The Nufenen Pass crosses a linguistic border within Switzerland. While German is spoken in the Upper Valais, the official language in Airolo is Italian, as is the second name of the Nufenen, Passo della Novena. Before it was opened to road traffic, there was only a mule track, which the Valaisans used in the past for the salt trade. Unfortunately, the visual pleasure is spoilt by numerous power lines and massive steel supports. This is particularly noticeable on the eastern ramp.
Nevertheless, the Nufenen should be on the list of every pass collector. If you start from Airolo, you should make the most of the early morning hours, as the sun is soon beating down mercilessly on the barren Val Bedretto, where the road winds along the southern slope in the last third of the ascent. But even though the Nufenen demands a lot from racing cyclists with more than 1,300 metres of altitude on the 22-kilometre-long eastern side, there are no scary steep sections to be expected during the climb. Up to kilometre eight, the gradients are even well below the five per cent mark. After that, the climb levels out at eight per cent over long stretches.
With the exception of one eleven per cent steep section, the motto of evenness applies to the ascent on the Nufenen - also for the western ramp: there you have to do without a roll-in phase as in Val Bedretto; instead you climb over 14 serpentines between the basin of Alp Ladstafel and the top of the pass. But be careful, the Nufenen can also be really tough! Namely, if you include it in one of the traditional round tours over three or more passes.
You can find the entire passport profile as a PDF download below.
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Pass profile: Switzerland: Nufenen Pass
