Furka, Grimselpass and SustenPass trip and pictures
09-05-2015, 03:05 PM
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Furka, Grimselpass and SustenPass trip and pictures
Skip the text if you just want to see the pictures.
My wife and I took a weekend trip to Switzerland. We left out of Stuttgart and drove down to Lucern the first night. I got to stretch the Porsche's legs a bit on the derestricted Autobahn. We had multiple runs up to and over 255 KMPH. We arrived at Lucern around 1600 after a late lunch. Lucern is a charming city with an old town center. It has quite a few cafes and a nice covered bridge right in the center which is picturesque. We stayed in the center of town at the Astoria Hotel. Overall great experience although as many of you know Switzerland is fairly expensive.
The next morning we set out for some driving with the intent to do the loop of Furka, Grimselpass and Sustenpass. I had hoped to meet up with a fellow Rennlister but it didn't work out. We arrived at the base of Furka around 0930, Sunday morning. The weather was all over the place all day. We had periods of beautiful sun, rain, fog and even some snow. For any of those that don't know Furkapass is the road where the famous car chase in "Goldfinger" was filmed. It's consistently rated as one of the top driving roads in the world as is Sustenpass. They are up there with Stelviopass in terms of bucket list roads.
We made frequent stops along the way for pictures and just to take in the scenery. One notable stop on Furka was to explore the glacier du Rhone. It was amazing. It is massive and visitors are able to walk inside the glacier for about 200 meters. It's almost like you are on a different planet on this large glacier.
After that brief stop we finished the pass and moved on to Grimselpass. It was much like Furka without the elevation changes. Plenty of switchbacks and hairpin turns. I had plenty of opportunity to work my heel-toe skills. Quick word on that, I need to up my game. I am extremely comfortable going from 4 - 3rd heel-toeing but need a lot of work down to 2nd - 1st. Despite the lack of Chris Harris skill I sure did feel like him all day.
Once we finished Grimselpass we stopped for lunch at the base of Sustenpass. It was a good spot to rest and the food was great. It was a traditional German/Swiss restaurant.
Sustenpass was up next. The weather at this point had changed for the worse. It turned foggy and wet. It was snowing at the top but just briefly. We actually had some good company on this pass. A 458, R8, Testarossa and Maserati joined us for the run. Plenty of curves and some straits let me stretch the car out a little more. It wasn't quite as technical as Furka. I felt more relaxed on this pass although it may be I had just gotten comfortable at this point.
I worked the car all day. I explored the RPM range on the car and gave it a good work out. My car performed flawless all day. I was very pleased with it's performance. It's plenty of car for my skill level right now. On the passes the speeds are brisk but it's not a flat out top speed road as there are too many turns. I think the fastest I got the car was 100ish on Sustenpass in the long strait. All in all it was an amazing experience. I'm getting short on my time in Germany and this was a bucket list item for me. I highly recommend doing these runs if you are able. It's a once in a lifetime experience.
FurkaPass:
GrimselPass:
SustenPass:
My wife and I took a weekend trip to Switzerland. We left out of Stuttgart and drove down to Lucern the first night. I got to stretch the Porsche's legs a bit on the derestricted Autobahn. We had multiple runs up to and over 255 KMPH. We arrived at Lucern around 1600 after a late lunch. Lucern is a charming city with an old town center. It has quite a few cafes and a nice covered bridge right in the center which is picturesque. We stayed in the center of town at the Astoria Hotel. Overall great experience although as many of you know Switzerland is fairly expensive.
The next morning we set out for some driving with the intent to do the loop of Furka, Grimselpass and Sustenpass. I had hoped to meet up with a fellow Rennlister but it didn't work out. We arrived at the base of Furka around 0930, Sunday morning. The weather was all over the place all day. We had periods of beautiful sun, rain, fog and even some snow. For any of those that don't know Furkapass is the road where the famous car chase in "Goldfinger" was filmed. It's consistently rated as one of the top driving roads in the world as is Sustenpass. They are up there with Stelviopass in terms of bucket list roads.
We made frequent stops along the way for pictures and just to take in the scenery. One notable stop on Furka was to explore the glacier du Rhone. It was amazing. It is massive and visitors are able to walk inside the glacier for about 200 meters. It's almost like you are on a different planet on this large glacier.
After that brief stop we finished the pass and moved on to Grimselpass. It was much like Furka without the elevation changes. Plenty of switchbacks and hairpin turns. I had plenty of opportunity to work my heel-toe skills. Quick word on that, I need to up my game. I am extremely comfortable going from 4 - 3rd heel-toeing but need a lot of work down to 2nd - 1st. Despite the lack of Chris Harris skill I sure did feel like him all day.
Once we finished Grimselpass we stopped for lunch at the base of Sustenpass. It was a good spot to rest and the food was great. It was a traditional German/Swiss restaurant.
Sustenpass was up next. The weather at this point had changed for the worse. It turned foggy and wet. It was snowing at the top but just briefly. We actually had some good company on this pass. A 458, R8, Testarossa and Maserati joined us for the run. Plenty of curves and some straits let me stretch the car out a little more. It wasn't quite as technical as Furka. I felt more relaxed on this pass although it may be I had just gotten comfortable at this point.
I worked the car all day. I explored the RPM range on the car and gave it a good work out. My car performed flawless all day. I was very pleased with it's performance. It's plenty of car for my skill level right now. On the passes the speeds are brisk but it's not a flat out top speed road as there are too many turns. I think the fastest I got the car was 100ish on Sustenpass in the long strait. All in all it was an amazing experience. I'm getting short on my time in Germany and this was a bucket list item for me. I highly recommend doing these runs if you are able. It's a once in a lifetime experience.
FurkaPass:
GrimselPass:
SustenPass:
Last edited by KwaH; 09-07-2015 at 06:55 AM.
09-07-2015, 06:57 AM
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09-07-2015, 11:47 AM
#6
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I've done a similar drive twice in the last few years. It's great! Glad you enjoyed it and got to take your Porsche on such a special drive. Nice photos!
09-07-2015, 03:41 PM
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Sounds like a wonderful trip with a highly capable tool!
The Furka and the glacier du Rhone look expceptional...thanks for sharing the images...safe travels...
The Furka and the glacier du Rhone look expceptional...thanks for sharing the images...safe travels...
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09-07-2015, 06:10 PM
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Incredible pictures, beautiful!
09-07-2015, 07:56 PM
#11
Furka, Grimselpass and SustenPass trip and pictures
Thanks for stopping for photos and sharing them. It must have been hard to slow the car down! Fantastic trip!
Brings back memories of 20 years ago with my wife, daughter, and mother in law (not done in a 911!). Wish I had a digital camera back then.
Brings back memories of 20 years ago with my wife, daughter, and mother in law (not done in a 911!). Wish I had a digital camera back then.