7000 years ago. Then the glacier grew again until max. 1857. The beginning of measurements was from 1915, since then it has continuously retreated. (around 20000 years ago it had connection to the Bernina and Inn glaciers, around 14000 years ago it reached Pontresina and in 1857 almost to the Rhb Morteratsch stop.

The switchbacks significantly ease the steep section that the valley has at this point. Nice section.

Splugënpass

Julier Pass - Already in the Roman Empire around 2,000 years ago Already in the Roman Empire around 2,000 years ago, the Julier Pass was of great importance. Two columns of a Roman sanctuary still stand on the pass summit today. Today, the Julier pass road is the most important road connection to the Engadin and is passable all year round. In the vicinity of the Julier, you will find numerous hiking and biking routes on which the landscape can be ideally explored. From the Julier Hospiz (pass summit 2284 m a.s.l.), the exploration tour or hike to the clear mountain lake Leg Grevasalvas begins. Text / Source: Graubünden Ferien, Alexanderstrasse 24, Chur https://www.graubuenden.ch/de/ausflugsziele/julierpass

Julierpass, History (Pass height 2284 m above sea level) The column remnants exactly at the summit of the Julier Pass and, next to them, the finds of Roman coins point to a very early use of this Alpine crossing. The Septimer Pass, located a few kilometers to the west, which was however steeper and more avalanche-prone, can probably be considered a competitor. What is certain is that both were intensively used in Roman times. The Julier even with two-wheeled carts. In the age of packhorse trains, the Julier lost more and more importance because the topography at the Septimer Pass hardly mattered and, moreover, the detour via the Engadin was not necessary. With the construction of a small road at the Septimer (1387), the Julier finally fell behind. The Julier remained important for access to the Oberengadin and the Bernina Pass. The actual road construction at the Julier took place between 1820 and 1826. In this phase of history, the Julier retained "the upper hand" over the Septimer. On the one hand, topographical reasons were decisive, and on the other hand, the canton could not afford to ignore the Engadin. This was the first road construction project in which the canton acted as the client. In the second half of the 19th century, various route adjustments followed, which became necessary due to the increasing feeder traffic for the Oberengadin health resorts. The opening of the Albula line of the Rhaetian Railway in 1903 caused car traffic over the Julier to collapse again. When the Federal Council put pressure on the Graubünden government in 1923 for a car-suitable transit route, the canton opted for the Julier route. Between 1935 and 1940, the pass road was renovated and was the first Alpine crossing to receive an asphalt surface. Today, the Julier is the most important, year-round open, northern access to the Engadin. Text / Source: Interessengemeinschaft Alpenpässe IAP, Postfach 11, Realp https://www.alpen-paesse.ch/de/alpenpaesse/julierpass/

From Morteratsch and from Montebello, the view towards the Bernina massif is excellent.

Both from the Morteratsch valley and from Montebello, you can enjoy a magnificent view of glaciers and the Bernina massif.