Pfaffensattel

Overview

Pfaffensattel is a category 2 climb that runs for 9.1 km and gains 548 m from a valley start at 827 m to a summit at 1375 m. On paper the numbers read as a steady, mid-length effort: a 6.05% average gradient is firmly in tempo territory, the kind of slope you can settle into rather than survive. But the total ascent of 528 m against a net gain of 548 m tells you the road doesn't simply tick upward — there is a little give-back along the way, and a max pitch of 14.8% waiting to remind you this is no motorway drag. Expect roughly half an hour to fifty minutes of climbing depending on your engine, all of it above 800 m where the air starts to thin.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The headline average of 6.05% flatters and misleads in equal measure. With a maximum of 14.8%, the steepest ramp is well over twice the mean, so the climb is not evenly cut — some sections sit below the average while a handful spike hard above it. The gap between the 548 m net gain and the 528 m total ascent confirms there is at least one flatter or slightly descending stretch that resets the legs before the road tilts back up. Read the climb as a series of pulses rather than a single sustained wall: long tempo drags punctuated by short, sharp kicks that can approach 14.8% before easing. The final push to 1375 m is where fatigue and the shallower oxygen combine, so save something for the top third.

Pacing Notes

Pace Pfaffensattel off your sustainable power, not off ego on the early ramps. At 6.05% average over 9.1 km, this is a threshold-adjacent effort — hold just under your FTP on the steady sections and let the 14.8% kicks push you briefly over, knowing the flatter stretch will let you recover. If you don't know your ceiling, run the numbers through the FTP estimator before you commit, because misjudging your threshold on a climb this long is how a strong start turns into a crawl to the summit. The 20 m difference between net gain and total ascent is your friend here: use those brief lulls to drop your heart rate and shake out the legs.

Gearing

For a 9.1 km climb averaging 6.05% with ramps to 14.8%, gear generously. A compact 34-tooth chainring paired with a 34×32 cassette is the sensible baseline for most riders, giving you a bailout ratio that keeps your cadence spinning through the steep pitches instead of grinding. If you run lighter watts, tip into recovery rides, or simply want insurance on the 14.8% sections, size up to 34×34 — the extra tooth costs you nothing on the tempo drags and buys real relief when the gradient bites near the 1375 m top.

Summary

Pfaffensattel rewards a disciplined, evenly-paced effort: respect the 14.8% spikes, use the flatter breaks the 528 m total ascent hints at, and gear for comfort over pride.

Length: 9.1 km
Average gradient: 6.05%
Max gradient: 14.8%
Start: 827 m
Summit: 1375 m
Net gain: 548 m
Total ascent: 528 m
Category: 2