Heading over Switzerland’s Magnificent Susten Pass into the Canton of Uri

To the Canton of Uri

You can follow along with our walk using the interactive map above

A couple weeks ago we retraced our steps, heading from Interlaken Ost past beautiful Lake Brienz to Meiringen. Instead of heading to Obwalden as we did a few weeks back, we caught a bus that took us deeper into the Berner Oberland than we have ever gone before.

After twisting and turning for one-and-a-half-hours, we finally summited the mighty Susten Pass over 2000 meters (about 7000 ft) above sea level and entered Switzerland’s incredible central Canton of Uri.

Whether for trade, travel, religion, or conquest, crossing high mountain passes has defined the Swiss experience for millennia. In my mind, high mountain passes are almost as fundamental to Switzerland as chocolate and cheese and like those Swiss pastimes, they are something incredible that you should go out of your way to experience.

While our commute took us nearly 3 hours in total, it was worth the time and effort in spades. We were treated to some of the Alp's most fabulous scenery and a remote adventure like almost no other in Switzerland. I can’t wait to share it with you.

Thanks for joining us!

A PostAuto to Steingletcher and Susten Pass

If you are planning to head somewhere remote on public transit in Switzerland, there is a good chance you will be taking a trip with PostAuto. Born from the original routes of the Swiss Post or postal service, PostAuto is the largest bus company in Switzerland and its yellow busses with a red stripe are ubiquitous across the country.

From Meiringen (incidentally the birthplace of the merengue), just down the valley from Brienz and Interlaken, we caught the first PostAuto bus of the day through Innertkirchen towards Steingletcher and the Susten Pass.

After traversing past the Aare Gorge into Innertkirchen, the bus weaved its way higher and higher into the Alps through a magical forested mountain landscape. The views back down the valley and up to the backside of the famous Titlis in the Canton of Lucerne were spectacular.

Before arriving at Susten Pass, the bus stops at Steingletscher, a rapidly retreating glacier which now sits far back in the valley behind a large glacial lake. Of course, that was not always the case. One hundred years ago, the ice was several kilometers closer to the road and rapid advances of the glacier even forced a re-engineering of the Bernese side of the pass.

From Steingletcher, the bus switches back through open terrain and wiggles its way up the slope towards the pass. The road offers exceptional views of the Steingletcher.

A PostAuto Bus at Fafleralp a few weeks back on our trip to the upper Lötschental

Looking out over the Steingletcher from the Susten Pass Road

There is evidence that the east to west crossing of the Susten pass has been used for millennia but its importance has been consistently overshadowed by the nearby north-south Grimsel and Gottard passes. Even so, as early as the 17th century there was an established route over the Susten that allowed for a thwarted invasion of the Canton of Uri by the Bernese Army in 1712 and a bloody battle between French and Austrian forces in 1799.

It wasn’t until the early 19th century that a proper road was developed over Susten Pass. In 1810, both Uri and Bern agreed to improve the route. Over the subsequent decade, the switchbacks of the old Susten Pass Road were constructed. Between Steingletcher and the pass, the trace of the old road is clearly visible switch-backing its way up towards the pass in front of the glacier.

Military demands preceding World War II resulted in the construction of a new Susten Pass road which opened to the public in 1946 alongside substantial military defenses and a 300 m long tunnel just 35 meters or so below the pass.

Today, the pass road still uses the 1946 tunnel to cut through just below the pass. The views when you pop out on the other side into the Canton of Uri are downright majestic.

Summiting the Susten Pass

While most of our Canton visits have entailed some city life, the Meiental, or Meien Valley, on the Uri side of the pass is as rural as you get in Switzerland.

In the summer, there are only a few regular busses back and forth each day over the pass. Of those, only a couple actually stop in the Meiental making this one of the tricker routes to plan on Switzerland’s otherwise robust public transit network.

PostAuto has operated a service over Susten Pass since the opening of the modern road in the 1940's but, traditionally, this has been a portion of their 'four pass' tourist route which leaves Meiringen for the Grimsel Pass, then heads over the Nufenen and Gotthard passes, before finally returning to Meiringen via the Susten.

You can still do the long four pass route today, but you need to be prepared to spend the better part of an entire day in motion, stopping just a few times. A great option if you have limited mobility but likely a bit tough if you are fidgety like we are.

We opted to stop in the Meiental requiring us to take the shorter bus service between Meiringen and Andermatt which transits the valley just a couple times a day.

Looking down the Meiental from Sustlihütte

The history of the Meiental, with its 50 or so residents eeking by on the valley's steep slopes, is, honestly, rather mundane but the history of the mountainous Canton of Uri as a whole is far more fascinating. Uri was one of Switzerland’s three founding Cantons in 1291 and played an important role in Switzerland’s first victories against the Habsburgs in the early 14th century. Fast forward to the late 19th century and the region played an important role in construction of the world famous Gottard Tunnel.

The steep descent from the pass forces the road to squiggle down the mountain with, frankly jarring, drop offs better suited to the high Himalaya than to Switzerland. If you are on the right side of the bus and are not that keen on heights, best keep your eyes on the landscape, lest you give yourself a minor heart attack like I did.

Luckily, we didn't spend too much time weaving on the bus as we hopped off at Sustenbrüggli to begin our hiking adventure through the Meiental.

Our landing spot at Sustenbrüggli

Climbing to Sustlihütte

In 1911, a couple of decades before the improvement of the Susten Pass road, members of the Swiss Alpine Club exploring the surrounding mountains encountered a spectacular site for a hut at 2257 m on a ridge adjacent to the Susten pass. By 1915, Sustlihütte was born, serving climbers and hikers brave enough to make their way far into this remote landscape.

