Grimsel Pass

In Innertkirchen, at the beginning of the Gadmer valley, which runs towards the Susten Pass, follow the Aare and turn onto Grimselstrasse. The first kilometers serve as a warm-up for the muscles: until Guttannen the road only rises gently now and then. The route continues with few bends to Handegg, where the valley station of the Gelmerbahn is located on the left (leading up to the spectacular Gelmersee).

Now the route slowly but surely gets exciting: to the left, vertical rock faces rise, and to the right, a greenish shimmering rock landscape covered with fine lichens extends through the valley. After some curves and altitude meters, you reach the Räterichsbodensee (1767 m above sea level), from whose dam an impressive view already opens up. You cycle along the Räterichsbodensee and come to the mighty Grimselsee. The road winds in a zigzag up the mountain until you suddenly see the deep blue Totensee after a last bend at the pass summit. Not exactly dead, but certainly exhausted from the nutritious climb to 2164 m above sea level, the brave refresh themselves in the cold lake or at least strengthen themselves in one of the restaurants. This prepares you for the challenging descent, which begins shortly after the canton border between Bern and Valais. On a demanding, winding, typical pass road, you overcome 400 meters in altitude to Gletsch and thus have completed half the descent.

To the destination in Oberwald, it goes another nearly 400 meters downhill, but the road is somewhat less spectacular and mostly straight from Gletsch. For large parts along the Rhone, you finally arrive in Oberwald in the canton of Valais. Throughout the entire route there is connection to the Postbus line.