clairedavieswriter

Switzerland End to End 2025 – Day 4

Day 4: Disentis to Andermatt, 34.2k, 1,008m climbed

24/7/2025

So was it worth schlepping 5 hours across the country (and back) to see England’s semi-final against Italy? You bet it was. Clearly, the Lionesses didn’t get the memo about a nice easy win, but who doesn’t love a 96th minute equaliser and a winner in extra time? No complaints here. Better still, the following day I secured tickets for the final on 27 July.

In fact the only downside of the trip was that the last part of our return journey involved driving my route today in reverse. There’s nothing like a preview of all the hairpins to heighten the nerves. We thought a gentle evening stroll round the campsite would help:

But even that threw up a reminder of the work to be done – note the altitude in the white square at the bottom: 1,052m, a cool 994 vertical metres below my highest point today

According to the excellent Météo Swiss app (thanks Claire and Harry for the tip), today’s weather looked a bit gnarly. So, what with the climbing, and the prospect of getting wet, I was feeling pretty nervous when I set off at 10.30, having dodged an early storm:

But less than three hours later, and only a little damper, I still had the energy to smile for the cameras:

And a couple of hundred yards later I’d done all the climbing for the day (though NB those clouds):

Once again, the bike nerds among you might like to know that the Oberalppass climbs at an average of 4..4% over 20.7k with a maximum gradient of 10.2%. Here’s the graph from the official start of the climb (though I’d like to point out that I started 5k earlier and 140m lower):

On the way up, I admired the imposing Benedictine monastery of Disentis, where an Abbey has stood since 720. Apparently, the town was of strategic importance in the Middle Ages, due to its location between the Oberalppass – gateway to the nascent Swiss confederation, and the Lukmanierpass – gateway to Italy. And the prince abbot of Disentis was the lord of the Rhine valley.

Today, Disentis is one of the most important centres of the Romansh language, and its Sursilvan dialect in particular, which is spoken by 75% of the population – as we saw on local signs:

But back to the ride. This was a good sign:

Sadly I was just a few minutes too early to catch the iconic shot of the Glacier Express crossing this viaduct:

But the scenery soon made up for it:

Believe it or not, that’s a golf course down there:

And at the top, we were equally surprised to find a lighthouse. Apparently it’s a replica of the one at the mouth of the Rhine, in recognition of the fact that the source of the river is near here:

Having checked Météo Swiss, I took advantage of the presence of Team Midge to change into a more substantial jacket for the descent. Had I known quite how bad the weather was going to be, I would have added more warm layers, switched to winter gloves, or possibly not set out at all.

Suffice to say, I’ve never experienced anything like it on a bike. A 620m descent over 12k, with tight hairpins, long straights and a couple of tunnels, in thick fog/cloud, torrential rain, thunder, lightning and gusty winds. The road became a river, my shoes filled with water, my fingers froze, and my hands cramped with all the braking. To add to the drama, about 2k from the bottom, I was forced to wait in the downpour as three gigantic lorries carrying wind turbine blades negotiated a hairpin bend. I have never been more grateful to reach my destination. It’s a very good job I’d planned such a short day.
And as if to underline that we’re in the mountains, our campsite tonight is literally the car park of a ski lift: