Detour #198: Braving the Bernina Pass to swanky St Moritz, Switzerland
St Moritz might be best known for its Cresta Run bobsleigh track, but the bends of the Bernina Pass are just as exhilarating.
It’s the winter playground of the wealthy. Where one-percenters play polo and cricket and attend classic car concours events on the frozen lake.
In spite of sitting at an altitude of nearly 2,000 metres St Moritz saw Switzerland’s very first electric light switched on in 1878 – an exercise which must have cost a fortune. The town went on to pioneer ski schools, the aforementioned bob racing, and even alpine golf. They certainly know how to enjoy themselves in this part of the alps.
For Detourists, though, all the fun takes place outside the town on the mesmerising mountain passes that sandwich St Moritz.
Approach from the south-east and you’ll ascend through a rapid succession of switchbacks on the Maloja Pass, from the north-east it’s the Julier Pass, and from the south-west it’s the brilliant Bernina Pass.
It’s a road I now know rather well, having driven it no less than six times over the course of a single weekend.
With accommodation prices at an alpine high in St Moritz during its annual classic car show “The ICE” the only affordable option is in Poschiavo, some 25 miles away over the pass.
My first run is an eye-opening experience. It’s dark so I’m already peering into the night as far as the headlights of the Morgan Plus Four I have for the trip will allow. And that’s just on the straight parts leaving St Moritz.
Beyond the ski lift station at Pontresina the curves start coming and, as I climb higher, a dense fog appears. For the next 30 minutes I’m driving near-blind and, increasingly, relying on the Google map on my phone to gauge where the road goes. My rear-view mirror, meanwhile, is lit up by the high beams of a car behind. At the first hint of a straight a well-worn VW Passat flies past. The Morgan has the power but I lack the local-driver’s knowledge to keep up and it rapidly disappears into the distance.
By the time I reach Poschiavo I’m drained and dreading the prospect of tackling the road again at first light.
However, over the course of a further five runs that angst turns to an adrenaline rush. In daylight when the clouds clear it is a brilliant road, rising and falling through open corners tackled at well over three times the speed of that first foggy trip. There are tighter hairpins, too, where I drop down a couple of gears and fire the Plus Four out the other side.
And the views down into the valley are magnificent, perhaps even more so when more cloud rolls in to fill the void between the mountains. Conditions up above 2,000 metres are changeable, and I encounter sunshine, snow, and thick fog, sometimes all within the space of a few minutes.
That means that every drive is unpredictable, and I have to be fully focused. Even when I think I know what’s around the next corner the alpine weather throws something unexpected into the mix. Thankfully the Plus Four is the first-ever Morgan to be fitted with electronic stability control and it’s very effective. As an experiment I try switching it off on some fresh powder and find the rear of the car drifting round even in third gear. It’s entertaining but to fight this oversteer on every corner would be exhausting and I soon turn the safety systems on again.
Being able to relax a little means I can take in the surroundings better, from the eerily isolated hotels that are scattered along the pass to the sudden appearance of a railway alongside the road and the ensuing short car vs train sprint to the station.
Of all the many Swiss passes I’ve driven the Bernina is now a firm favourite. It’s open year-round and the mountains are at the most majestic in the white of winter, but a return trip in the warmth of summer for a completely clear run is beckoning.