BigRingVR

Italian Road, a new ride from Graubünden, Switzerland is now available online!

Italian Road, Graubünden, Switzerland
https://bigringvr.com/ride?rideid=2878

Distance: 25.77 km
Elevation Gain: 869 m
Elevation Loss: 93 m
Difficulty: 595 (Moderate)
FIETS Index: 2.33 FIETS

Avg Grade: 3.01 %
Max cat climb: 1
Min elevation: 724 m
Max elevation: 1500 m
Ride Category: Climb

The Italienische Strasse (Italian Road) is a masterclass in Alpine drama, serving as the historic artery that sliced through the once-impassable Viamala Gorge to link Northern Europe with Italy. Completed in the 1820s, this engineered marvel replaced treacherous mule tracks with a smooth carriage road, effectively opening the gates for trade and cultural exchange between the Rhaeto-Romanic and Lombard peoples. Geographically, the route is defined by its vertical intensity; it begins in the deep, shadowy chasms of the Hinterrhein river near Thusis and gradually climbs into the sun-drenched high meadows of the Rheinwald, passing the famous 12th-century ceiling paintings of Zillis along the way.

For a cyclist, this stretch—known as Route 13 of the Swiss national network—is a rewarding 27-kilometer ascent that demands a steady rhythm. The road snakes upward from Thusis (approx. 700m) to the stone-clad village of Splügen at 1,450m, offering a gain of roughly 750 meters with an average gradient that remains manageable despite the rugged surroundings. Pedaling through the Roffla Gorge, you’ll encounter galleries blasted directly into the rock and bridges that hang over thundering waterfalls, providing a sensory experience that far outweighs the physical effort. Reaching the historic center of Splügen, a village recognized with the Wakker Prize for its preservation, serves as the perfect victory lap.

Cheers!

8.0.0.644 released — What's New

**🎬 Streaming rebuilt**

Several of you reported problems streaming rides — video freezing or dropping out mid-ride. We've **completely rebuilt and optimised the video buffer**.

BigRingVR now keeps a deep reserve of video ahead of you at all times. If your connection dips, the ride **pauses briefly and recovers on its own**, picking up where you've actually pedalled to rather than freezing. Most of the streaming problems you've run into should simply be gone.

What we can't fix is a connection that's genuinely too slow for the quality you've chosen. If you still hit trouble, **pre-download the ride** — that remains the reliable option on a weak connection.

**❤️ Heart-rate variability (HRV)**

Rides now record **beat-to-beat HRV** and include it in the FIT file, so **Strava, TrainingPeaks and Intervals.icu** get it automatically. Works with all ANT+ heart-rate straps and any Bluetooth strap that reports beat timing.

**📂 Better handling of FIT files**

- **Failed uploads now recover properly.** If an upload to Strava or TrainingPeaks failed, the app could get stuck and never retry it. Fixed.
- **"Load Competitor from file" now accepts `.fit`** — so you can race against an activity exported from Garmin or Strava, not just a TCX.

**🖱️ ERG and Coach from the right-click menu**

The in-ride right-click menu was missing the ERG and Coach controls, so those were keyboard-only. They're there now — useful if you ride from a laptop trackpad. The menu also scrolls instead of running off the bottom of the screen.

**📶 Bluetooth trainers**

If your smart trainer is also listed as your cadence or speed sensor, the app used to open **two Bluetooth connections to it**. On Windows that could quietly stop trainer resistance control from working while power kept reading normally. It now uses the single trainer connection for everything.

**Expected cosmetic change:** if your trainer was also your speed sensor, the **Speed indicator will now be grey**. Nothing is broken — BigRingVR calculates your road speed from power and the gradient, so a speed sensor has no job on a smart trainer. It was only ever showing green because of that duplicate connection.

# # ⬆️ Updating
- **Already on BigRingVR 8.x?** You'll get this build automatically — just accept the in-app update prompt.
- **Upgrading from BigRingVR 7.x?** Please **uninstall 7.x first**, then follow the install steps in our earlier post: https://www.strava.com/clubs/187025/posts/48786305

⚠️ System requirements: BigRingVR 8 runs on Windows 10/11 (64-bit) and macOS 13 (Ventura) or higher. The Mac build is universal — native on Apple Silicon (M-series) and Intel Macs.

