# Switzerland climbs not over anything



## Ken Roberts (Oct 3, 2007)

I had the good luck to be in Switzerland with my bike in late May. Most of the roads over the famous high passes were not yet open because of snow. So instead I tried climbs that don’t go “over” a pass to somewhere on the other side. It was rather fun, and some of those climbs seemed more interesting and pretty than many of the passes that “go to somewhere” on major cycle touring routes across Switzerland -- here’s
some links to photos



I’ll be glad for suggestions of other interesting or spectacular climbs to try. 

This trip I was mainly around the Rhone river valley and some around Interlaken -- here’s a 
map of some climbs in that area

A little about some of the climbs I tried . . . (lots more details on this page)​around Martigny and the Rhone valley:

* Lac d’Emosson by the France-Switz frontier [ map ] -- A great big view of the snowy Mont Blanc mountains - (perhaps the best mountain view from a paved road in Europe) - [ photos ], also some interesting riding above the lake. [ photos2 ]

* Villars-sur-Ollon from Bex -- big views of the Rhone valley and mountains across it, thru vineyards + farms + villages, interesting riding - (much prettier than the more direct road up from Ollon). [map | photos | photos2 ]

* "Balcon Sud du Rhone" -- multiple climbs + descents above Sion + Sierre -- big views of Rhone valley + mountains across it, thru mountain villages with views across and up higher valleys, with interesting climbs and descents. [ map | photos ]

* "Balcon Nord du Rhone" -- multiple climbs + descents above Sion + Sierre -- big views of Rhone valley and snowy mountains. [ map ]

* le Fays from le Brocard southwest from Martigny [ map ] -- a short way to “skim the best” of the Col de la Forclaz northeast side. Villages + vineyards with views over the Rhone valley (bigger views if descend instead the main Forclaz road).

around Interlaken: 

* Lauterbrunnen valley near Interlaken [ map ] -- pretty farms + villages under big cliffs with waterfalls, snowy mountains above, options for higher steeper climbs with more farms + animals + villages + bigger views [ photos ] - (and yet more options for those willing to ride on dirt). Great side-trip for the spectacular climb over Grosse Scheidegg.

* Sharon and I also climbed part of the west side of Sustenpass and north side of Grimselpass (near Innertkirchen east of Interlaken) - [map]. We couldn’t go over them because the snow had not yet been plowed higher at the passes. But especially the west side of Susten was spectacular and interesting just riding up + back [ photos ]

Lots more info + details on this page

Lots more photos linked from this page


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## Lucky Carl (Jun 28, 2009)

*Chamonix*

G'day Ken,

Nice photos. I remember when I was over following the TdF a couple of years ago we rode from Chamonix into Switzerland. I have no idea where we went but the scenery was spectacular. I just remember it as one of the nicest days of cycling I have done anywhere.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Carl


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## Ken Roberts (Oct 3, 2007)

Lucky Carl said:


> I remember when I was over following the TdF a couple of years ago we rode from Chamonix into Switzerland. I have no idea where we went but the scenery was spectacular. I just remember it as one of the nicest days of cycling I have done anywhere


Yes it's a very pretty ride from Chamonix across the Col des Montets and Col de la Forclaz to Switzerland -- even without the side-trip to Lac d'Emosson for much bigger + better views of the snowy peaks + glaciers. I like the contrast with the pleasant farm country along the creek thru Vallorcine.The question I wonder about: ? Is it possible to take your bike up on the mechanical _lift_ to Lac d'Emosson for the big views, and then ride only _down_ from the lake?​The drawback I found was the motor traffic from Chamonix thru Argentiere toward the south side of Col des Montets -- not much fun for me.

If you have enough climbing endurance, even better is _start_ farther down in the valley in France like around Sallanches, and climb the secondary road thru Passy and Servoz and les Houches to Chamonix. Nice views across the valley to start, later some sections are narrow thru quiet little villages. (? possibly big views of Mont Blanc by side-trip climbing above Passy toward d'Assy + Plane-Joux?)

And for those who want to test climbing _strength_, going from Chatelard up to Gietroz (an alternate route to Finhaut and perhaps Lac d'Emosson) is steeper than any climb in the French Alps that gets included in the Tour de France race.

After crossing in Switzerland, you come down into Martigny, and the area around there has several days of interesting and pretty climbs which I did not get to do on this time on my trip this year.

Ken


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## Aussie Carl (Jan 11, 2006)

I am ever so slightly jealous! 

I would love to go back there and do more cycling in the region. Travelling in the Pyrenees got me back into cycling - seeing all those crazy Basques on their orange Orbeas - magic!

But other places beckon this year - I am heading to Patagonia, The Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island and the Antarctic Peninsula for 6 weeks in December and January. Not much cycling will be done but definitely a trip of a lifetime.


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## cityeast (Sep 16, 2004)

The window of opportunity to ride over the major passes in Switzerland is very narrow, between June and October at best. If you are planning long rides ( for example, a triple-pass day), then your window is even narrower, between June and end of August.

