Col du Grand Saint Bernard
One of the great Alpine passes now functions as a border crossing, between Switzerland and Italy, the Grand Saint Bernard is also the most ancient of all the routes through and over the western Alps. Archaeologists have unearthed strong evidence that humans first passed through and across the Val d'Entremont from the north, following the course of the modern road, as early as the Bronze Age. Over the next 2000 years the likes of Roman troops in 57bc and Napoleon Bonapartes army in 1800 have faced the task of crossing the pass between Grande Chenalette at 2,889 metres and Mont Mort at 2,867 metres.
The road that has since been constructed as the Col du Grand Saint Bernard is now known for the daunting task of climbing it by bike, and you can see why, from its height of 2,469 metres, making it the third highest pass in Switzerland the pass is one of the most famous in the Alps.
Whether from Martigny in Switzerland or lovely, luminous Aosta in Italy, the Col du Grand Saint Bernard is long, relentless and epic. That’s at least how it feels, whether because the echoes of past glories and tragedies fill the valleys and senses, or because the cross-border passes have a certain grandiosity, a prestige that other, even much prettier mountain passes, can’t quite match.