Download:
Windows: https://bigringvreu4.blob.core.windows.net/download/BigRingVR-8.0.0.644-Setup.exe
Mac (Intel & Apple Silicon): https://bigringvreu4.blob.core.windows.net/download/BigRingVR-8.0.0.644-macos-universal.dmg

**What would help most from this round**

1. **Stream a ride rather than downloading it**.
2. **Ride one all the way to the finish line.**
3. **Bluetooth trainer users:** confirm your **cadence still reads normally**, including when you stop pedalling.
4. **If you use a heart-rate strap:** check whether HRV shows up on Strava / Intervals after your ride.

As always — if anything looks wrong, **Preferences → General → Upload Logs to Support** right after the ride is worth more than a description.

Thank you all and Cheers !

NC500 (Part 1, Knockan Crag), a new ride from UK is now available online!

NC500 (Part 1, Knockan Crag), Scotland, UK
https://bigringvr.com/ride?rideid=2969

Distance: 18.47 km
Elevation Gain: 204 m
Elevation Loss: 164 m
Difficulty: 128 (Easy)
FIETS Index: 0.47 FIETS

Avg Grade: 3.53 %
Max cat climb: 4
Min elevation: 124 m
Max elevation: 259 m
Ride Category: Rollers

The North Coast 500 (NC500) traces a 516-mile (830 km) loop around northern Scotland, starting and ending at Inverness Castle. The route spans six historic regions—Easter Ross, Black Isle, Wester Ross, Sutherland, Caithness, and Inverness-shire—where rolling glens meet dramatic sea cliffs, remote Atlantic estuaries, and isolated crofting communities. The landscape is built on some of Europe’s oldest rock, including three-billion-year-old Lewisian gneiss and Torridonian sandstone monoliths set above vast peat bogs. Human history dates to the Mesolithic era, leaving Iron Age brochs, Pictish stones, medieval strongholds, and ruins from the Highland Clearances. For cyclists, the route packs roughly 10,000 meters (32,800 feet) of elevation gain across fast eastern A-roads and narrow western single-track lanes with passing places and steep gradients. Prevailing Atlantic winds and sudden maritime weather demand constant adaptability through this raw Highland landscape.

Marking the first segment of the tour, this stretch through Sutherland passes through the UNESCO North West Highlands Geopark, featuring a glaciated terrain shaped over billions of years. The area centers on the Moine Thrust Belt at Knockan Crag, an internationally recognized geological landmark where three-billion-year-old Lewisian gneiss was driven over younger Torridonian sandstone and quartzite. Solitary inselbergs like Cul Mòr, Canisp, and the distinctive, tooth-like ridge of Suilven tower above vast expanses of heather, blanket bog, and open lochans. Along the shores of Loch Assynt, the ruined 15th-century stronghold of Ardvreck Castle and the neighboring shell of Calda House anchor centuries of Clan MacLeod history to this wild, windswept corridor.

Cheers!

🚴 BigRingVR 8.0 is here — and it's now open as a PUBLIC BETA! 🎉

It's our biggest update yet: a faster, smoother, better-looking ride, with full sensor support on both Windows and Mac. We'd love for you to take it for a spin and tell us how it runs on your setup.

━━━━━ WHAT'S NEW IN 8.0 ━━━━━

📡 FULL ANT+ AND BLE SENSOR SUPPORT — WINDOWS AND MAC
Pair over ANT+ or Bluetooth (BLE), or mix both — e.g. an ANT+ heart-rate strap with a BLE power meter and a BLE smart trainer. The pairing screen scans ANT+ and BLE side by side, filtered to real cycling sensors. Top-bar icons turn green the moment a sensor connects, and SIM-mode resistance and ERG target power drive both BLE and ANT+ trainers — on Windows and Mac alike.

🍎 NATIVE ON APPLE SILICON
8.0 is a universal Mac build that runs natively on Apple Silicon (M-series) — no more running through Rosetta like earlier Intel-only versions. That means a faster, cooler, more efficient ride, and it keeps you future-proof as Apple phases Rosetta out over the coming macOS releases.

⚡ MUCH FASTER STARTUP
We've made startup much faster — the app opens straight to a browsable rides grid with almost no wait.

🎬 HARDWARE-ACCELERATED VIDEO
Video playback now runs on your device's graphics hardware (GPU) rather than its main processor. That means rides — especially in 4K — play noticeably smoother, while your computer stays cooler and quieter and won't slow down or stutter on long rides.

