Sustenpass.
Distance
45 km
Duration
1 day
Climb
1,200 m
Rating
4.8 / 5
521 reviews
Sustenpass.
Between Wassen (Uri) and Innertkirchen (Bern canton) at 2,224 m — the most sinuous of the Urner Alps trinity alongside Grimsel and Furka, and the least-touristed. A tunnel bores through the summit ridge; take the old road to the top for the full experience. Open late May to October.
Quick facts
SurfacePaved
Distance45 km
Days1
Total climb1,200 m
DifficultyModerate
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The route.
Wassen, UriStart · Village at the foot of the Sustenpass on the Uri (east) side. The three-tiered church on its promontory is famously photographed from the Gotthard motorway below. The road begins climbing steeply from the valley floor.
Meien ValleyScenic Point · The classic Swiss Alpine valley approach — tight gorges open into broad glaciated U-valleys, with the road climbing through meadows above Wassen.
SteingletscherPhoto Spot · The Stein Glacier used to reach the road here. Today a retreating tongue of ice remains above a glacial lake. The contrast of blue-grey water, white ice, and rock is extraordinary.
Sustenpass SummitMountain Pass · 2,224 m — take the old pre-tunnel road to the actual summit building (the tunnel is a boring shortcut). Mountain rescue station and a small café open in summer. Views of the Sustenhörner glaciers are definitive.
Gadmen ValleyScenic Point · The Bern-canton descent through the Gadmental — a narrower, more technical valley than the Uri side, with a series of tight switchbacks and rocky overhangs.
InnertkirchenEnd · Western terminus in the Haslital valley. Innertkirchen is the junction for the Grimsel and Susten passes — adding the Grimsel creates one of Switzerland's great two-pass loops (55 km more to Gletsch).
From riders.
521 verified rides logged on this route.
4.8/ 5
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
521 verified rides
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