What do Roger Moore, Bernie Ecclestone, Gunter Sachs and Elizabeth Taylor have in common? They have all spent holidays in Gstaad. That's why some call the small mountain village, which belongs to the municipality of Saanen and after which the holiday region is named, a posh holiday resort. But unlike in glamorous St. Moritz, many celebrities appreciate the fact that they have peace and quiet from autograph hunters in the region's main tourist resort. Road cyclists travelling through the region from Gstaad also find peace and tranquillity. Shortly above Saanen, the motorised traffic falls silent and the ascent to the Mittelberg Pass begins at an easy pace. There are no farmhouses along the way, just a few empty stables. No horses neigh, no dogs bark, and even the stream murmurs quietly. However, this inexplicable morning atmosphere only alienates the cyclists until they reach the pastures at the pass. Up there they hear cowbells ringing, and shortly afterwards they see their bearers, the proud Simmental cows, and breathe a sigh of relief because life is stirring on the Mittelberg. On the descent, to the left of the road and below a rocky massif called Gastlosen, lies the hamlet of Abländschen: a few stately houses, an inn and a church. Abländschen, Gastlosen, these are confusing names as if from a mysterious register.
Pilgrims at the place of power
A few kilometres later, the road to the Gestelen Pass leads to the next secluded spot. Enchanted hospitality reigns there too, with small forests and lush flower meadows growing on the high hills all around, giving the landscape a lovely character. Cowbells ring again from the pastures, the birds sing, the flowers and the resin are fragrant. The legends of dwarves and fairies must have originated here. Is it any wonder that esotericists from all over Europe make a pilgrimage here and half an hour further up to the Seeberg, a well-known place of power?
The unfinished pass
Even non-esoteric cyclists could do with the energy for what follows. The descent from the Gestelen Pass into the Simmental is narrow, abrupt, almost endless and more strenuous than the ascent. Fresh cow pats have to be negotiated and several hundred metres of gravel track carefully negotiated. As we descend, there is hardly any time to enjoy the stunning mountain panorama. The next beauty awaits in the valley behind Zweisimmen: The old, barely travelled road up to Saanenmöser, lined with wide, flower-covered farmhouses to the left and right. Soon, however, it becomes difficult to enjoy the pretty scenery, as the little road now leads insanely steeply into the sky. But in Saanenmöser, the climbing comes to an end, as does the seclusion: on the main road, we float comfortably in the traffic down to Saanen, where we have to leave the Saanenland in the direction of Valais for our sharpest round trip, which, as we soon see, is incomparable in its own way. We start off with a lively ride over the harmless passes of Pillon (1,546 m) and la Croix (1,776 m). The Col de la Croix was opened in 1971, making it the second youngest road pass in Switzerland. From here down into the Rhone valley, caution is advised as there are tracks for regional trains on some sections of the road. At the bottom, after a noisy stretch on the main road towards Martigny, the flat Rhone cycle route follows the river until shortly before Sion. This is followed by the final stretch, the 26-kilometre ascent to the Sanetsch Pass (2,252 m). The pass is unfinished: Although the road leads from the south over its hill and another four kilometres on the other side down to Lake Sanetsch, on the border of the canton of Bern. However, the northern access road was never built on the Bernese side. This pleases cyclists because the Sanetsch has no transit traffic and is one of the most magnificent Alpine passes for connoisseurs. But how do road cyclists without a road get back to the Saanenland? By cable car! Man and bike float down from Sanetschsee to Gsteig - but only until 5 pm. If you arrive at the mountain station later, you can descend into the valley for two hours with your bike on a mountain path.
Information about the Gstaad region
Journey
Railway: From Frankfurt via Basel directly to Bern, from Stuttgart and Munich via Zurich. Bicycle transport on ICE trains within Switzerland only in a bag. To take bikes on other trains across borders, you need an international bike ticket for 10 euros (including a parking space). For EU guests: half-price multi-day offers for train journeys within Switzerland at www.swisstravelsystem.com. The day pass for bikes on trains and postbuses is available from the equivalent of 12 euros. Details at www.sbb.ch
Continue via Spiez and Zweisimmen to Gstaad or Saanen. From Frankfurt/Main in around seven hours with at least three changes.
Car: Motorways (annual vignette 38.50 euros) lead from Basel, Schaffhausen, Constance and Bregenz via Bern to Wimmis, from there on the main road 11 for around 45 kilometres to Saanen, and a little further to Gstaad.
Info & Accommodation
Gstaad Saanenland Tourism: Phone 0041/(0)33/7488181, www.gstaad.ch
On the website you will also find information and routes including GPS data for road bike tours in the region.
Gstaad: Posthotel Rössli, telephone 0041/(0)33/7484242, www.posthotelroessli.ch
Double room with breakfast from 168 euros.
