Switzerland · Central Alps · Graubünden
San Bernardino Pass — 2,066 metres on the old Graubünden road
Profile of the San Bernardino Pass — 2,066m in the Swiss Central Alps, the historic summit road above the A13 motorway tunnel, linking Mesocco to Splügen.
San Bernardino is the pass the motorway abandoned. When the A13 tunnel opened beneath the mountain in 1967 it took almost all of the traffic with it, leaving the original summit road empty. For anyone who rides or drives for the climb itself, that is the whole point.
History
The San Bernardino crossing has been a transit corridor since Roman times, when it was known as the Mons Avium. A medieval hospice was founded at the summit by Augustinian monks in the thirteenth century and named for Bernardino of Siena, whose monastic order still gives its name to the pass. The modern summit road was upgraded through the nineteenth century; the parallel A13 motorway tunnel, opened in 1967, diverted through-traffic and effectively froze the old alignment in time.
Riding it
From Mesocco on the Italian-speaking south side the climb runs 29 km up Val Mesolcina, passing the small resort of San Bernardino village before breaking out above the treeline. From Splügen on the north side it is 24 km through the upper Rheinwald. Neither side is brutal, averaging 7-8%, but the top pitches bite above 1,800 metres.
The summit is a broad saddle with a small lake, a chapel, and the old hospice founded in the Middle Ages. Traffic on the old road is light because almost everyone takes the tunnel, which makes this one of the calmer big Swiss passes to ride.
Along the way
- Ospizio San Bernardino — The Gothic-era hospice near the summit, founded by Augustinian monks in the thirteenth century and still standing beside the pass road.
- San Bernardino village — A small Italian-speaking resort at 1,600 metres on the south approach, and the only services stop on the climb.
- Lago Doss del Teo — The small summit lake beside the hospice, a good picnic stop on a warm day.
- Mons Avium paving — Sections of Roman-era paving survive on walking tracks off the modern road, including remnants on the upper south side.
- Splügen Pass — The sister crossing one valley east, another old Roman route that still exists as a minor road.