🔗 RIDE QUEUES — STITCH RIDES BACK-TO-BACK
Line up several rides and ride them automatically one after another — great for endurance days, bikepacking prep, or just keeping the miles rolling. Flip on "Build a Queue" in the catalog, click the rides you want, reorder them, and hit "Start Queue." Each ride still saves as its own separate activity (to BigRingVR, Strava, TrainingPeaks and Intervals.icu), and between rides the app auto-advances the moment you cross the finish line — no need to stop pedaling. A "Queue complete" summary tallies your totals at the end.

📊 A RICHER END-OF-RIDE SUMMARY
When you finish, the End Ride screen now shows a full breakdown of your ride: distance, time, speed, elevation and power, plus Normalized Power, Intensity Factor, TSS and calories — with a peak-power chart (5s to 20m), a time-in-power-zones chart, your elevation profile, and a leaderboard showing where you placed and whether you set a new personal best.

🔄 AUTOMATIC UPDATES
The app keeps itself up to date — new builds install themselves, so you won't need to download an installer every time.

📤 MORE PLACES TO SEND YOUR RIDES
Intervals.icu joins Strava and TrainingPeaks as an upload target. Just paste an API key from your intervals.icu profile → Developer Settings, then use the Test Connection button in Preferences → Integrations.

🧭 GUIDED FIRST-RUN SETUP
A 6-page walkthrough gets you going: Welcome → Rider Profile → Sensors → Network/Video Quality → Ride Screen → Done. You can re-run it any time from Preferences → General.

🎨 9 THEMES
A theme picker on the top bar with 9 looks across light and dark — including Trailblazer, the classic lime-on-charcoal BigRingVR look. Live preview, and it sticks across launches.

🌍 NOW IN YOUR LANGUAGE
BigRingVR 8.0 speaks six languages: English, Deutsch, Nederlands, Français, Español and Italiano. Choose yours in Preferences → General → Language — the app switches over the next time you launch it.

🩺 PLAYBACK HEALTH MONITOR
If a ride hits streaming or decode trouble, a banner tells you which it is — slow network vs slow CPU — so you can pick the right fix (switch networks, pre-download the ride, or lower video quality).

🛟 ONE-CLICK LOG UPLOAD
Hit a snag? In Preferences → General → Diagnostics, type a short description of the problem in the text box, then hit "Upload Logs" — it bundles everything and sends it to us along with your note, so there's no hunting for files.

✨ A FRESH, MODERNIZED INTERFACE
Every screen and dialog has been rebuilt for a cleaner, faster, more consistent experience.

━━━━━ GETTING STARTED ━━━━━

⚠️ WINDOWS USERS — READ FIRST: uninstall your old BigRingVR before installing 8.0. Go to Programs and Features → BigRingVR → Uninstall and remove your existing version first. Leftover files from an older install are the single most common cause of video-playback problems — this one step prevents almost all of them, so please don't skip it.

🍏 MAC: there's nothing to uninstall — just drag BigRingVR into your Applications folder and choose "Replace" when prompted.

1️⃣ Windows: uninstall your current BigRingVR (see above). Mac: skip this — nothing to remove.

2️⃣ Download:
Windows: https://bigringvreu4.blob.core.windows.net/download/BigRingVR-8.0.0.562-Setup.exe
Mac (Intel & Apple Silicon): https://bigringvreu4.blob.core.windows.net/download/BigRingVR-8.0.0.562-macos-universal.dmg

3️⃣ Install it.
Windows: run the installer. It's digitally signed with a certificate issued through Microsoft's Trusted Signing service, so it's safe to run. Because this is a brand-new release that hasn't yet built up download reputation, Windows SmartScreen may still show an "unrecognized app" notice — if it does, click More info → Run anyway. This only applies to this first-time 8.0 install; after that the app updates itself automatically, with no installer or SmartScreen prompt.
Mac: open the downloaded .dmg and drag BigRingVR into your Applications folder (choose "Replace" if prompted).

4️⃣ Sign in with your Google account. If you already use BigRingVR, your account and settings carry over automatically. The first-run wizard will walk you through the rest.

5️⃣ Pick a ride and enjoy.

