There is a unique kind of disappointment familiar to anyone who has arrived in the European Alps in spring, in a great car, only to find the barrier down and the road beyond it sitting under snow. The great mountain passes of Europe are not year-round propositions. Most of them are open for four or five months, some for barely three, and the exact dates are decided each spring by the weather rather than by anyone’s diary.

This is why, for anyone who has been promising themselves one of these life-affirming drives, the planning has to start considerably earlier than instinct suggests.

Here are the alpine routes worth building a European trip around.

Stelvio Pass, Italy

The one everyone names first, and deservedly so. Rising to 2,757 metres in the Ortler Alps, Stelvio’s northern approach from Prato allo Stelvio stacks forty-eight numbered hairpins into a wall of rock in a way that looks, from the top, like something drawn rather than built. The southern side from Bormio is quieter, and arguably the better drive, threading its way through unlit tunnels cut straight into the gorge.

The pass typically opens in late May or early June and closes with the first serious snowfall, usually in late October. Early morning is essential: by ten o’clock in August the road belongs to motorcycles and coaches, and the magic evaporates. Note too that the Stelvio hosts an annual car-free day for cyclists, which is worth checking against your dates.

Furka Pass, Switzerland

At 2,429 metres, the Furka is the most cinematic road in Switzerland, and not only because a certain British spy’s Aston Martin was pursued along it in 1964. The surface is superb, the sightlines are long, and the descent past the Rhône Glacier and the shuttered grandeur of the Hotel Belvédère is a rare stretch of road that genuinely improves on its photographs.

Open roughly from June to October, pair it with the neighbouring Grimsel and Susten passes and you have a day’s driving of extraordinary quality within a very small radius.

Grossglockner High Alpine Road, Austria

Forty-eight kilometres, thirty-six hairpins, and a high point at the Hochtor tunnel of 2,504 metres. The Grossglockner is a toll road boasting immaculate tarmac, proper barriers, and a spur road up to the Edelweissspitze that delivers a view across most of the Hohe Tauern.

It is also gated. The road opens for the season in early May and closes in late October or early November, and it shuts overnight during that period, with the exact hours shifting as the days shorten. Plan the day around the gate times rather than assuming a dawn start.

Passo Gardena and the Sella Ronda, Italy

The Dolomites are a different proposition entirely. Rather than one heroic climb, the Sella Ronda circuit links four passes — Gardena, Sella, Pordoi and Campolongo — into a loop of about fifty kilometres. Experiencing these four roads in a single day provides a satisfying rhythm with plenty of variety.

The passes here sit lower and stay open longer, but the valley below fills up in high summer, and in some cases, roads operate restricted-traffic days. September is the sweet spot, when the light is better and the crowds have thinned.

Why a year in advance is necessary

The reality is that to properly enjoy many of Europe’s alpine passes, you’re looking at a fairly narrow band of ideal weeks in June and September, and a finite number of suitable-quality hotels within reasonable distances. Those rooms are committed early, and the best of them are held by operators and repeat guests long before they reach general availability.

The organised end of the market works to the same calendar. A well-run supercar tour of Europe is generally sold out twelve to eighteen months in advance, for the straightforward reason that securing a fleet, a selection of accommodation and dining options, and a route through three countries in the same fortnight is not something that can be assembled at short notice. Operators such as HunterMoss, which has been building this kind of itinerary since 2008, are effectively selling next year’s season while this one is still running.

A few practicalities

Opening dates are announced by regional authorities in the spring and are provisional. A late snowfall can push the opening of a pass back by a fortnight, so it pays to build some slack into any itinerary that depends on a single pass being open.

Fuel stops can be sparse, and a car with an appetite will be better filled before ascending. And on almost every one of these roads, the difference between a memorable morning and a frustrating one largely comes down to leaving before breakfast to beat the rush.