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favorites in mountains of Switzerland
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#12
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favorites in mountains of Switzerland
Sergio Servadio writes:
That is true only for the new (Autobahn) route. The old road is open to bicycles from Göschenen to Airolo and the new one from the summit to the Fortezza. Is Fortezza that old army fortress some 7 kms up from Airolo? That's where a couple of years ago, going up from Airolo on the Tremola, I missed the old road and found myself on the Autobahn to get to the top. In the past, several times I have descended all the way onto Airolo, as far as I can remember with no detour and finding myself riding on cobbles only just at the entrance of Airolo. Perhaps the Autobahn was not completed and the road went necessarily through town?. There is a large Autoroute sign that directs bicycles to the old road when descending at that point, however, as you say, on can ignore it and stay on it, there being little traffic except tour buses and people who wanted to see the pass by car. Most people take the tunnel. On a cold and rainy day, I have descended to Airolo on that road, not wanting to put up with the rough pavement and wet at the same time. Besides, there was no one on the new road, it not being a good day for tourists. - I was surprised you enjoyed the long approach to Gran San Bernardo from the north. And when you get to the top, the store window behind the summit sign is full of stuffed toy St. Bernard dogs. I recall when the kept a few real dogs up there. This Jule I was there and at the San Bernardo frontier I asked a Customs Officer what was a trail that I could spot, just a bit higher than ourselves. It was on the other side, in Switzerland, and it ended arrantly, vanishing into nothing. He told me it was what remained of the old Roman road. Very well kept as a testimonial by the Swiss, but simply forgotten by the Italians. By the way, in Jule the lake was still full of ice and snow, piled up from a snowshed I guess. So what don't you like about the Brünig Pass? The short 13% section on the south side isn't significant and other than that I find it has lovely vistas. Too much traffic, way too much. About the Nufenen, there is only one such pass (Passo di Novena, in Italian) up from Ulrichen and descending onto Val Bedretto. For personal reasons Ulrichen is one of my favorite spots where to stop and lodge. So did I this year too, in fact. For everybody: in Ulrichen there is a very convenient Lager for tourists; in fact I have seen a flock of some 20 germ ans arrive on their bikes and take possession of the whole complex for the night. As I once related, I first saw the Rhone Glacier in the 1940's and was enamored with Hotel Belvédère that had been closed since the beginning of WWII. On my 1998 Alps ride, I had read that the hotel was again in service and made a point to make it a stop: http://www.trentobike.org/Countries/...the_Alps/1998/ # We dropped into the Goms, the upper Rhone Valley, at Ulrichen # (1348m), where we ate lunch before turning right, rolling into # Oberwald (1368m) at the base of the hill to Gletsch. Here, as we # passed the FO train station, cars were loading onto the Furka tunnel # shuttle. We rode up past Hotel Rhonequelle, that had been # thoroughly renovated two years ago with no visible exterior change. # We climbed the esses into Gletsch as the clouds closed overhead in # the evening sky. We passed the great Gletsch hotel and passed the # Blaue Haus at the newly installed RR crossing of the DFB where the # climb to the Furka begins. # It wasn't far now but still a substantial climb to the glacier where # we had taken pictures ten days earlier. When we reached the vista # point and Belvédère Hotel, all the concessions were closed and # looked as though they had been, judging from the fresh snow that was # still lying at the base of the walls. There were no cars or signs # of life except a light in the lobby of the Belvédère (2306m). We # weren't sure that we were going to find lodging there, but as we # entered, the concierge greeted us warmly and assured us that we were # in good hands and that the kitchen was ON. # The Belvédère is a landmark of the Alps that jumped from the past to # the present in a way one can imagine only here in Switzerland. It # closed in 1939 when the road was still a trace in the dirt, auto # travel was risky, and the last horse drawn coaches were still # around. The auto had been so frail, that on my first visit in 1948, # Gletsch, the Belvédère and the summit still had a string of old auto # repair shops. These garages were dismantled in subsequent years but # the Belvédère remained closed until recently when it reopened to the # Jet age and cars that could drive from Berlin to Rome stopping only # for fuel. The idea to stop here came to me as we rode up the San # Giacomo. I had had the wish to stay in this grand hotel since I # first saw it. # Good timing brought us to the Belvédère at dusk and gave us the # opportunity to see what lay behind those magnificent stone walls. # We got the best room in the house with a view to the valley, the # glacier, and the Grimsel summit from which the usual cold fog # cascaded toward Gletsch. We ate well. http://www.picswiss.ch/06-VS/s-VS-06/sVS-64-02.html http://map.search.ch/belvedere Jobst Brandt |
