Orwell Wheeler's Tackle the Swiss Alps

Twelve Orwell members headed to Ticino last week for a tour of the Swiss Alps, 523 km in five days, taking in many of Switzerland’s highest Alpine passes.

On the trip were: Barry Greene, Brian Colfer, David Claes, Dick O'Brien, Dominic Cooney, Ian Devlin, John Cogavin, Jonathan O'Brien, Mark Mulcahy, Owen O'Flaherty, Ronan McGoldrick and Shaun Kelly, ably guided by Matteo Cigala and Marine Lenehan.

Day one began from Bellinzona in the Italian speaking region of Switzerland. The main obstacle of the day was 36km ascent of the Lukmanier Pass (1,916 m) to Sedrun. Along, steady drag through forested switchbacks, it opens out beautifully near the top.

Day two saw the lads tackle the Oberalppass (2,029 m) and the Sustenpass (2,196 m). The Oberalp is short and sharp ,straight out of Sedrun. The Susten is the reason people put Switzerland on the list, threading under glaciers before a long, technical descent into Meiringen.

Day 3 was arguably the most scenic day of the trip, a 114 km loop, climbing Grosse Scheidegg (1,940 m) under the north faces of the Eiger and Wetterhorn, then down through Grindelwald and along the lakes at Interlaken and Brienz. Along the way, the group passed the Reichenbach Falls early on, where Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty had their final encounter.

Day 4 was the shortest at 86 km and the steepest per kilometre: the Grimselpass (2,153 m) and Furkapass (2,382 m) back to back, with only a short descent between them. The Hotel Belvedere sits on one of the Furka hairpins, instantly familiar to anyone who has seen the James Bond film Goldfinger.

Day five was the grand finale, 129 km, over the Nufenenpass (2,454 m), the high point of the trip, then the up the steep cobbled hairpins of the old Gotthard Pass before a long, sweeping descent back into Ticino