━━━━━ HELP US MAKE IT GREAT ━━━━━

It's a beta, so if something looks off or doesn't work, we genuinely want to hear about it. The most helpful things you can send:

• How it ran on your setup — your OS version, and your sensor/trainer brands + models
• Sensors — did pairing and your ride work, especially with a mix of ANT+ and BLE?
• Ride Queues — did back-to-back rides advance and save cleanly as separate activities?
• Mac users — how does it feel on Apple Silicon vs what you're used to?
• Video — how did 4K rides feel? Any stutter, lag, or loud fans?
• Language — if you ride in German, Dutch, French, Spanish or Italian, let us know about anything untranslated or awkwardly worded
• Startup speed, themes, the first-run wizard, or Intervals.icu upload
• Screenshots of anything that looks wrong

🛟 To send logs: in Preferences → General → Diagnostics, type a short description of the problem, then hit Upload Logs.

Thanks for trying BigRingVR 8.0 — enjoy the ride! 🚵💨

Kootenay River Valley, a new ride from British Columbia, Canada is now available online!

Kootenay River Valley, British Columbia, Canada
https://bigringvr.com/ride?rideid=2963

Distance: 29.88 km
Elevation Gain: 216 m
Elevation Loss: 104 m
Difficulty: 147 (Easy)
FIETS Index: 0.07 FIETS

Avg Grade: 0.5 %
Max cat climb: 4
Min elevation: 1118 m
Max elevation: 1261 m
Ride Category: Flat

Welcome to Canada!

Framed by the Purcell Mountains to the west and the main range of the Canadian Rockies to the east, the Kootenay River Valley follows a structural trough within the Rocky Mountain Trench. BC Highway 93 and Highway 95 run parallel to the river along the valley floor, defining a profile of extended false flats, benchland rises, and sustained climbs up side passes like Vermilion and Sinclair. The paved routes cross gravel terraces, dense cedar-hemlock forests, and open valley bottoms, where riders face variable mountain winds, high-elevation exposure, and steep gradients alongside vertical limestone headwalls and very scenic vistas of the surrounding peaks.

This topography served as a natural transit corridor long before highway construction, used by the Ktunaxa Nation for seasonal migrations across the Continental Divide. European trade expanded after David Thompson charted the river in 1807, leading to early mining camps, timber operations, and eventual road development. Today, the valley’s connected climbs, deep canyons, and high-altitude passes join communities like Radium Hot Springs and Canal Flats, forming a key mountain link across the southeastern interior of British Columbia.

Cheers!

Baldwin Avenue Climb, a new ride from Maui, Hawaii is now available online!

Baldwin Avenue Climb, Maui, Hawaii
https://bigringvr.com/ride?rideid=2948

Distance: 13.36 km
Elevation Gain: 496 m
Elevation Loss: 32 m
Difficulty: 283 (Easy)
FIETS Index: 1.82 FIETS

Avg Grade: 3.84 %
Max cat climb: 2
Min elevation: 23 m
Max elevation: 498 m
Ride Category: Hilly

Baldwin Avenue is a major thoroughfare on Maui’s North Shore, stretching seven miles between the coastal town of Paia and the Upcountry community of Makawao. Originally established as a transit corridor for the island’s booming sugar industry, the road bears the name of Henry Perrine Baldwin, co-founder of the Alexander & Baldwin sugar conglomerate. Historically, the route served as the structural backbone for agricultural transport, linking sugarcane fields, fieldworker housing, and processing facilities like the historic Paia Sugar Mill. Over time, the area evolved from a quiet plantation district into a cultural crossroads, with historic sites along the corridor including the 1906 Mantokuji Buddhist Temple, Makawao Union Church, and the Maui Dharma Center.

Geographically, Baldwin Avenue rises steadily along the northwestern slopes of Haleakala, ascending from sea level at Paia up to approximately 1,600 feet in Makawao. The terrain features a continuous, rolling grade through agricultural land, residential estates, and lush tropical foliage, offering beautiful views of Haleakala’s massive volcano profile above and sweeping panoramas of the Pacific coastline below. In addition to serving local transit, the road is internationally known as the opening leg of the legendary "Cycle to the Sun" route—a 36-mile climb that ascends from Paia to the 10,023-foot summit of Haleakala, widely considered one of the longest continuous paved climbs in the world.

Cheers!

