The engineered giant
If the Furka is theatre, the Grimsel Pass is something else entirely.
It doesn’t seduce you with glaciers or nostalgia – it confronts you with scale, structure, and purpose.
At 2,164 meters, the Grimsel is lower than its famous neighbors, but it feels bigger—because here, the mountain isn’t just landscape.
It’s been reshaped.
Why the Grimsel stands apart
The Grimsel connects Innertkirchen (Bern) with Gletsch (Valais), the upper valley of the Aare with the upper valley of the Rhône, crossing the continental divide between the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
It’s often paired with Furka and Susten in the so-called Swiss “Big Three”, but unlike those two:
- It’s less about elegance (Susten)
- Less about exposure (Furka)
The Grimsel is about raw alpine infrastructure:
- massive dams
- reservoirs glowing turquoise
- roads carved through granite
It feels engineered and that is exactly what makes it unique.
Innertkirchen
Starting in Innertkirchen, the Grimsel plays the long game.
The first kilometres are almost deceptive:
- gentle gradients
- gradual climb
- valley riding alongside the Aare
You might even wonder if this is really a “big pass.”
And then the landscape tightens.
Into the granite
After Guttannen and Handegg, the tone shifts.
The valley walls rise sharply:
- vertical rock faces
- narrow passages
- water everywhere
This is where the Grimsel begins to feel serious.
Past Handegg, you’ll go through a series of hairpins and a long tunnel (well lit) to the Räterichsbodensee reservoir.
The first of the Grimsel’s signature features: the reservoirs.
The lake sequence
This is the defining experience of the Grimsel.
You ride past:
- Räterichsbodensee
- then higher to Grimselsee
- and finally toward the summit lake, Totensee
Each one is different:
- different colours
- different shapes
- different moods
And they all feel slightly unreal.
The water is often turquoise, almost artificial-looking, framed by bare granite and dam walls that look like they belong in another world.
This is not classic Alpine pastoral beauty – it is something more surreal – I likened the view on the Grimsel Hospice to a scene from the Lord of the Rings.
When I came down from the summit in 2015, I was so stunned by this view, that I stopped my descend and just wanted to sit down and stay there.
On my way up in 2019, I didn’t see shit, as there was a thick fog clouding everything.
At the summit, there is a restaurant – aptly called ‘Grimselblick’ – and real tourist attractions, the Crystal cavern and Marmot park. I didn’t bother to go in there, but the summit was crowded with Chinese tourists when I got there…
I tackled this end during my ‘Tour de Suisse 2019‘, from Innertkirchen in a Wassen – Susten – Grimsel – Furka – Andermatt loop. Report on that trip here.
Gletsch
If you come from Gletsch (after descending the Furka), the Grimsel shows a different face.
This side:
- is shorter
- sharper
- more direct
And it starts with one of the best visual intersections in the Alps:
From below, you can literally see:
- the Furka hairpins above
- the Grimsel road climbing opposite
It’s one of those rare moments where two iconic passes exist in the same frame.
From Gletsch:
- the climb quickly gains altitude
- the terrain opens faster
- and the views back toward the Rhône Valley are spectacular
This is the punchier, more immediate Grimsel.
I cycled the Grimsel as part of the ‘Swiss Stage‘ at the end of my Giro d’Italia 2015, when I deliberately descended to Oberwald to be able to take on the ‘full’ length of the Grimsel.
Oberwald
While doing this is not the “natural” flow of the Furka – Grimsel sequence, it’s worth doing.
Leaving Oberwald, you’ll climb out of the valley through a tree covered area over a distance of about 4 kilometers at an average around 7%. Once you pass a short tunnel, the view opens up and you’ll see the Grimsel switching right to left in front and above you.
Some 1.5 kilometers further, you might be lucky enough to see the train go through the spiral tunnel down the right side of the road, before you take on the final stretch to Gletsch. Once you leave Gletsch, the part with the most jaw dropping views awaits you.
From switchback to switchback, you’ll see more of the Grimsel and the valley towards Oberwald, the Furka climbing up the slopes on the opposite side. The combined view of two major passes winding up a high mountain, is something I have not experienced anywhere else so far…
As mentioned above, at the summit, there is a restaurant – aptly called ‘Grimselblick’ – and real tourist attractions, the Crystal cavern and Marmot park.
Best combinations
Two-pass perfection
- Furka + Grimsel
- Pure, compact, visually overwhelming
Big Three
- Furka + Grimsel + Susten
- Expands west/north instead of south
Alpenbrevet
The Grimsel is part of only one Alpenbrevet course:
- Platina course: Andermatt – Susten – Grimsel – Nufenen – Lukmanier – Oberalp
Practical notes
- Typically open late May / June to October depending on snow
- Highly exposed to weather, especially wind
- Surface generally excellent throughout
Best ridden:
- on a clear day
- early or late to avoid traffic
- with time to stop (you will stop)
Verdict
The Grimsel is not the prettiest pass in the traditional sense.
It’s not:
- the most famous (Gotthard)
- the most elegant (Susten)
- or the most dramatic (Furka)
But it is something none of those are: unique.
You ride the Grimsel not just for the climb, but for the feeling of moving through a landscape that blends:
- nature
- engineering
- and scale
It’s a working mountain pass, a place where humans reshaped the Alps—and left something strangely beautiful behind.
Background image: Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
