Switzerland - Grimselpass

Being gluttons for punishment, the next ride we did was over the Grimselpass. At 7,093 feet this is quite a bit higher than Grosse Scheidegg and we were hoping to get up into the snow ... we were not disappointed!!
We started this ride from Innertkirchen. The climb is 17.4 miles long. It doesn't have the regular steep sections as are to be found on Grosse Scheidegg but nevertheless its length makes it very challenging. In the last third of the ride you come across a couple of huge dams that just face you as an imposing wall as you approach them. As soon as I saw the first one I shouted over to Pat "Look at that dam!!", Pat's reply was classic: "Never mind the dam, what about that road!!!" - pointing to the large number of hairpin bends ahead as the road rose quickly to go up and over the hill by the dam. At 6,463 feet there is a restaurant which we stopped at for a break and a welcome drink of water (temperatures in the valley below were around 25 degrees). We were tempted to give up at that point as we were already higher than we'd achieved at Grosse Scheidegg, but Pat to her credit was having none of it and made the last part of the climb to the summit non-stop. I was a little way behind her, struggling to keep with the pace she was setting and thinking just how fantastic she was doing and what a great, and memorable, achievement it was for both of us. Here are few photos taken during the ride: