Grosse Scheidegg photos - prettiest mt road pass

Photos from riding over the Grosse Scheidegg pass in Switzerland he
http://roberts-1.com/t/b08/ch/gs

I think Grosse Scheidegg is the prettiest most interesting pass with a paved
road over it in Europe or North America, and I've visited lots of the high
passes. It brings together so many of the things that make a mountain ride
great -- dramatic rock peaks including the notorious Eiger, quiet villages,
variety of steepness and curves, 4000-meter snow peaks + glaciers, meadows
with animals, different kinds of animals, variety of paved road and dirt
path surfaces, rushing creeks and optionally a big mountain lake. Those
wonderful features would be sufficient for #1, so then add: The highest 6
miles of road going the pass are _closed_ to normal vehicle traffic. Then
add that 90% of the climb up the bike route from Interlaken to Grindelwald
is off the main road, going thru little villages and farms.

Two things made it special for me doing it again in September: I climbed it
up the _west_ side from Interlaken on bike route 61, and I rode it when
there was _snow_ on more of the peaks.

My photos are a little unfair, because people who ride it in high season
July +August are unlikely to see it with so many peaks highlighted in bright
white. I got lucky in September with a snowstorm a couple of days before.
But I suspect if you go there in May or early June, you don't need much
luck.

West side versus East side: I think lots of cycle tourists have only ridden
the main road on the west side, so they remember it mostly for having lots
of high-speed vehicle traffic. Riding on bike route 61 gives a completely
different perspective. Coming from Interlaken, just 3 km south at Wilderswil
the bike route left the main road, crossed a wooden bridge onto a narrow
paved road, and then I was riding thru quiet villages and farms . . . a
section on dirt, then paved again, later dirt single-track alongside a wild
creek (worked fine on my road bike), then paved single-lane climbing up to
the north face of the Eiger.

So unless you completely detest riding some off pavement, try climbing up
the _west_ side on bike route 61.

And Grosse Scheidegg is not far from lots of other great riding in
Switzerland.

Ken