Saanen: Gstaad Saanenland Youth Hostel, telephone 0041/(0)33/7441343, youthhostel.ch
The modern building made of wood and concrete is just a few minutes' walk from the village centre. The price per person, including breakfast, is from 48 Swiss francs in a shared room and 124 Swiss francs in a double room.
Camping beim Kappeli, telephone 0041/(0)33/7446191, www.camping-saanen.ch
Two people in a tent for the equivalent of 26 euros.
Bike service
Saanen: Bikesport Reuteler, phone 0041/(0)33/7445133, www.bikesport-reuteler.ch
Maps
"Neue Reisekarte Schweiz", 1:200,000, Hallwag-Verlag 2014; 18 euros.
VCS cycle maps no. 15 "Gruyère - Montreux - Gstaad", no. 16 "Bernese Oberland West - Simmental" and no. 20 "Bas-Valais - Sion", all 1:60,000, Kümmerly + Frey, 26 euros each
Bike festival
On both occasions, cyclists share the roads with motorised traffic.
Mountain king
The Vintage Bike Festival takes place in Gstaad at the end of August. There are several rides to choose from, ranging from a flat 20 kilometres to 103 kilometres and 2,400 metres in altitude. Information at www.bergkoenig-gstaad.ch
Gruyère Cycling Tour
This popular two-wheeled fun runs in September between Charmey and Saanen over the Jaun, Mittelberg, Pillon and Mosses passes in two versions: 76 kilometres/1,073 metres in altitude and 115 kilometres/1,917 metres in altitude. Information at www.gruyere-cycling-tour.ch
Our tours in the Gstaad region
Tour character
The green hills around Gstaad are lovely, and the nearby Mosses and Pillon passes are gentle. A much sharper discovery tour leads over the four passes of Mittelberg, Jaun, Gestelen and Saanenmöser, mostly on quiet roads. The ascents from the Rhone Valley to the Hongrin reservoir (Tour 2) and to the Sanetsch Pass (Tour 3), including a finale with a rarity value: you descend by cable car.
Tour 1: Small names, great passes
100 kilometres, 2,750 metres in altitude, max. 22 percent gradient
The Jaun Pass (1,509 m), which connects the Gruyère region of Fribourg with the Simmental in the Bernese Oberland, may still be familiar to some racing cyclists, but Mittelberg (1,633 m) and Gestelen Pass (1,851 m)? Never heard of them? Then it's about time, because the two passages with a maximum gradient of 16 per cent lead beautifully along narrow roads over alpine meadows (a few hundred metres on fine gravel at the Gestelen summit) and offer magnificent views of the Bernese and Vaud Alps. The steepest (short) climb (22 per cent) is at the end of the tour, on the cycle path just before Saanenmöser (1,279 m), the transition between Zweisimmen and Saanen.
Tour 2: Visit to the canton of Vaud
119 kilometres, 2,500 vertical metres, max. 18 percent gradient
The route through the French-speaking canton of Vaud, which borders the Saanenland to the west, first leads over the gentle Col des Mosses (1,445 m), from where you hurtle 18 kilometres down into the Rhone Valley to Aigle (413 m), the headquarters of the World Cycling Union. For the next 14 kilometres, a narrow, up to 18 percent steep, panoramic road (view of Lake Geneva!) climbs 1,140 metres in altitude. It climbs first through vineyards, later through a 500 metre long, dark tunnel, swings upwards over alpine meadows and 47 numbered bridges along the Hongrin reservoir back to the road to the Col des Mosses; the 66 metres in altitude to the top of the pass are taken in flight. Via Les Diablerets, the route climbs to the Col du Pillon (1,546 m), the western side of which eats up a few more metres in altitude (almost 400 m) before descending 17 kilometres to Gstaad, first steeper and then flatter from the beautiful village of Gsteig.
Tour 3: The unfinished
140 kilometres, 3,080 metres in altitude, max. 15 percent gradient
The long, difficult loop around the glaciated Les Diablerets mountain range leads over three passes. The first two, Col du Pillon (1,546 m) and Col de la Croix (1,776 m), are not too difficult with 500 and 600 metres in altitude. This is followed by a long descent into the Rhone Valley, down to an altitude of 413 metres. The subsequent 40 kilometre long, flat approach to the Sanetsch Pass can be exhausting in the summer heat. The crowning finale is peppered with short, up to 15 per cent steep ramps: 1,750 metres in altitude to the Sanetsch (2,252 m) first lead through vineyards, then through mountain forests and finally over alpine meadows. After a short descent and a small climb, the pass road ends just before the Valais/Bern cantonal border. A cable car that transports bikes floats back down into the Saane valley - but stops operating at 5 pm. If you arrive later, you have to descend into the valley on foot along a mountain path.
Downloads: GPS data: Switzerland, Canton of Bern
