Albula Pass (West side)
Distance: 21.80 km
Elevation Gain: 1303 m
Elevation Loss: 3 m
Difficulty:
1055 (Hard)
FIETS Index: 7.90 FIETS
Avg Grade: 6.07 %
Max cat climb: HC
Min elevation: 1007 m
Max elevation: 2309 m
Ride Category:
Epic Climb
From Filisur in the Albula valley, the road over the Albula Pass climbs to 2,312 m and over to the Upper Engadin, in Graubünden, Switzerland. This side is the biggest challenge of the Engadin Radmarathon’s long route. The Tour de Suisse first crossed the pass in 1983 and had been over it 13 times by 2022.
This ride starts at Filisur and climbs through the Bergünerstein, a rock barrier in the gorge. At the end of the 17th century Bergün paid two stonemasons from Thusis to cut a road through it, the first road in Graubünden built with gunpowder. Between Bergün and Preda the railway needs spiral tunnels and viaducts to gain height, while the road climbs directly up the valley. In winter this stretch becomes a sled run. Above Preda the road passes Lai da Palpuogna, voted the most beautiful spot in Switzerland in a 2007 television poll, and climbs on to the pass.
