At the top of the Grimsel the world feels stripped to essentials: grey granite, a patch of black water, a pale sky and the wind. The pass reaches 2,164 metres on the border between the cantons of Bern and Valais, and the high point itself is a modest saddle with a small lake, the Totesee, and a handful of buildings. The bigger picture, with its glaciers and peaks, is spread out around you in every direction.
What is surprising is how much history is packed into this bare place. The route has been used since at least the Middle Ages, and for centuries it was a trade path between the Bernese Oberland and the Valais, with mule trains carrying cheese, wine and salt. Armies crossed it too, and in 1799 French and Austrian forces fought around the pass during the Napoleonic wars, which is the source of the name of the small lake, according to local tradition. Today the traffic is bikes, cars and cyclists, and the air smells of cold stone and diesel.
Looking south, the road begins its descent toward Gletsch in a series of tight hairpins, and at the bottom the Rhône glacier gleams in the distance. Looking north, the road runs along the Grimselsee and down the Haslital, a steep glacial valley with waterfalls and old wooden villages. The sensation of being on the roof of the region is strong, and the sound of running water follows you down either side.
For a rider coming from the Innertkirchen direction, this is the high point of the day. There is nothing for fuel here, so fill up at Innertkirchen or Meiringen if you are coming from the north, and at Oberwald or Brig from the south. Bring warm gloves, since even a summer morning can be close to freezing at this altitude, and check the pass is open before you start. Spring snow can linger into June, and the first autumn storms can shut the pass in October.