The busy pass road is part of the B 317 and links Todtnau in the Wiesental valley with Titisee-Neustadt. The southwestern approach is characterized by hairpin bends and climbs 483 metres over a distance of about seven kilometres; the north-eastern ramp is less winding. Both approaches have gradients of up to 1 in 10 or 10%. In snow conditions, lorries are required to fit snow chains. In the area of the pass two more mountain roads branch off; one runs north to the Feldberg mountain and another south to the National Training Centre of the DSV on the Herzogenhorn ( DE-NN). In the winter of 2005/2006, the road was blocked after heavy snow for avalanche blasting.