Magnificent Crossing of the Lucendro Pass

Wednesday July 18, 2018 -- On Wednesday we went up to the Gotthard Pass. Raw, empty, a rocky wasteland of incredible beauty... every step forward more stunning than the next...

This was Plan A from the weekend before, when the weather wasn't so good and we walked the Viamala Gorge instead. Good decision to wait, because Wednesday was a glorious day, we could not have asked for better weather. And while the valley bottoms languished in the heat, we waded through snow and wore jackets. This excursion will go down as one of my favourites. 

The St.Gotthard Massif is the major divider of northern and southern Switzerland, through which the Swiss have built 15-km long train and vehicle tunnels, and most recently at 52 km the longest train tunnel in the world, in order to provide faster access to the South. Previously, travelers had to cross at the Pass to which also some incredible streets have been built.

We didn't stay at the Gotthard Pass (2106m), but walked up to the dammed Lake Lucendro, then over the Lucendro Pass (2532m) and high above the Bedretto Valley, then descended to the highway that goes up to the Pass from the South. It was a long hike, steep on both sides (descent especially!), but the views West to the Nufenen Pass and South into the Leventina Valley... and the first glimpse of the old Tremola highway. Cannot be surpassed.

We did worry about the snow, though. Approaching the Gotthard Pass by bus, and seeing all the snow on the flanks where we were headed... but it turned out we didn't have to go back. The few snow patches we had to cross were manageable... Thousands of years back when these passes were the major crossings, the original planners of these trails (some of which are laid out with rocks to look like actual roads) knew to place the trails where the snows melt the fastest and crossings could take place as soon as possible in the spring....

Oh, and an important fact: The area just below the Lucendro Pass is the source of the mighty Reuss River which flows North to join the Rhine River near the German border....

Start of our hike at the Saint Gotthard Pass, heading to the Lucendro Pass. It took us over two hours to get there, though (more like 2.5).

This is the Lucendro Dam. Hard to believe that up there is a beautiful lake, and higher still many small lakes

 

In just a few minutes we're up at the lake level

Lago di Lucendro. Our goal is the valley at the back, on the left, and the amount of snow did cause us some concern...

Looking back past the Lucendro Dam to the Saint Gotthard Pass

After walking to the back of the lake, we climbed another 350m altitude to the Lucendro Pass, then across a steep mountain flank, where we were surprised by snow

The hike up to the pass was actually not difficult

Fascinating roads way up here indicate that this was also used as a crossing road

The few snowy patches we had to cross were easy enough to navigate

Most of the remaining snow is left over from avalanches

Only another 15 minutes from here to the pass

Looking backwards to where we came, it is difficult to explain what a powerful feeling this landscape triggers... in the very center of the photo are two people...

Even in this barren rocky landscape, plants find their way through

More remnants of an early road

And arrived at the pass, what a feeling of achievement! Our trail continues past those snow patches to the small saddle beyond.

Goal achieved!! Passo di Lucendro, 2532m above sea level. Our final goal is Belvedere, 1 hour 40 minutes to go, but it actually took us about 2 hours (not counting 2x 30-minute breaks!)

First order of business, a well-deserved picnic lunch and 30 minutes pause at the pass

With careful navigation, these snow patches weren't too difficult to cross, although you wouldn't want to slip

All the way from the pass, we kept getting better and better views into the Bedretto Valley, all the way to the Nufenen Pass

Once we reached the little saddle, we got a) this spectacular view all the way down the Bedretto Valley to the Nufenen Pass in the West....

...b) this stunning scene straight ahead to the East, to the Sella Lake (also a dammed lake, also a hike we plan to do this summer).... AND ....

... c) this equally spectacular view into the Leventina Valley to the Southeast. (Below is the curve of the modern road up to the Pass, that is where we will catch our bus).

This final ridge to the road was a lot further and more difficult to walk down than it looks...

 

(Video):  The old Tremola Road, all cobblestoned, right up to the Saint Gotthard Pass. It was awesome as we turned the corner and saw this amazing picture in a small opening in the hills....

Another engineering marvel: The old Tremola Road from Airolo up to the Pass on the South side of the Saint Gotthard Massif. We got this first glimpse in a small opening between the hills

Modern Day Fortress: This entire area is replete with military defenses

Another more open view of the Tremola Road, all the way up to the Saint Gotthard Pass where we started our hike about 6 hours earlier.

And this is the modern road from Airolo to the Saint Gotthard Pass

Happy to see the bus (which was late, and later held up by a stupid horse-drawn coach carrying tourists down the old road... we almost missed our connection in Airolo). By this time, I was pretty ready to head back home!

Our hike was 12 km, our walking time was about 4 hours, 45 minutes. We were up here for 6.5 hours total. This map also shows the old Tremola Road in Blue. 

As an aside: This gorge is called the Schöllenenschlucht (Schöllenen Gorge) and is on the North side of the Gotthard Massif. They are forever working on this road that descends from Andermatt to Göschenen. They have to set up some pretty hefty scaffolding to do this....