Ulrichen is the first village you meet when the Nufenen Pass road leaves the Rhône valley, and the valley it sits in is one of the quietest and most characterful in Switzerland. This is the Goms, the upper reach of the Valais, a long, flat-bottomed trough just a kilometre or so wide, with the young Rhône winding through it and steep forested slopes on both sides. The villages are clusters of dark larch houses, burnt almost black by the sun, perched on stone stilts to keep the mice from the grain, and the church towers are slender and white.
The Goms is also the home of cross-country skiing in Switzerland. In winter, dozens of kilometres of trails run along the valley floor, and the Goms marathon is among the best known races in the country. In summer the valley is a haven of hay meadows, wildflowers and quiet. The people here are Walser, descended from a medieval group of German-speaking settlers who moved across the Alps and who have a reputation for toughness and independence, and the local dialect is among the oldest forms of Swiss German.
The ride up the valley from Brig or Fiesch is an easy, relaxed run along the Rhône. The road is smooth and well surfaced, with gentle bends, and there is little traffic apart from the occasional tourist or trucker. The mountains close in as you go, and the sky seems larger, and the air gets cooler. The road to the Nufenen leaves the valley at Ulrichen, climbing steeply through a series of hairpins to a high alpine plateau.
Ulrichen is small, with just a few hundred residents, but it has the essentials, including a place to eat and a guesthouse. Fuel may be available in the valley, but options are limited, and the sensible plan is to arrive with a full tank from Brig, the nearest large town, or from the main road. The pass is the highest in Switzerland to lie entirely within its borders, and there are no services on it.
Weather in the Goms is often fine when the weather elsewhere is poor, because the valley lies in a rain shadow, and it is known for its sunny climate. Mornings are crisp, afternoons can bring thunderstorms, and the road to the pass is closed in winter, normally from about October to June, depending on snow.