At the time of its founding, a single 13 km long path from Wassen, at the bottom of the Meiental, was the only access to Sustlihütte. Construction of the modern road expanded the choice of routes and today, there are four marked paths to the hut, none of which necessitate the full 13 km journey.

We started our hike at Sustenbrüggli, where two of the routes to Sustlihütte begin. The first path contours topography into a small side valley known for its bouldering (for the uninitiated, a form of free climbing on large boulders where you place pads on the ground to protect you in case of a fall), before switch backing up the 350 meters (1100 ft) to the hut. The second, more direct route, heads more or less straight up the hill to the hut climbing over some larger rock slabs by way of fixed ladders.

If you follow the blog, you know Corinne and I are not terribly keen on heights, so it may surprise you that we consciously decided to push our boundaries and take the second steeper route.

Let’s be honest, the ladders on the path to Sustlihütte are no via ferrata and they do not require any specialty gear (beyond a sturdy pair of shoes), but it still has a bit more adventure than your typical hiking trail.

As we learned, the ladders are more a convenience than a necessity. The trail later in the day had much steeper and more exposed rock faces with absolutely no protection.

From the small restaurant at Sustenbrüggli, we followed the track around some large boulders and past the hut’s supply gondola which transports goods up from the road to the hut, a ubiquitous sight in the Canton of Uri (so Corinne tells me).

From there the path pretty much heads straight up towards the hut on a steep grassy slope. As you climb, the views looking down on the pass road and the Meiental open up as does your view into the side valley with its spectacular cliffs and remnant glaciers.

Looking up at Susten Pass above Sustenbrüggli

Looking up the side valley just above Sustenbrüggli

The four ladders along the route are affixed to slightly sloping rock faces and make for a fun climbing experience that is not too scary (even for us weenies). The route isn’t wildly exposed but a fall from any of the ladders would still cause a lot of damage, so please, if you choose to do this route, be careful.

Ladders on the path to Sustlihütte

After about 40 minutes of climbing, we topped out at on a bench in the valley wall and the picture perfect Sustlihütte. It wasn’t quite time for lunch when we arrived at the hut, but the terrace was far too inviting not to at least grab a drink, relax a bit, and take in the magical views.

The unbelievable luxury of full-service restaurants in the middle of mountains has not been lost on me, but I have to tell you, it’s really really nice. I have started to get used to it...

Want a beer but don’t want to carry it up the hill? The hut has your back. Forgot your sandwich back at the house? No worries, they will serve you a full cooked meal (albeit for a bit of a markup – we are in the middle of nowhere after all). Desperately need a bathroom? Loose the trowel, many of these huts even have running water!

Honestly though, the huts and the incredibly comprehensive public transport system that allow you thru-hike without backtracking are what make Switzerland an absolute paradise for hikers. A place like almost nowhere else on earth and we feel incredibly lucky to call it home.

Views of and from Sustlihütte

A Fantastic Mountain Landscape

After relaxing at Sustlihütte with an Apfelschorle (a sparkling apple juice - our drink of choice in the mountains), we continued along a contouring path down the Meiental.

Along the path we passed several climbers making their way up to the high peaks, sheep bounding their way across the steep meadows munching on grass (and trying to steal our lunch), and traversed the last remains of last winter’s snow. Just plain lovely.

The granitic gneiss basement rock here offers a bit of a different experience from much of Switzerland where limestone, which lies above this rock, tends to dominate.

Views from the Panorama trail past Sustlihütte

The high path ends at a panoramic view point on a steeply decending ridge into the next side valley.

Beyond the gorgeous views, stunningly wide cracks can be found all over this ridge, evidence of a deep-seated bedrock landslide which has yet to completely form. Fortunately for travelers on the road below, satellite imagery suggests that this instability faces the side valley rather than the Meiental but it nonetheless highlighted the dynamic nature of these rugged mountains.

From Sustenbrüggli, the pass road continues to drop down with the Meiental valley. As a result, even though we lost some elevation on our higher path, the final stretch down to the road requires over 200 meters more descent than the climb up to Sustlihütte.

From the view point, the trail (if you can really call most of it that) left our legs shaking. Think of an uneven staircase with meter high steps and you wouldn’t be far off from reality. It was honestly a bit of a journey but I think it was all worth it for the stunning landscape.

The steep path down to the bottom of the Meiental

By the time we reached the bus stop near the bottom of the valley, we still had about an hour left until the next bus. Rather than sitting on the side of the road listening to motorcycles roaring over the pass, we decided to cool off our weary legs with a stroll down the valley on the old pass road closer to the valley bottom.

The old road hugs the topography much more closely than the current road and, today, serves more or less exclusively as a walking path and farm track. Following the gentle grade past cow pastures and over deeply incised streams, it was easy to imagine carriages and the first cars making their way up this path. It is really a far stretch from the modern road up above.

Eventually, we passed through the tiny and traditional agricultural hamlet of Färnigen, just adjacent to a spectacular waterfall on the far side of the valley. From here, we broke off the old path and made our way back up to the modern pass road.

The old Susten Pass road down the Meiental

Our beautiful bus ride back to Meiringen stopped for a break at Steingletcher giving us just enough time to pop into the cheese shop and watch the cows being milked before heading back down the valley to Meiringen. The perfect end to a spectacular day in Switzerland's mountain Canton of Uri.

We hope you enjoyed our visit to the Meiental. If you did, check out the other articles in our One Year: 26 Cantons series where we visit all 26 of Switzerland’s Cantons in 2024 and stay tuned for additional articles on our Swiss travels every week!

Until next time, gute Reise, and feel free to leave a comment on one of our social media platforms!