Nufenenpass

Difficulty points	1028
Length	8.5 mi
Average gradient	8.3%
Steepest segment	11.6%
Total ascent	3714 ft

Reviews (23)

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JonahS65

3 Mo 5.0 via the Climbfinder app

I did this pass on a loop with 4 passes. Started in brig and slowly wound up the valley to ullrichen where I began nufunen pass. Beautiful views down the valley from the last few switchbacks. Descended down the other side and went up the cobbled st gotthard pass and then on to furka pass, down part way turned right up grimsel pass the back down the long descent to brig.

Maargo ^premium

8 Mo 5.0

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: German. Show original

A very beautiful, long and challenging climb in a fantastic landscape. I was there in August and even had snow at the top.

RobinF24 ^premium

8 Mo 4.0 via the Climbfinder app

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: German. Show original

Super long climb. Beautiful scenery, but the Furka Pass and Gotthard Pass are more beautiful.

joanie86

9 Mo 5.0

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: French. Show original

Made as the first pass in the Nufenen, Gotthard, Furka chain. Nice climb initially in the valley with an open view of the mountains. The higher you go, the more you see of the mountains and glaciers. Several switchbacks in the last few kilometres. Magnificent!

Jelleblack ^premium

9 Mo 4.0 via the Climbfinder app

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Dutch. Show original

Relatively quiet compared to the busier Furka and Susten. Beautiful but irregular. The altitude makes it extra tough

Robbe_F ^premium

11 Mo 4.0 via the Climbfinder app

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Dutch. Show original

We left at 7.45 am 'in the morning for this col. It was late June and wonderfully fresh in the valley. The climb is beautiful. We came across a few marmots ourselves. The gradient is fairly steady the whole climb.

BasR ^premium

1 y 4.0

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Dutch. Show original

Left 900am from Ulrichen. The Nufenen pass was my first ascent in the round with the Gotthard pass and Furka pass. The first kilometres through the forest and then follows a beautiful but steep valley that you are to the hairpin turns. The climb stays anywhere between 8 and 10％. Spicy but very beautiful. At the top, a nice pass awaits with a small lake, a café and a shop. Bottles of water are 4 Frank above.

etsius

1 y 4.0

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Spanish. Show original

Hard climb with no breaks. The last 9km have a very constant gradient of over 9％, with very long straights and bends towards the end.
It is advisable to set a pace that can be maintained throughout the climb and take into account the elevation at the end of the pass.
The views are beautiful, especially at the top, although there are other passes in Switzerland that are better in this respect.
The tarmac is very good on this side, but the descent loses a bit of its charm as the concrete blocks make the high-speed traffic quite bumpy.
A pass that is worth doing in combination with the San Gottardo because of the little traffic that both have and, if you have good legs, also with the Furka.

LorenzoGbr ^premium

1 y 4.0

Second climb of the Furka/Nufenen/Gotthard loop.
I found it mentally demanding: the second part is an endless section well over 9％, no soothing panorama to enjoy while climbing, and it was about to rain. You can't guess where the road goes until you're in the last hairpins!

Good restaurant on top, many options to choose from! And fast descent towards Airolo.

larshazendonk

1 y 5.0 01:47:00 (4.8 mph)

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Dutch. Show original

Very nice climb, with stunning views. Especially the last kilometres are very tough, partly due to the height of the pass. Highly recommended, especially with the furkapass, nufenenpass and gotthardpass route.

Vinch76

2 y 4.0 02:07:00 (4 mph)

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: French. Show original

Well ridden, thanks to ride the alpes, perfect weather, raclette at the top....and yes my time is average but after 4 months of cycling I think it's good.

MarcoBardo89

2 y 5.0 01:50:00 (4.6 mph)

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Italian. Show original

Nice climb, steep but steady, with two small moments to catch your breath. The second part, from crossing the small bridge to the summit is a constant climb from 10 to 12％ with very few pieces below 10％.
Tough, but the beauty of the scenery and the tranquillity allow you to climb quickly and well.
Beautiful!

Ildib

3 y 5.0

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Dutch. Show original

Very even but steep climb. Just beautiful. Good dosage and you get up fine. According to tradition, the restaurant upstairs only opens on 1 July. That is something to take into account, because otherwise there is not much. View above is phenomenal with even a glacial lake ala Iceland (Jökulsárlón).

MissTiki

4 y 5.0

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: French. Show original

Made this climb from Ulrichen in June 2021 in pouring rain .... The snow was still present on the roadside.

Stearena

4 y 5.0

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Italian. Show original

Tough ascent with little traffic. Tackled as the third after St. Gotthard/Tremola and Furka, it made itself felt.
Beautiful views at the top and walls of snow even in June.

Cheers

Kevin ^premium

4 y 5.0 01:11:19 (7.1 mph)

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Dutch. Show original

In August, this was the 2nd climb during our Gotthard Challenge. This one creeps in your legs although the percentages never become extreme. Especially in the final kilometers you will be rewarded with beautiful views.

