04
Jul
5 Minute Read
5 Minute Read
Everyone knows the infamous cobbles of the Paris-Roubaix, but have you heard of the cobbles on the Gotthardpass? Imagine smaller, more uniform stones, hammered in by hand, and maintained by Swiss engineers in the same fashion today as they always have been. I even witnessed a small crew doing exactly this, one stone at a time.
It’s a fascinating place with a fascinating history, as it’s one of the primary passes that effectively connects northern Europe to southern Europe, and has been generally been in use by people since medieval times. It’s also a place where the Swiss have managed to make architectural achievements first of their kind, with three separate tunnels through the pass in addition to the historic road that you as a cyclist will more likely enjoy - especially since very few cars tend to drive on it!
Apparently it’s also considered the “water tower of Europe” because three of its largest, most important rivers originate from the St. Gotthard Massif.
On the first day of riding from Andermatt, we had planned to do a large loop over the Furkapass towards the Nufenenpass, making our way back over the south approach of the Gotthardpass. Unfortunately on that day, the Nufenenpass was closed.
We instead took a train back from Oberwald to Hospental and opted to do a “quick” up and over the Gotthardpass to experience this feat of Swiss engineering first hand, taking the train right back under the mountain to get back to Andermatt via Göschenen. We had done quite a bit of riding at that point and wanted to focus more on the next day’s plans up and over the Sustenpass while still experiencing this road.
Apparently heading this direction is somewhat less common, as taking the original cobbled road is a bit jarring on the bike. Or so my Singapore-based friend who has frequented this region a lot told me. I think if you manage to pace it more quickly, the cobbles don’t feel so pronounced, but the southern face of the old road definitely has far more cobbles than the northern face.
A good portion of the climb from Hospental is actually along a newer section of road that meanders along the valley upwards towards the pass where you start to see snow and some huge wind generators.
Definitely look for the turn off for the old road to experience this - it may not be as fast as the newer road, but it’s definitely the experience you want to have with this pass.
This was an amazing and unexpected surprise! Anyone interested in or fascinated by public works and infrastructure will love this road. It’s spectacular.
Heading down this way is a treat, just pay attention to further down when newer pavement starts to show up. It will surprise you when cobbles show back up again, after you’ve naturally picked up more speed! The views through this region are incredible and the switchbacks in the road, in my opinion, rival closely to that of Sa Calobra in Mallorca! I’m not sure why this isn’t more advertised, to be honest.
If you want to do what we did, head all the way down to the bottom, take all of the pictures, and head back towards the train station stop at Airolo. Suddenly everyone is speaking Italian and you’ll feel yourself ready to justify sitting down at a cafe and ordering some pasta. Grazie, mille!
I liked doing this climb in a bit more of a free-form fashion. The train access through this region is fantastic and gives you a ton of options for route creation, despite being quite nestled in the mountains of the Alps. Having grown up in California, comprehending that places like this exist and somehow still have better public transit than we do kind of hurts my brain a bit!
The beauty on the south side of this climb was some of the best that I found on this trip, believe it or not. Perhaps it was golden hour that particular day, but the light cascading down through the valley and over the many switchbacks was just something to admire and behold. There were basically no cars out there and it felt like the entire road was out there just for us.
That being said, however, I did find the cobbles still pretty jarring at speed. I had started to struggle at the start of the climb that day, so I felt more fatigued upon getting started, but definitely livened up a bit on the descent.
I think descending them, for me, was more manageable than moving as slowly as I was going up them. So going up the longer way with more cobbles probably would not have been as enjoyable for me. At least on that day. Your mileage will vary of course!
Once you’re at the bottom, though, depending on what your other plans may be, stop in for some pasta! You’ve officially entered the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland!
Depending on what else you have planned for the day, this area is quite accessible. You could do any combination of the following:
Another note to point out, it seems that there may be a “shortcut” between Airolo and the Lukmanierpass (if you believe Google Maps directions), but it’s definitely a dirt option. But it’s part of an ultra-endurance event called SUCH! Pretty cool. Make sure to do some good ride planning if you’re out in these areas of the country!
