Grimsel Pass from Innertkirchen: 27 km of steps, gorges and lakes

The Grimsel Pass climbs from the Haslital in the Bernese Oberland to 2,164 m on the border with Valais, and it is one of the great Swiss climbs: granite gorges, three reservoirs and a little lake at the top that sits on the watershed between the North Sea and the Mediterranean. From Innertkirchen our track climbs 26.8 km and about 1,550 m at an average of 5.7%. That average hides a climb built in steps, with one hard block in the middle. Here is how it rides, how to pace a long day, and how to train for it indoors.

The climb, in four parts

MySwitzerland describes the north side as starting with a gentle climb before the road enters gorges that grow narrower as you go, with granite slabs overhanging the road. The numbers from our track fill in the detail.

• Innertkirchen to Guttannen: the steps. The first 8 km alternate short steep pitches of 7–8.5% with easier stretches of 1.5–3.5%. It never settles, which makes it easy to ride too hard. Then the road eases off through Guttannen at about 9 km, with two kilometres at 2–4%.
• The middle: steady climbing. From about 10 km to 16 km the gradient settles at 5.5–7%, with one easier kilometre at 4%. This is the rhythm section of the climb, and the place to eat and drink before the hard part.
• 16–20 km: the hard block. Four kilometres at 6.9–8.7%, the steepest sustained climbing on the route. If you have overdone the first half, this is where you find out.
• The reservoirs to the top. After 20 km the road runs almost flat for a kilometre beside the Räterichsboden reservoir, the first of the three lakes MySwitzerland lists, before the last six kilometres climb at 4.7–7.9% past the Grimselsee to the Totensee and the pass.

How to pace a long, stepped climb

Most riders take between an hour and three quarters and three hours. The difficulty is not any one gradient, but the length and the changes of pace.

• Ride the steps by effort, not speed. In the first 8 km, keep the steep pitches at the same effort as the easy ones and let your speed drop. Start at 75–80% of FTP. Our guide to pacing a climb with power explains why the even effort wins.
• Save something for 16 km. The hard block comes two-thirds of the way up. Arrive there at a controlled effort and you can hold 85% of FTP through it. Then use the flat kilometre by the reservoir to recover.
• Gearing. The gradient never goes far above 9%, so a compact with a 30 or 32 at the back is enough for most riders.
• Bring a light and a jacket. Lucerne Tourism's tour recommends a bike light, and warns that light snow is possible on the parts above 2,000 m, so check the forecast before you go. Cycling in cold weather has the kit list for the descent.

A road of lakes and dams

The Grimsel road passes three reservoirs on its way up: the Räterichsbodensee, the Grimselsee and, right at the top, the small Totensee, which MySwitzerland places directly on the watershed between the North Sea and the Mediterranean. They are reservoirs of the Oberhasli hydropower plants. According to Grimselwelt, run by the power company KWO, the dam wall built at the Grimselsee about a hundred years ago was the highest in the world at the time, and a new Spitallamm dam has been in operation since 2025. The Grimsel Hospiz, where KWO's dam tours start, can be reached by car and by post bus.

MySwitzerland also promises the views: the Finsteraarhorn, Schreckhorn and Wetterhorn reflected in the lakes on the way up.

When to go, and what to watch for

• Season. MySwitzerland gives the pass as open from June to October, and Lucerne Tourism notes it is closed in winter. Check the pass status before an early-summer or autumn ride, because snow can come early at this height.
• Over the top. The road continues down the Valais side to Gletsch, where MySwitzerland notes the road to the Furka Pass branches off. Lucerne Tourism's Innertkirchen–Gletsch tour is 31.97 km. Turn round at the top, or carry on and make it a crossing.
• Make it a loop. From Gletsch the Furka leads on, and with the Susten Pass back to Innertkirchen it makes a big three-pass day. Mountain pass route planning helps you work out the timing.
• More Swiss climbs. Our Tremola guide covers the cobbled side of the Gotthard, not far away.

Ride it in Moveee Indoor

The route on this page is the real road from Innertkirchen to the pass, with its height at every point. In Moveee Indoor your smart trainer reproduces the gradient as you ride, so the steps low down and the hard block above 16 km come exactly where they do on the mountain. The world around you is built from map data of the real place. What the Grimsel teaches you indoors is discipline over changing gradients: holding the same effort when the road steepens and eases, for two hours or more.

Ride it once early in your build, then again before your trip, and compare the 16–20 km block on your saved rides. Prefer your own device? Download the GPX above and load it into any app that rides GPX files.

The short version

26.8 km and about 1,550 m from Innertkirchen to the Grimsel Pass at 2,164 m. Ride the steps low down by effort, save something for the four hard kilometres after 16 km, and recover by the first reservoir. Go between June and October, take a light and a jacket, and ride it on your trainer first.