Mountain passes....
Hi All,
I'm sure this has been covered before but has anyone travelled via the Grimsel, Furka & San Bernardino Passes?
I've included these in a planned trip to Switzerland & Italy before doing the Grossglockner en rte to Zell am See from Venice.
Considering we passed coaches travelling in the opposite direction when driving the Stelvio Pass in a car last year, I'm not looking to foresee any problems but will take onboard any tips & pointers from those who may have done this.....
Thanks in advance.
Paul
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Have been that way solo with a Freelander but not towing. With your Motorhome it depends on its size for some pretty acute hairpins and power ratio for hill starts if you have to stop on a steep stretch .
Of the three passes I recall the San Bernardino as the easiest and the Furka the most difficult. My old copy of the Club's Touring Europe guide has details of road width, gradient and so on. Do you have a copy or do you want me to dig out mine?
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Some years ago we went over the Grimsel Pass but I hasten to add it was solo. Having said that I do recall a couple of motorhomes at the summit. On the way down they seemed to be stopping quite a lot, not sure if that was to admire the views or cool their brakes.
Was about the suggest the same as ET, The European Guides had a lot of information about mountain passes and their suitability, mainly for caravan, although I suppose the same might apply to a motorhome?
Should perhaps add that most of these mountain passes have videos on YouTube which can give an idea of their suitability.
David
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Paul, I would just add that the time of year matters and so does the direction of travel.
My log book says it was 29 th June when we went over the Grimsel, but even then we were driving between snow banks at the top of the pass - it had obviously not been cleared until earlier that month - we were in thick cloud too and there were no views. On that occasion we were heading south - the climb up from the Bernese Oberland side was not a problem but the descent down into the Rhone valley is considerably steeper and more twisting with half a dozen tight hairpins.
But the Stelvio pass is the daddy of them all and if you have already been that way you will easily manage.
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Hi eurotraveller, any info you can provide would be welcome, thank you
I have a 2.3 150bhp fiat ducato base so would think that sufficient, I have followed Google Maps via street view at various locations on these routes & feel confident enough that I won't encounter any problems..... I'm touring, not racing.... even doing the Stelvio in a low sports car I had to take some bends in a wide berth simply due to the extreme cambers or I would have been scraping the front of my car....
thanks for taking the time to reply
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Thanks David, as I said to ET, I'm touring not racing & intend to soak up the views with photo opportunities wherever possible.....
I tend to 'street view' most destinations I go to & you'll be amazed how you can familiarise & recognize places when you actually get there.....
A bit like simulators I guess & I've never played a computer game in my life
Yes, youtube helps also.
Cheers
Paul
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Paul, There are get outs.
San Bernadino has a motorway road tunnel to let you drive under the pass rather than over the top, and the Furka has trains carrying cars and motorhomes (like our Channel Tunnel trains) to take you though the mountain.
But I don't think you want get outs !
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ET,
I'll be travelling from Brienz to Ilanz 2nd week in July, then heading to Lake Como.....
We went to the Stelvio via Fluella Pass on 3rd July last year & there was still snow & a semi frozen lake at the top of Fluella + we were travelling in something a little more nimble than a motorhome.... however it is low & had to take some corners very wide to avoid 'grounding't the front end.... also came across 3 bikes on their sides as they had taken corners so slowly that they had simply lost balance & momentum....
Cheers
Paul
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A quick browse of GoogleEarth and they all look like pretty hard work even if the views are spectacular. Must play havoc with your fuel consumption or brake pads depending which way you are going.
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Now I know why I'm not keen on mountain passes! 😱😱😱
Such a shame the photos don't show in quoted posts! You'll have to go back a page 😂
Edit, not keen is quite an understatement I wouldn't do it on foot, for fear of falling off. Ridiculously dangerous 🤢
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I've done most of them, including the Stelvio, in a motorhome without any problem. It depends when you travel. During the busy periods, prepare for a slow journey, the passes are popular and can carry a lot of traffic, particularly motor cyclists. It is less congested if you travel early morning or late afternoon, but you can still meet a fair amount of traffic. However, they are spectacular and worth the experience. Just drive carefully!
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The trouble is that the more spectacular the view, the less the driver can look at it.
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That's the whole point of stopping & taking in the views
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Hi Paul, We have travelled the San Bernadino-North to South but it was not by choice!
heading for Italy in June 2006 we had got to Luzuerne to find the motorway down the Wetern side of the lake closed and a diversion in place down the Eastern side.
We emerged form a tunnel, with our original route in sight, at Fluelen to be stopped and asked if we were travelling via the Gothard Tunnel.
Yes I said.............No the man said!
He passed me a sheet of paper with the detailed diversion-turn round, head for Schyz, then Chur, then the San Bernadino which was due to a rock fall, that had killed two people after hitting their car.
A diversion of just under 100 miles! It was still closed when we headed home so we came back via the Simplon Pass.
The route was fine, if busy, but very cold and we did get snow at one point but nothing too bad.
Like you I make great use of Streetview and YouTube to suss out routes but if you have any info re the suitability of the Maloja Pass that would be useful.
I did find a video of a VW Golf Cabriolet towing a van over it, which suggested,as I thought,it would not be a problem but it seems to have disappeared.
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Hi Allan & Jean, thanks for your input, we'll be travelling down to Lugano then across to the North of Lake Como so will have no experience of the Maloja Pass, however it also looks great on Google!
+ judging by this screenshot, plenty of room for motorhomes ;-)
After all the planning, what we all need is a free to roam 2021....
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