Calar Alto, a new Vuelta 2026 ride from Spain is now available online!

Calar Alto, Andalucía, Spain
https://bigringvr.com/ride?rideid=2925

Distance: 23.33 km
Elevation Gain: 1433 m
Elevation Loss: 38 m
Difficulty: 1179 (Very Hard)
FIETS Index: 9.04 FIETS

Avg Grade: 6.36 %
Max cat climb: HC
Min elevation: 735 m
Max elevation: 2156 m
Ride Category: Epic Climb

Stage 12 brings the Vuelta peloton to Andalusia for a brutal day in the mountains. Ending with the summit finish at Calar Alto, the iconic double feature of Alto de Velefique and Calar Alto will set up a crucial showdown for the general classification contenders:
https://www.lavuelta.es/en/stage-12

The Calar Alto is the undisputed roof of Almería, a high-altitude plateau in the Sierra de los Filabres that marks the most significant climb in southeastern Spain. Geographically, it is a barren, sub-alpine environment reaching 2,168 meters, where the extreme clarity of the air—one of the darkest and driest in Europe—makes it a world-class site for space exploration. Historically, this "Cathedral of Science" was born in 1973 through a Cold War-era scientific pact between Spain and West Germany, leading to the construction of the Calar Alto Observatory, which houses the largest telescope in continental Europe. These iconic white domes have looked down upon decades of cinematic history; while the lower desert hosted Westerns, Calar Alto’s rugged, snowy peaks provided the "Middle Eastern" and "North African" mountain backdrops for blockbusters like Lawrence of Arabia and the high-altitude pursuit scenes in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

For cycling, Calar Alto is a brutal Hors Categorie (HC) monster that dwarfs almost everything else in the region, offering over 1,400 meters of vertical gain in a single push. The most legendary route starts in the desert town of Gérgal, a 23-kilometer grind with a 6.2% average gradient that feels far harder due to the absolute lack of shade and the thinning air as you cross the 2,000-meter mark. The climb is a study in isolation, transitioning from heat-shimmered cactus and dust to a lonely, windswept ridge where the temperature can be 20c colder than the valley floor. Often featured in the Vuelta a España, the ascent culminates at the Venta Luisa pass before the final kick to the observatories, where the reward is a 360-degree view that stretches from the snow of the Sierra Nevada to the distant blue sliver of the Mediterranean.

Cheers!

Alto de Velefique descent, a new Vuelta 2026 ride from Andalucía, Spain is now available online!

Alto de Velefique descent, Andalucía, Spain
https://bigringvr.com/ride?rideid=2928

Distance: 28.23 km
Elevation Gain: 170 m
Elevation Loss: 1294 m
Difficulty: 176 (Easy)
FIETS Index: 0.63 FIETS

Avg Grade: -3.98 %
Max cat climb: 5
Min elevation: 703 m
Max elevation: 1826 m
Ride Category: Rollers

Alto de Velefique is featured as the penultimate climb on Stage 12 of the Vuelta 2026. Andalusia will receive the peloton of La Vuelta 26 with a tough mountain stage. The traditional double climb formed by Velefique and Calar Alto will mark an important day for the riders fighting for the general classification.
https://www.lavuelta.es/en/stage-12

The Alto de Velefique is widely regarded as one of the most visually stunning and physically demanding mountain passes in the Sierra de los Filabres of Almería. Rising to an elevation of 1,823 meters, the climb from the white-washed village of Velefique is often called the "Spanish Stelvio" due to its incredible series of more than 20 hairpin turns that snake up the barren, sun-baked mountainside. Over a distance of roughly 13 kilometers with an average gradient of nearly 8%, the road provides unobstructed views of the desert-like landscape below, which served as the backdrop for many classic Spaghetti Westerns. The route has frequently featured as a key "Special Category" summit finish in the Vuelta a España, cementing its status as a bucket-list ascent for those seeking a test of endurance amidst a dramatic, lunar-like geography.

The descent toward Tíjola begins by traversing the high-altitude plateau of the Filabres range, often passing near the Tetica de Bacares and the village of Bacares before dropping into the Almanzora Valley. This northward transition shifts the scenery from the arid, southern lunar slopes to slightly greener terrain characterized by expansive almond and olive groves. The road toward Tíjola can be technically engaging and inconsistent, featuring sections with steep ramps and long, fast straights that require precision and focus, especially as the temperature can drop significantly at the higher elevations. Ending in the valley, the descent completes a massive vertical transition that showcases the rugged diversity of Almería’s mountain interior.

