favorites in mountains of Switzerland

wrote:
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, goimg 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?.

- 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 july 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
abrubtly, 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 july the lake was still full of ice and snow, piled up
from a snowslide 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 germans arrive on
their bikes and take possession of the whole complex for the night.

Sergio
Pisa

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

wrote:

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:

Jobst,
I still remember reading that fresh report of yours, and how
spoiled I thought you were.
In my rankings the Belvedere Hotel definitely surpasses the Albergo
Sottostelvio; same league, though.

Cheers

Sergio
Pisa

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:

wrote:
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. Also, many accidents. Heard of two bikers that ended up
in an incoming car. I know no details but the ending was not a happy one :-(((
Better take the bypass from Meiringen.

P.S. The view from Hasliberg over the valley and up Meiringen to the Eiger is
breathtaking. Waterfall, hotel, glaciers, mountains, lakes... Worth a visit.

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:

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

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