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favorites in mountains of Switzerland
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#14
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favorites in mountains of Switzerland
Ken Roberts wrote:
Roberto Divia wrote [ in response to] ... Swiss post-bus routes go high up some of the passes, Those that don't have a rack usually accept them either in the luggage compartment or inside the bus I mentioned it because using the Post-Bus could be a way to enjoy some of the great high-mountain scenery for riders who are not super-athletes. When I was climbing the SE side of Col d'Aravis I saw lots of people coming down on bicycles, and lacking at some of them I had a strong feeling that not all of them had first gotten up there using muscle power. Aravis? You toured around Megeve? Nice area, isn't it? I know that area pretty well, from Cluses up to Annecy. What is that rotor on the left side of the back wheel? That's an Arai drum brake, mostly as a third brake going down a long hill with the weight of two people in tandem mode. But I'm also happy to use it on steep descents in single mode, so I don't have to tire my hands squeezing the levers for the rim-brakes. Sounds like a very good idea. Sergio owns by tandem, he might be interested... Ciao, -- Roberto Divia` Love at first sight is one of the greatest Dep:PH Bat:53 Mailbox:C02110 labour-saving devices the world has ever seen Route de Meyrin 385 --------------------------------------------- Case Postale Phone: +41-22-767-4994 CH-1211 Geneve 23 CERN Fax: +41-22-767-9585 Switzerland E-Mail: |
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favorites in mountains of Switzerland
Sergio wrote about passes closed in late spring:
beautiful to ride up when the road is still closed, up higher, and so carries no through traffic. I like to do that every year, going as far up as possible. Yes I've noticed in late April and May that a high pass road may be well-plowed and snow-free far above where it is gated for closure. Like once road up the east side of Furka was plowed all the up to the pass, but the gate was closed only a short way above Realp. (since I was on a randonnee ski tour, I was unhappy about this, since it meant that I had to carry my skis all the way down from the pass instead of gliding on them). One of the nice things about doing day-trip rides in late spring instead of a big long-distance tour, is climbing up on a pretty day could be wonderful even if you don't know if you can get across the pass -- can just see lots of pretty snowcapped peaks and just ride back the way you came. I think the road-maintainers keep the snow-free roads officially closed because: * They don't want lots of drivers to get in the habit of planning to be able to go up or over the pass, when a big spring storm might still hit that could cover the road for a week or two. * They're afraid somebody's going to drive up and park their car, then a big storm hits and their car is stuck up there for a week or longer. * Danger from avalanches and from side-effects of avalanche-control procedures. Ken |
#17
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favorites in mountains of Switzerland
Ken Roberts wrote: Sergio wrote about passes closed in late spring: beautiful to ride up when the road is still closed, up higher, and so carries no through traffic. I like to do that every year, going as far up as possible. Yes I've noticed in late April and May that a high pass road may be well-plowed and snow-free far above where it is gated for closure. I have done that several times on Piccolo and Gran San Bernardo, once on the Stelvio from Trafoi As you may recall, this year I did the Nivolet. Twice on the Iseran (this year too, in fact) I was able to go up and over when they were still working on the snow banks, with the pass officially closed. For this great pass early june is just perfect, with marmots already out, on the alert! Sergio Pisa |
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