Stage 1 (11 August 2022): Hasle-Rüegsau - Belp - Schwarzenburg - Plaffeien

The plans for my 2022 tour were not very different from the past years because i still have some road passes to climb in Switzerland. On the one hand these are small, little-known passes, but also passes that you cannot, or cannot easily, ride over with a road bike. This means passes where you either have to go back and forth, or you have to ride on unpaved roads. The start was at Hasle-Rüegsau station in the Emmental, with Löchli and, nearby, Aspi as the first passes. Then Vorderschwendi on another ridge a little further west. This hilly region was beautiful, but the small roads was sometimes quite steep. I then continued westwards, where two small passes awaited me near the Bantiger hill. The first one, Talhöchi, was very nice but quite steep while the second one, Stockerehöchi, had much more traffic.
I was then in the suburbs of Bern and headed south to cross the Aare towards Belp. After this town, i took a small road that turned out to be extremely steep. This was the beginning of the longest climb of the day, which took me to the Gschneit pass. There i took a short break on the terrace of the restaurant. In fact, the mere sight of the drought-browned meadows and pastures was enough to make me thirsty! After this, it was easy to reach the next two passes, Eggacker and Brügglensteig. Then came a nice descent to cross the Schwarzwasser river, but then of course it was necessary to ride up the other side, towards Schwarzenburg. After a slight pass at Pöschen, the road went steeply downhill to another river, the Sense. On the Fribourg side, i climbed up to the Äbnet pass and then headed for its almost homonymous Ebnet. But this was only a diversion, so i headed back south. After Tafers, i chose to ride over Rechthalten, which made me go again through a pass, in Berg. In the meantime it was really hot, but i was already in sight of the goal of the day: Plaffeien.

 

Stage 2 (12 August 2022): Plaffeien - Broc - Les Paccots - Villeneuve

For this second stage, i was able to start at 8 o'clock and still enjoy the cool morning air. I drove towards Plasselb via the slight Sunehalta pass. I then headed south and climbed up a small road that was mostly in the forest. Towards the top, a section was gravel, then the last 500 metres was a path requiring some pushing. I arrived at Auta Chia d'Amont and enjoyed the view over the Charmey valley. The descent was entirely on a good road, narrow and steep until the convent of Valsainte, wider and less steep afterwards. I headed towards Broc, Bulle, then the north-western slopes of the Alpettes mountain. This climb was beautiful but quite hard, with some very steep passages and others not tarmacked. I was able to reach the Pertuis pass, before descending to Semsales. From there, it was a very rolling part towards Châtel-St-Denis, with the passage from the Rhine basin to the Rhône basin at Ayoux.
From Châtel-St-Denis to Les Paccots, it was seriously uphill, then even more so towards the col des Joncs. Nothing attractive at this place in summer. My next goal was to ride over two passes in the region of Les Pléiades. I could have gone back and made a big detour or continued and made a lesser detour via gravel roads, but i took the shortest way, via trails requiring about half an hour of pushing the bike. I crossed the Veveyse de Fégire river by a footbridge before going up the other side. After a few more gravel sections, i reached the Alliaz pass, then a little further on Creux aux Oies. The only thing left for me was the descent to Lake Geneva. But as i was early, i decided to go through the pass of Sonloup, which i had never done before from the Villard-sur-Chamby valley. I finally descended via Les Avants, Glion and the steep road to Montreux. I finished the stage at the end of the lake, in Villeneuve.

 

Stage 3 (13 August 2022): Villeneuve - Chaude - Ecovets - Martigny

From Villeneuve to Martigny, it is not even 40 km, but when you are looking for passes next to the Rhone valley, it can obviously get longer. Already above Villeneuve is the Col de Chaude. With a road bike, it can practically only be done as a round trip. Even if it's not the way i prefer, i wanted to go. After only 1 km of climbing, a sign indicated that the road was closed due to road works a few kilometres further on. Also for bikes? No details, of course. In fact, as it was Saturday, the construction site was at rest and the barriers were put aside. So I was able to enjoy a very quiet ascent on a road that had been largely rebuilt. Counting a few breaks to take pictures, it still took me nearly 2 hours to reach the pass and enjoy the magnificent view on the valley, the mountains in front (in particular the Dents du Midi) and Lake Geneva. The descent was also very nice, but with the steep slope, the brakes were well used.
The other passes of the day could be done as a loop from Ollon. The first one was one of the Forclaz of the region. But the climb continued on a small road to reach the Ecovets pass. It was on the descent, at Chésières, that i joined a road with more traffic. Passing Huémoz, i did not miss the few meters that separated me from the Praz Basset pass. And the descent continued towards Ollon. There i met two cyclists who wanted to go towards the Grand-St-Bernard and we rode together to St-Maurice, after which we chose different routes to Martigny. As this part of the route was entirely in the valley, the wind was a decisive factor. And as the weather was good, the wind was blowing upstream and helped me a lot. So without too much effort i arrived at the stage town of the day, Martigny.

 

Stage 4 (14 August 2022): Martigny - Croix-de-Coeur - Nendaz - Veysonnaz

After three days of sun and warmth, the weather for the fourth stage was overcast. I first rode up to Sembrancher and then Bagnes and Verbier. This resort was alive with two different events. I continued the climb and found a little quieter roads. It was just before 11 o'clock when i arrived at the Croix-de-Coeur. The sky was dark and rain seemed to be coming from the west. So I didn't waste any time before descending to La Tzoumaz. On the other side of the valley, i climbed again to pass above Isérables and continue towards Nendaz. Then came another descent into the Nendaz valley, partly on very chaotic roads, partly even on gravel. The last climb then took me to the resort of Veysonnaz.

 

Stage 5 (15 August 2022): Veysonnaz - La Forclaz - St-Martin - Sion

As the last stage of this tour, i wanted to go up to the Val d'Hérens. To do this, i had to start by descending towards Vex. On the way to Euseigne, i could admire the famous pyramids near the village. Shortly after Euseigne, i caught up with a cyclist who was riding to Evolène. We did this whole part of the route together. I was a bit surprised by the amount of traffic going up, but that was because that Monday was a holiday and a religious festival was taking place in Evolène. Further on, it was quieter. And after Les Haudères, it became steeper. I arrived without any problem at La Forclaz, the last pass of this tour. Of course i took the time to take some pictures of this village and the surrounding alpine landscapes, before riding back down to the valley. Just after a tunnel, i turned right to climb towards St-Martin, which made me stay on the right side of the Val d'Hérens. From Suen, i started a long descent that brought me to Bramois. The traffic was guided differently than i remembered, but i still found my way to Sion, where this beautiful tour in Swiss regions so close but so different ended.

PS / 19.8.2022