BianchiPeter

4 y 4.0

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Dutch. Show original

Spicy little climb. In climbing points heavier than say Alpe d'Huez.
For me it was the 3rd climb of the day, after the Susten and the Grimsel, and there wasn't much left. I found it the least beautiful of the 4 climbs in the Alpenbrevet (The 4th col was the Tremola over the Gotthard), but still worth the effort.

PelotonDesArdennes

5 y 5.0

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Dutch. Show original

Climbed in July 2019 as part of the stunning Nufenen/Gotthard/Furka/Grimsel loop.
Solid col in a beautiful setting.
A must-do loop for any enthusiast!

Fausto

5 y 4.0

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Dutch. Show original

Great climb! The landscape slowly changes from a forest to a green landscape to a rocky pass. I was a bit surprised to see the windmills on the dam wall in the mountains. At the top you have a nice view, and there is a souvenir shop and a restaurant.

Good to combine with the Gotthard and Furkapass.

Fausto

5 y

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Dutch. Show original

By the way, the photo is of the descent / view to the other side. Here I had to descend (in 2020) on concrete slabs, but that may be better now because they were working on the road ;)

Ildib

3 y

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Dutch. Show original

Downhill is still of poor quality unfortunately. Lots of bouncing, although the first part is better now.

patrickbaert ^premium

5 y 5.0

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Dutch. Show original

Cycled on 26/08/2019 as first climb in the fantastic tour (also recommended by you) Nufenen/Gotthard/Furka.

When leaving Ulrichen in the early morning you first cross the Rhone river and the track of the Matterhorn-Gotthardbahn to then immediately gain height in a steep swing (4 hairpin bends) along deep river gorges through the forest. After a short plateau the valley opens up above the tree line and the gradient does not drop below 8％ to the summit. First of all you have to follow a long, slightly winding road along the mountainside to the bank of the mountain river, which you cross halfway. Followed by 10 hairpin bends up the rock face to the summit. You will see the Griessee dam with the windmills but this is not the end point. Pass height is small mountain lake with beautiful 360 ° panorama slightly disturbed by power lines and poles. You can eat and drink there.

The entire climb is wide road with good asphalt and little traffic. Too bad that there is no indication of the kilometer or bicycle information along the way.

The according to Fabian Cancellara "most difficult climb of Switzerland" (I found it not really that easy) is a wonderful challenge in a beautiful scenery. Absolutely worth the effort!!!

RobertS ^premium

6 y 4.0

This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Dutch. Show original

You start in the forest over some hairpin bends. Once you're out of the forest, you'll see in the distance where you eventually want to go: a beautiful series of hairpin bends in the alpine meadows and then in the rocks. It's not a busy through road, so the pass is pretty quiet. It's also an even climb with few steep outliers. If you are on top you have beautiful views of some very famous Swiss peaks. There is also a restaurant on top with a terrace if you want to drink and eat something. It is in any case less touristy than the Gotthard pass. A very nice round is the combination with the Gotthard pass and the Furka pass. The latter you can also skip by taking the car train under the Furka pass. There is 1 train compartment for cyclists and pedestrians.

Climbing times

5 mph	01:42:31
7 mph	01:12:35
9 mph	00:56:34
12 mph	00:42:30

Road surface condition

93% 7% 0%

Based on 30 votes

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Traffic

65% 29% 6%

Based on 31 votes

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Frequently Asked Questions

Nufenenpass can be cycled from 2 sides. Nufenenpass from Ulrichen is the most popular side, but the summit can also be reached via Nufenenpass from Airolo.

Nufenenpass is a challenging ascent. For this type of climbing, we recommend mountain gearing, specifically a compact system. This means a small front chainring of 34 teeth, combined with a rear cassette where, depending on your level, strength, and experience, you choose a sprocket with 30, 32, or even 34 teeth. Remember that a smooth cadence is always more efficient!

Nufenenpass belongs to the Hors Catégorie, the top category. These are legendary and very tough climbs. A solid cycling condition, experience, and a good climbing gear ratio are essential to maintain a smooth cadence and complete the climb comfortably.

Nufenenpass is 8.5 mi long.

The average gradient of Nufenenpass is 8.3%.

Nufenenpass has a steepest segment with an average gradient of 11.6%.

The summit of Nufenenpass is at 8143 ft.

At a slow pace of 5 mph, it takes about 01:42:31 to climb Nufenenpass. At 7 mph the time is 01:12:35, and at 9 mph 00:56:34. For the fastest cyclists, 00:42:30 is an achievable time.

Nufenenpass is located in the region Valais in Switzerland.

Statistics

Short recap

Photos (39)

Reviews (23)

Climbing times

Road surface condition

Traffic

Frequently Asked Questions

Nufenenpass

Statistics

Short recap

Photos (39)

Reviews (23)

Climbing times

Road surface condition

Traffic

Frequently Asked Questions

Which sides of the Nufenenpass can be cycled up?

What gearing is needed for Nufenenpass?

How difficult is the Nufenenpass?

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What is the gradient of Nufenenpass?

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