Grosser Oscheniksee  Bike Climb - PJAMM Cycling

17.1
FIETS
7.6 mi
DISTANCE
4,613 ft
GAINED
11.4 %
AVG. GRADE

FULL CLIMB STATS

Page Contributor(s): Erwan Treguier, Brittany, France; Patrick Blonk, Netherlands.

INTRO

Don’t blink or you’ll miss this one! At km 2.9/mile 1.8 there is a right turn onto a one land access road to Oscheniksee Reservoir that is 9.33 km/ (at 12.6% average grade!) up the hill and through multiple sets of wonderful hairpins (see hairpin slideshow at the bottom of the page. Ok, we did get a little out of control on the volume of photos for that one, 83 photos, sheesh...).

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MEMBER RATING

Difficulty: Extreme
3.5
Road
5
Traffic
4.5
Scenery

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Nov 19, 2021
difficulty: Extreme
scenery: 5
traffic: 5
road: 3
Nov 19, 2021
scenery: 5
traffic: 5
road: 3
One of europe's toughest climb. 10km segment >12.5% average makes you push hard to get up this 'private' mountain. In the woods very steep and when above the three line the scenery is better and mentally also (almost there). Breathtaking sceneries above and nearby the dam and lake.
Mar 22, 2021
difficulty: Extreme
scenery: 4
traffic: 5
road: 4
Mar 22, 2021
scenery: 4
traffic: 5
road: 4
A true monster climb! (probably the most difficult I ever did... having climbed the nearby Hochwurtenspeicher right before, in poor weather conditions, didn't help) Apart from a few 'big holes' in the road (marked with some flashy painting), the pavement was very good. I didn't see any other humain being during the whole climb. You start in the forest, and then you get open views (lots of hairpins!).
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CLIMB SUMMARY

Red, Circle - Free vector graphics on PixabayClimb SummaryRed, Circle - Free vector graphics on Pixabay

[Note: this is a private road.]

Cycling Grosser Oscheniksee: Austria #2 and World #21 hardest bike climb.

Ride 12.3 kilometers gaining 1,433 meters at 11.7% average grade.

Photo:  Erwan Treguier

Don’t blink or you’ll miss this one!  At km 2.9/mile 1.8 there is a right turn onto a one-lane access road to Oscheniksee Reservoir that is 9.33 km/5.8 miles (at 12.6% average grade!) up the hill and through multiple sets of wonderful hairpins.  Be sure to check out the hairpin slideshow at the bottom of the page (Ok, we did get a little out of control on the volume of photos for that one, 83 photos, sheesh...).

IMG_3403.JPG 

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This is a private road,

If there is a circle with bike for the side road, but not for main road, couldn’t one take that to mean the main road is alright for bikes but not for cars . . . ?  

Patrick Blonk answers the mystery of Grosser Oschenikss April 26, 2020:

To all cycling fans,

I read the article about the Grosser Oscheniksee on PJAMM and you weren't quite certain whether one is allowed to cycle it. In 2019 I did this climb and saw the road signs as well. I had never seen the signs anywhere on the internet, I assumed they had been placed there quite recently.

As for the question(s), on the sign you can read that:

Cyclists are permitted to use the road from 1 May until 30 September, from 09.00 - 20.00 hrs.

Cyclists are permitted to use the road from 1 October until 30 October from 09.00 - 16.00 hrs.

The uppermost sign is a list of general rules that you have to obey. You will also find the sign(s) at the beginning of the Hochwurtenspeicher (or: Mölltaler Gletscherstraße as it is also known), although it was closed last year due to construction work. This climb is on the same road as the Grosser Oscheniksee, just a few miles further.

We were not aware that the mighty Grosser Oscheniksee was predominantly on a private road.  In fact, we completely missed the turnoff on our first run up the road.  Once we reached the power station about a half mile up the road we realized we had missed something and backtracked to the gate shown in the photos above.  At that point we had to make a decision -- do we hop the gate and continue up a private road in a very remote area of a foreign country, or call it a day and head back to the car -- as with Scanuppia the year before (#2 World Climb) we just could not accept turning back after traveling thousands of miles to Europe, in part to tackle this little known, hidden (well, and off-limits) jewel.  So, over the fence we go . . . (and we are glad we did!).  We encountered no vehicles during our time on the private road, but did run into a cyclist from Holland who had traveled to this remote area to climb to the reservoir.

The climb itself is magnificent, there’s no doubt about it.  Starting at hairpin 9 (kehre in German), each is marked in some fashion all the way up to the last one (#42).  Note that we did not see markings for the first 8 hairpins.

Kehre 9.jpg   

  IMG_3628.JPG

First kehre that we saw was #9, and the last #42.

It was a bit overcast during our climb, so we were not treated to what are likely exceptional views of the distant mountains during the climb.  There was enough of a window between sprinkles to get a taste of what the views are probably like on a clear day, however:

The steepest ½ mile and 1 km of this climb is right at 16.8% average grade, and there is a 2.5 mile/5 km stretch at nearly 14% -- it is simply a beast of a climb.  The road is paved to the top and we believe it exists as a service road to the dam and reservoir that it ends at and for fire watch.

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Several fire watch towers along the climb.       

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Photo:  Erwan Treguier

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Oscheniksee Reservoir.

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Photo:  Erwan Treguier

The road is paved nearly all the way up the climb and is only a problem on our hands and wrists on the very steep and windy descent.  As noted above, do not expect much to any traffic and you must assume this is a fully unsupported climb -- you are on your own on this one.  Erwan writes “I didn't meet any human being... at all! (climbing + going down) so it's important to be very cautious... (or ideally, not to be alone!).”

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The road is in decent shape . . . for the most part . . .

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Even in paradise, not all is perfect . . .

Photo:  Erwan Treguier

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