Tag Archives: Alpine Drives

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Alpine Drives: Gotthard Pass, Switzerland (4K)

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The Gotthard Pass or St. Gotthard Pass at 2,106 m is a mountain pass in the Alps traversing the Saint-Gotthard Massif and connecting northern and southern Switzerland.

The pass lies between Airolo in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, and Andermatt in the German-speaking canton of Uri, and connects further Bellinzona to Lucerne, Basel, and Zurich. The Gotthard Pass lies at the hearth of the Gotthard, an important north-south axis in Europe, and it is crossed by three major traffic tunnels, each being the world’s longest at the time of their construction: the Gotthard Rail Tunnel (1882), the Gotthard Road Tunnel (1980) and the Gotthard Base Tunnel (2016). With the Lötschberg to the west, the Gotthard is one of the two main north-south routes through the Swiss Alps. Since the Middle Ages, transit across the Gotthard played an important role in Swiss history, the region north of Gotthard becoming the nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the early 14th century.

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Alpine Drives: The ‘Ötztal Valley’, Western Austria

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The Ötztal is an Alpine valley in the western Austrian state of Tyrol. It’s known for its ski areas at Sölden and Obergurgl-Hochgurgl. A stone pyramid on the Similaun glacier marks the site where the mummified corpse of “Ötzi the Iceman” was found. Ötzi Village is an outdoor museum recreating life in the Neolithic era. Mountainside stairs and a suspension footbridge offer close-up views of nearby Stuiben Falls.

Video timeline: 00:00 Ambach, Oetz, Habichen, Tumpen, Umhausen 17:40 Au, Längenfeld, Oberlängenfeld, Huben, Bruggen 33:00 Sölden 41:00 Zwieselstein 50:00 Gurglertal – Untergurgl, Obergurgl

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Alpine Drives: The Susten Pass In Switzerland (4K)

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Susten Pass (el. 2260 m.) is a mountain pass in the Swiss Alps. The pass road, built from 1938–1945, connects Innertkirchen in the canton of Bern with Wassen in the canton of Uri. A 300-metre long tunnel crosses the pass at 2,224 metres. The pass is popular with tourists, especially for the views of the Stein Glacier on the south side.

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Top Alpine Drives: Grimsel Pass In Switzerland (4K)

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The Grimsel Pass is a mountain pass in Switzerland, crossing the Bernese Alps at an elevation of 2,164 metres (7,100 ft). The pass connects the Haslital, the upper valley of the river Aare, with the upper valley of the Rhône. In so doing, and as the Aare is a tributary of the Rhine, the pass crosses the continental divide between the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

A paved road follows the pass, running 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Gletsch to Meiringen. The road is normally closed between October and May, due to the high snowfall on the pass. As it is the only direct road pass between the cantons of Bern and Valais across the Bernese Alps, attempts are made to keep the road open as long as possible with snow ploughs. A PostBus Switzerland service uses the pass several times a day, connecting Meiringen and Oberwald.