Detour #196: Plains, trains and automobiles to the Simplon Pass, Switzerland
We don’t normally write about train journeys at Detour, but when said railway takes you and your car to one of the best mountain passes in Switzerland we’ll make an exception.
To be quite honest it comes as a total surprise to arrive at Kandersteg and discover that the road ends. In its place is a rather weather-beaten locomotive ahead of a long line of open carriages at the gaping mouth of a tunnel.
At this point it’s worth explaining that navigating the Swiss Alps in the winter requires a bit of planning as many of its most famous passes are closed. I’d duly visited the official AlpenPasse website and found out my originally-anticipated route over the Grimsel Pass was a no-go, so instead I’d have to head south west, over the short and unremarkable Brunig Pass to Interlaken and then turn due south at Spiez.
I clearly hadn’t planned that carefully as I had no idea that that this new itinerary would involve a railway journey, albeit a short one. An unexpected additional strain on my credit card of 27 Swiss Francs later and I’m in the queue to board.
This is no fancy Eurotunnel. The entire operation wears the distinct colour of corrosion, a burnt orange that doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Still, dozens of other motorists are jostling for position so I duly take my place between the flimsy-looking steel barriers and we set off into the blackness of the Lötschberg tunnel.
For 16 minutes the train trundles through total darkness, the only light coming from passengers’ mobile phones as, bizarrely, there’s a solid 5G signal throughout.
Emerging some 15km later in Goppenstein having passed straight through the belly of the Bernese Alps, it takes mere moments to unload and be on my way under the power of internal combustion again.
Power is something I’m not short of as the Morgan Plus Four I’m driving has 255bhp from a two-litre, twin-turbo BMW engine. It might look like a classic, but this is a very modern Morgan, with a lightweight aluminium chassis and even an eight-speed automatic gearbox. On the long autoroute drive across France to get to this point it’s been a remarkably easy and efficient ride. A little noisy and draughty at times, but steadfastly reliable and swift.
Now, as I push on into the hills, I’ll get to find out whether it handles like a 21st century sports car as well.
It’s as I leave the valley just beyond Brig, turning right to begin my ascent to the snow line that it quickly becomes clear that the Plus Four is made for the mountains. The wide turning circle, which can make parking a bit of a wrestle, is no longer an issue as the car’s attitude can easily be adjusted on the throttle. Even with its electronic stability control (a first for Morgan) activated, the rear tyres will chirp on the exit of a bend. Switching it off allows for a mini drift and a handful of opposite lock. With the engine set to Sport Plus and the transmission in manual it’s all accompanied by a wild array of pops, crackles and bangs from the exhaust which reverberate off the mountainside.
Reaching the grand Hotel Kulm-Bellevue which stands in an almost Shining-like isolation I’m well out of the relatively enclosed twists and turns of the ascent and into a vast open landscape between the peaks. Now the corners come less often and less sharply for a delightfully flowing stretch of road that allows me to soak in the views and breathe in the fresh mountain air.
There’s nothing like driving a roadster in the chill of winter, wrapped up against the elements and, with the luxury of heated seats and a powerful blower, this is how a Morgan is meant to be driven. With the top up there’s a cosy claustrophobia about the cabin, but with the roof down and nothing but the endless sky above I truly feel a part of this glorious winterscape.
I pass the Simplon Hospice built at the summit height of nearly 2,000 metres under the orders of Napoleon and the even older Altes Spittel which served the mule track that preceded this road by centuries, and then gently weave into Simplon.
The onward journey to the Italian border takes me through tunnel after tunnel, alternating between the light and the dark in an almost hypnotic fashion. It’s not the most spectacular ending for this trip, but more alpine adventures will soon follow.
ROADBOOK
CLASS:mountain pass
NAME: simplon pass
ROUTE: kandersteg to Domodossola
COUNTRY: switzerland-Italy
Distance: 75 Miles
No longer a main route, this fair weather alpine adventure leads to the epicentre of Swiss mountain driving.