Every year in June/July I normally go to Andermatt, a town in the central swiss alps. From there it is possible to do 3 triple pass loops:

Susten-Grimsel-Furka
Furka-Nufenen-Gottard
Gottard-Lukmanier-Oberalp

That will give you a total of about 380km and 10000m of climbing ;-)


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## smokva (Jul 21, 2004)

cityeast said:


> Every year in June/July I normally go to Andermatt, a town in the central swiss alps. From there it is possible to do 3 triple pass loops:
> 
> Susten-Grimsel-Furka
> Furka-Nufenen-Gottard
> ...


Fantastic! It is high on my "must do" list


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## Ken Roberts (Oct 3, 2007)

cityeast said:


> Every year in June/July I normally go to Andermatt, a town in the central swiss alps. From there it is possible to do 3 triple pass loops


Talking about what base in Europe to choose for climbing is an excellent idea, but . . . 
Every year the same place?

There really are other bases in the Alps with three days worth of good climbing.(and arguably some of those other places have more _interesting_ climbing and riding than Andermatt -- because most of the climbs around Andermatt are long slogs at around steady 7-8% grade. That's excellent road design engineering for cars and trucks, perhaps not so interesting for cycling.)​Some other candidates for a base:

Cortina, Italy . . . 
At least three loops nearby -- also a great up-and-back climb to the Tre Cimes (? Rifugio Auronzo ?) which is much steeper than any paved road around Andermatt. Especially later around August + September when most of the snow is gone, the Dolomites are the most spectacular climbs and passes because of the dramatic rock formations.

Bormio, Italy . . .
(1) loop Bormio > P Umbrail > Glurns > Stilfserjoch / P Stelvio > Bormio.
(2) loop Bormio > Mazzo > P Mortirolo > Ponte di Legno > P Gavia > Bormio
(3) loop with possible train support: Tirano > P Bernina (w side trip down to Diavolezza CH) > Livigno > Bormio
(I cheated and took the train from Tirano to Pontresina CH, then climbed to P Bernina much shorter and easier)(P Mortirolo from Mazzo is so much more interesting and harder than anything around Andermatt)​Martigny, Switzerland . . .
(1) loop Martigny > Champex > Col Grand St Bernard > Aosta, Italy > Courmayeur > Col du Grand Ferret > Orsieres > Martigny (a significant dirt section over Ferret, but I did it on my road bike, and so much more interesting than most around Andermatt)
(2) loop with out+back climbs: Martigny > Salvan > Finhaut > up+back to Lac d'Emosson lower then upper dam > Chatelard into France > up+back to Col des Montets > Col de la Forclaz > Martigny
(3) (two days?) Martigny > "balcon nord" > Sierre > "balcon sud" > Martigny (? with train support?) 
(4) Martigny > Bex > Col Croix > Col Pillon > Gsteig > lift up to Col Sanetsch > down to Sion > Martigny (or in the reverse direction: climb up the south side of Sanetsch, one of the longest climbs in Switzerland) 
(5) up+back: super-steep Lavey-Morcles climb

Aosta, Italy . . .
three loops with some dirt/gravel sections: 
(1) loop: Courmayeur > Col du Grand Ferret > Orsieres (Switzerland) > Col Grand St Bernard > Aosta
(2) loop: around Gran Paradiso (highest peak whose base is completely inside Italy): I did it up Valsavaranche over Col Nivolet, down to Courgne + Ivrea.
(3) loop: Col Petit St Bernard > Bourg St Maurice (France) > Col de la Seigne : (too much gravel for me to do again, but very spectacular once)

Innertkirchen (or Meiringen?), Switzerland . . . 
Can do loops over two of the most spectacular high passes in Europe: 
(1) Grosse Scheidegg - (loop with Brienzersee, Interlaken, Grindelwald)
(2) Sustenpass 
The second can also be done from Andermatt, but the first is much closer to Innertkirchen, and going over Grosse Scheidegg is so interesting (and steeper than the Andermatt passes)
I don't know a _third_ loop from there, but there's so much spectacular terrain around Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen that I just want to be closer to it so I can explore.

Ken


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## Ken Roberts (Oct 3, 2007)

I was just looking at www.quaeldich.de, which rates the _prettiness_ of each road climb or pass with 1 to 5 stars.
Gives me lots more ideas about interesting roads to ride in lots of places in the Alps.

In particular it adds some ideas for pretty climbs around some of the bases I mentioned before:

Bormio, Italy: 
Passo Torri di Fraele near Lago di Cancano
map of more climbs around Bormio

Innertkirchen / Meiringen, Switzerland: 
Axalp (south from Brienz)
Engstlenalp (north of the west-side Sustenpass road)
Oberaarsee (west from Grimselpass)
map of more climbs around Meiringen + Innertkirchen

Ken


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