Stage 8: Andermatt - Ulrichen

Stage 8 of the Glacier Bike Tour leads along the river Reuss crossing the golf course of Andermatt before you follow the Rhone Route N°1 until Visp. After just a few kilometers, you have to stop in Hospental, the first village in the canton of Uri that has been recognized as «Best Swiss Village». Further, the neighboring Zumdorf is the smallest village in Switzerland. Number of residents? 4! 

The Glacier Bike Tour crosses the vast Ursern plain heading towards Realp and thus to the eastern side of the Furka pass. The sight of serpentines winding through the mountainside is pretty impressive – so impressive that in 1964 it became shooting location of a memorable James Bond scene, where Sean Connery chases Goldfinger in his Aston Martin. 

It’s a steady climb and quite challenging for anyone without electric support – an uphill of 900m on 12km… Also mind that temperatures are dropping, and it can get seriously cold up here, even in summertime. Glancing back, you see the beauty of the Ursern Valley, the mighty Gotthard massif and the Oberalp pass. Glancing up, you can catch a glimpse of the historic Furka steam train's cogwheel track, winding its way through a tunnel on the almost 18km stretch between Realp and Oberwald beneath the summit – a journey filled with pure railroad nostalgia. 

As you traverse the pass, you're not just crossing from canton Uri to canton Valais; you're also crossing the North Sea-Mediterranean watershed. Until now, our journey has led us along the young Inn, we followed the Albula, and traced the Rhine to its origin. Now, descending a few hairpin bends at 2,200m, we encounter the source of the Rhone, a river destined to become France's most water-rich. Emerging from the Rhone glacier in the far north-east of Valais, its receding glacier tongue serves as a visible marker of climate change, once reaching much farther into the valley. Don't miss the ice grotto with its glacier nature trail, offering a unique perspective on this landscape. 

Opposite you find the iconic Belle Époque Hotel Belvedere, which is now vacant. Sean Connery and Gert Fröbe also cruised past here in Goldfinger. Back then it was still a dusty gravel road. One who had it even harder crossing the pass, was the great German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who battled through the deepest mid-November snow in 1779.

The view has changed a lot over the centuries as well. Yet, it is still incredible archaic and majestic with the towering 4,000m peaks of the Valais and Bernese Alps, the jagged rock pyramids of the Finsterhorn and Lauteraarhorn, the mighty Mischabel group (the second largest mountain range in Switzerland) and the Weisshorn to the southwest. On the right, you see the bends of the Grimsel Pass, the north-west link to the Bernese Oberland.

In this scenery that brings a sense of awe, we are cruising down the zigzag curves to Gletsch. The air gets warmer, and the rugged alpine landscape gives way to lush forests, eventually revealing the expanse of Obergoms. Encircled by the Furka, Grimsel, and Nufenen passes, the valley is surprisingly flat – this explains why Ulrichen is a major cross-country skiing and biathlon hub in the Alps. In summertime, however, it is first and foremost the gateway to the south. If the temperatures are nice, seize the opportunity to venture to Lake Geschinen (after dropping your luggage) for a refreshing swim, a bit of sunbathing, or maybe to rent a SUP for paddling spin. 

• At the Galenstock Alp right on the Furka pass you find a cute shop offering dairy drinks and homemade cheese. 

•  Near Ulrichen you find the origin of the cholera - the delicious cholera. The Gommer Cholera is a tasty blend of apples, mountain cheese, leeks, and onions, served at the Tenne (with 13 Gault Millau points) or at the Hotel Walser in Ulrichen. 

• At the charming Bürli-Schiirli farm store, you can snag bread, wine, dried meat, Valais paste, cheese specialties, jams, and a variety of other local treats. 

• Zumdorf is Switzerland’s smallest village with 4 residents. 

• Back in the Ice Age, the Rhone Glacier reigned as the Alps' largest icy giant. Stretching westward from the Rhone below Lyon, it spanned a colossal 365 km, jutting out 90 km beyond the Alps' edge, with a depth reaching around 2,000 meters. 

• Obergesteln is built almost exclusively on and from stone. Following a fire in 1868, which almost completely destroyed the village, the Valais government decreed that it be rebuilt in stone. 

At age 30, Johann Wolfgang Goethe braved the snowy Furka on his second Switzerland trip. Near the pass, a wall bears his words: "I notice that I make little mention of people in my writing; they are also less remarkable among these great objects of nature, especially when passing by." Goethe, drawn to the mountains, conquered Gotthard thrice and visited Andermatt three thimes. In 1797, he returned, expressing a "wondrous desire to repeat and rectify the experiences." For Uri and Valais, he declared, "Of all the regions I know, it is the dearest and most interesting.” 

Since the completion of the pass road, both it and the Rhone Glacier have been a tourist magnet. In 1914, 19,102 individuals were counted traveling over the pass in stagecoaches. From 1921, the coaches were replaced by postal buses. 

The cogwheel steam locomotives – restored and maintained by volunteers – run on the licensed rail link of the Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke (DFB) steam railroad through this captivating landscape. On the journey you traverse the Wiler steel girder bridge over the Reuss, head through tunnels, and cross the Steffenbach gorge. In Tiefenbach, the steam train stops for water before continuing over stone bridges to Furka station, where the locomotives have to be turned around. The descent begins through the Furka summit tunnel and leads past the Rhone Glacier down to Gletsch. 

Info: The train operates Thu-Sun; bicycles are only accommodated on diesel trains with a reservation required. The diesel train ride is included in the Andermatt guest card (20.- CHF).  

A cholera you will love: This Valais dish is a covered cake with potatoes, apples, leeks, onions and, of course, mountain cheese. The word cholera doesn't trace its origins to the Greek word for "bile" but rather to "coal": back in the days, the cake was baked by placing it in a pot on hot coals. For a taste of freshly made cholera, head straight to Maya's in Obergesteln.  

The Astoria in Ulrichen is a bike hotel at the foot of the Nufenen Pass. It provides amenities like a charging station, bike wash, and a handy repair corner. 

You can find more accommodation in the region here.