Oberalp Pass in Central Switzerland
[oberalp, pass, switzerland, mountain, alp, railway]
Taken 15:04, 17/11/2009
Panoramic photo by
Thomas Bredenfeld
Google EarthThe Oberalp Pass (in the local Romansh language: Alpsu) is located at the border between Disentis (Canton of Grisons (Graubünden)) and Andermatt (Canton of Uri) in the central region of the Swiss Alps near the famous Gotthard pass. With 2,044 meters a.s.l. the pass is crossed by a road and the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn. The railway (partly operated as a rack railway) is running during the whole year and is protected by tunnels and galleries from snow and avalanches. The street was already closed when this panorama was captured around mid of november. In this time between autumn and winter season the pass is nearly completely abandoned. The military barracks nearby the station, the cold, the silence and the solitude reminds of some remote siberian mining locations.
