About 17 miles north of Imperia in Liguria, lies a small village called Ponti. Right behind it, we take a left into the woods. There’s the starting point of todays offroad trail, which will be the toughest one on this vacation. In short: Offroad on snow and ice…

Case di Pian Soprano and Hairpin Bends

We release the air pressure in the tires to approximately 16 psi and are ready to rumble! The dirt road leads us very steeply uphill. We pass a gathering of neat houses, the “Case di Pian Soprano”. After that the road leads us back into the woods. The road becomes narrower, steeper and sludgier as we drive on. One hairpin bend after the other, leaned in all possible directions. Our Jeep Rubicon JKU aka “Gollum” masters all those obstacles without difficulty. It’s the steep hillside that looks pretty scary looking out of the side window.

Offroad on Snow and Ice

After driving uphill through the woods for quiet a while, we see a clearing ahead of us. Now we’re looking forward to a little break after this spectacular climb. But before we really get to that clearing, we have to overcome some more obstacles. A passage on snow and ice.

Journey into the Unknown

Our “Gollum” makes its way bravely through snow and over ice, towards a beautiful plateau. We fight against gravity as the ice on the road automatically guides us towards the abyss. Our adrenaline level goes up and down. To make matters worse, at one time there’s no more road ahead of us. Trees in the street in front of us, a creek to our right. Behind us ice and the abyss 😉 So returning is obviously not an option. We walk around, looking where the road could possibly continue and find a way. Through the creek on a journey into the unknown.

Plateau

It’s looking good! We arrive at a plateau with a fantastic view, and we even find the road. We take a well-deserved break and let the dogs run around. They love the snow, as you can see in the pictures and the video below.

After our picnic we drive on, slowly downhill. There’s even more ice and snow, as this part of the road lies in the shadow.

Montegrasso Pian Latte and the Sea

After a slide tour we arrive savely in Montegrasso Pian Latte, the endpoint of this spectacular offroad trail. We inflate the tires properly with our compressor (link) and drive on towards the beach. Mila & Rey check out the beach, run around and we enjoy the sunset. The sea and snow in one day, that was a first for all of us 🙂

Video

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Key data to the offroad Trail

Key data to the trail Ponti – Montegrosso Pian Latte:
Lenght: 19.49 km
Degree of Difficulty: Difficult
Maximum Height: 1’852 m a.s.l.
Average Speed: 11.4 km/h
Total Time in Motion: 1 h 42 min
Total Time on the Road: 2 h 48 min

Links

On this page you find all the gear we use, our Jeep Modifications and other useful links.