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  #1  
Old 23 Sep 2016
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northern italy end april..
helo
ive got 2 weeks of end april start may and was thinking of doing some of the passes in northern italy.but will the weather ok then or will there still be a lot of snow about.not botherd if it rains,im from manchester.
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Old 23 Sep 2016
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Are you feeling lucky (as they say)? The traditional end to the ski season in the Alps is the last weekend in April so there's probably still going to be a lot of snow around until then.

The main routes are kept open throughout the winter but many of the minor passes (the interesting ones) are usually snowbound until it melts. That may be anywhere from the end of April to the start of July depending what sort of winter its been.

TBH May is probably my least favourite month in the Alps. Still cold from the snow melt but with a lot more rain than the summer. Probably just like Manchester really
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Old 10 Oct 2016
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end of April is a bad timing if you really want to enjoy the riding. I live part of my life at Lake Maggiore and I find it difficult to predict the weather. Most of the mountain passes are closed in April (Great St Bernard, Petit St Bernard, Bernardino, some of the Dolomite passes, Stelvio, etc.... Passes like the Simplon are open year-round but are not very interesting. As from the beginning of May passes will be open but sometimes dates vary according to late snow fall etc...
June is the best month, weather usually good and you can still ride the passes, whereas in July and especially in August it can be pretty crowded in the mountains. Everybody who's got a bike wants to be there then !
There are some pretty good websites about the alpine passes - i personally use an app called Alpentourer but it's Dutch and takes it's info from the local traffic websites - it's efficient and correct. I am sure there are some in English that do the same. Good luck and enjoy your ride !
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Old 11 Oct 2016
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in this year I was in Dolomiten end of May and was perfect, the roads of passes were without snow but near to the tops there was snow beside the roads, the trafic was minimal (weekdays) scenery beutifull
I agree with the ones who say May is one of the better month to ride there
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Old 17 Oct 2016
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all higher and interesting alps passes are open from the 1 of June.
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Old 17 Oct 2016
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I was in Milan for work in mid-May. Wanted to rent a Scrambler and go ride in the mountains. Asked the locals if it was possible to get to Stelvio and back in a single long day, the answer was: yes, but it's still full of snow.
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  #7  
Old 21 Nov 2016
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It depends of where exactly you want to go, because, as others said, most of mountain passes are closed in April. If you write: 'apertura passi alpini' you will find some links.


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Old 21 Nov 2016
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Hello Mike:

It's going to be a bit of a crapshoot trying to ride the passes on the south side of the Alps during the last week of April and the first week of May.

If you are lucky, the snowfall might be light this winter, and we might have a warm second half of April, and you might have a great time.

If you are unlucky, the last two weeks of April might be cold, and there might be a final big snow dump during the last week of April, and not only will you not be able to ride any pass above about 3,000 feet, the temperature will be low every day and you will have a horrible time.

If you don't have any control over the timing (meaning, you are stuck with the last week of April and first week of May), I suggest you make a "Plan B" for use if the weather is not co-operative. A very pleasant "Plan B" would be to keep on riding past Venice, go down through Slovenia and into Croatia, and ride along the shore of the Adriatic, exploring around down there. There is some great riding to be had - lots of twisties, and some genuine mountain roads. Plus, you'll be way ahead of tourist season, and the prices for everything from fuel to food to hotels will be half of what they will be in Italy.

Michael
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