Grimsel Pass - driving heaven

11 Sep 08 - This is a brilliant driving road and it deserves a mention here - the name just doesn't do it justice! Its got to be the best short cut ever, to get from Eggishorn in the Goms valley to the Interlaken area.

Approaching from the east, you're not sure whether the zig-zag pattern on the side of the mountain is a road or not...it can't be, can it? Yes, it is!

At the town of Gletsch ("glacier"), you take a left for the Grimsel-pass, or go straight on for the Furka-pass. Both look like a lot of fun, and are awe inspiring feats of construction - these are not dangerous mountain tracks - they're top quality highways, built in improbable places!

More astonishing views from the pass - the end of the Rhone glacier is clearly visible to the north-east(photo), with the Furka-pass to the east (photo).

As if that's not enough, you get to the top for a birds eye view of a hydro electric scheme with a huge reservoir - the Grimselsee (1909m). Its alluvial colouring is unlike anything I've seen on this scale. Great views for the descent into Meiringen.

The Swiss sure know how to complement the natural grandeur of their country with incredible civil engineering projects, whether its roads, tunnels, mountain railways or cable cars!

Its a small country, absolutely packed with jaw dropping spectacles!