The Klausenpass is a road that you only really understand once you are on it. It runs for nearly fifty kilometres between Altdorf in Uri and Linthal in Glarus, crossing a ridge at 1,948 metres, and unlike many Alpine passes it feels like a real journey from one world to another, from the green terraces of the Schächental to the broad, high pastures of the Urnerboden and then down into the Linth valley.
In the 1920s and early 1930s the Klausen was the site of one of Europe's best-known hillclimb races, the Klausenrennen, in which the leading drivers of the day raced up the road in cars of terrifying power and little safety. The races ended before the war, but the hairpins and rock cuttings that crowded the spectators still feel dramatic. Today the speed limits are modest, and the road is mostly shared with cyclists and cattle, particularly on the high plateau, where cows wander across with no concern for traffic.
The Urnerboden, near the top on the Glarus side, is said to be the largest alpine pasture in Switzerland, a broad flat valley bottom where hundreds of cows spend the summer and a few farmhouses cluster along the road. It belongs to the canton of Uri even though it lies over the ridge on the Glarus side, a quirk that tells you how old pasture rights count for more than the lines on a map. The bends on the Linthal side are numerous and tight, with good views of the waterfalls that pour off the steep cliffs.
The pass is closed through winter and normally opens in late spring, so check the dates. Mornings are quieter than afternoons, and the light on the Schächental in the early sun is lovely. A coffee at one of the small restaurants near the summit is a good way to pause before dropping toward Glarus.