Cheers!

Alto de Velefique (South side), a new Vuelta 2026 ride from Spain is now available online!

Alto de Velefique (South side), Andalucía, Spain
https://bigringvr.com/ride?rideid=2927

Distance: 29.53 km
Elevation Gain: 1359 m
Elevation Loss: 0 m
Difficulty: 963 (Hard)
FIETS Index: 6.26 FIETS

Avg Grade: 4.6 %
Max cat climb: HC
Min elevation: 466 m
Max elevation: 1825 m
Ride Category: Epic Climb

Tadej Pogačar is returning to the Vuelta a España. UAE Team Emirates officially confirmed on Monday that their leader will target the Spanish Grand Tour in pursuit of a historic Tour-Vuelta double. Sharing co-leadership with João Almeida, Pogačar returns to the race for the first time since his 2019 debut. The news comes just weeks after Pogačar’s commanding Tour de France triumph, where he claimed his record-equaling fifth yellow jersey and obliterated the long-standing climbing record on Alpe d'Huez during Stage 19.

Alto de Velefique is featured as the penultimate climb on Stage 12 of the Vuelta 2026. Andalusia will receive the peloton of La Vuelta 26 with a tough mountain stage. The traditional double climb formed by Velefique and Calar Alto will mark an important day for the riders fighting for the general classification.
https://www.lavuelta.es/en/stage-12

The Alto de Velefique is widely considered the crown jewel of cycling in Almería, often referred to as the "Spanish Stelvio" or "Alpe d’Huez of the South" due to its stunning array of hairpins. Geographically, it is part of the Sierra de los Filabres range, rising from the desert floor to an elevation of 1,822 meters. The landscape is a stark, treeless "lunar" environment that provides unobstructed views of the road snaking below you, with the distant Mediterranean and the Tabernas Desert visible from the upper slopes. Historically, this pass has gained legendary status through the Vuelta a España, serving as a brutal "Especial" (Hors Categorie) summit finish, most recently in 2021 when it hosted the first major GC showdown of the race.

For cycling, the Alto de Velefique is a relentless test of both legs and lungs, especially when the characteristic Almerian heat reflects off the bare rock. The "official" climb from the white-washed village of Velefique spans roughly 13 kilometers with a steady average gradient of 7.8%, though the first 4 kilometers are particularly punishing with sections hitting 13–14%. The route is defined by its 20 to 25 perfectly engineered switchbacks—depending on where you start your watch—which provide a rhythmic, almost hypnotic climbing experience. Reaching the summit feels like standing on the edge of the world, offering a 360-degree panorama that transitions from the high-altitude pine forests of the nearby Calar Alto observatory to the sun-scorched badlands you left behind in the valley.

Cheers!

Tour of East Norway, Stage 3 (Vangsmjose), a new ride from Norway is now available online!

Tour of East Norway, Stage 3 (Vangsmjose), Innlandet, Norway
https://bigringvr.com/ride?rideid=2906

Distance: 25.53 km
Elevation Gain: 198 m
Elevation Loss: 121 m
Difficulty: 118 (Easy)
FIETS Index: 0.15 FIETS

Avg Grade: 1.02 %
Max cat climb: 4
Min elevation: 368 m
Max elevation: 517 m
Ride Category: Flat

Vangsmjøse is a prominent, narrow lake located in the municipality of Vang within the Innlandet county of Østlandet. Surrounded by steep, dramatic mountain terrain, it serves as a central geographical feature of the Valdres valley and acts as a vital transit point for those traveling between Eastern and Western Norway. The area is steeped in heritage, famously connected to the historic mountain crossings of Filefjell, and features cultural landmarks like the site of the Vang Stave Church.

The landscape surrounding the lake is a popular destination for those exploring the region’s natural beauty. Because the main transport corridor, the E16, runs directly alongside its shores, the area serves as a gateway to the high-alpine plateaus. For those traversing the area, the route offers a world-class cycling experience, as it provides a picturesque ride with imposing mountains rising directly from the water’s edge, transitioning from the lush valleys of the east toward the rugged, high-altitude passes.

Cheers!