Andermatt is a mountain village at about fourteen hundred metres, in the Urseren valley, a high, wide, treeless basin where several of the great alpine passes meet. The Gotthard heads south to Ticino, the Furka goes west to the Valais, and the Oberalp leads east to Graubünden, and the village sits at the crossing, like a small hub at the centre of a big wheel. The source of the Reuss river is just above, and the water flows north through the dramatic Schöllenen gorge, where the Teufelsbrücke, the Devil's Bridge, crosses the torrent in a spray of mist.
The area has been a transit point for centuries. The Schöllenen gorge, once almost impassable, was opened to traffic by a bridge in the thirteenth century, which made the Gotthard route a major link between northern and southern Europe. A legend says that the devil built the first bridge in return for the soul of the first creature to cross, and that the locals tricked him by sending a goat. In 1799, a Russian army under General Suvorov fought its way through the gorge against the French in one of the most extraordinary episodes of the Napoleonic wars, and a monument carved into the rock commemorates it. The Swiss army has used Andermatt as a fortress for generations, with tunnels and bunkers hidden in the hills, and the village still has a military feel.
More recently, Andermatt has been remade as a luxury resort, with new hotels, apartments and a revived ski area, and the old centre retains its traditional wooden houses. For a rider staying overnight, it is a convenient base for the three passes, with the Tremola, the cobbled old road of the Gotthard, waiting on the Ticino side of the pass. Nights at this height are cold, even in summer, and frost is possible in spring and autumn, so pack warm clothes. The passes are closed in winter, usually from late October to May.
The village has a few shops and restaurants, but fuel can be limited, so arrive with a reasonable tank, and book accommodation ahead in the high season. Altdorf, on the northern side of the gorge, is the nearest larger town, about twenty-seven kilometres away, with a full range of services.
Have a bowl of hot soup and a plate of Alpine cheese at the end of the day, and be glad of the thick blankets.