WEBVTT
00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:21.359
Now here's something most people don't know.
00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:30.160
The Forca and Grimsall Every Alps road trip list tells you to drive the big three, you know, the Seusten, Grimsall, and Forca, back to back in one day.
00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:34.320
Now nobody ever tells you which one is actually worth your time if you're short on it.
00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:38.479
Three completely different passes, three completely different characters.
00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:46.320
Tunnels and glaciers views, torquoise reservoirs, and the actual road from that most famous James Bond film, Goldfinger.
00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:50.079
So which of these legendary passes actually deserves the hype?
00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:54.159
I drove all three in this 2026 911 Cabriolet.
00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:56.399
And by the end of this video, I'll rank them.
00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:01.119
Not on scenery, but on what actually matters from the driver's seat.
00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:05.200
Now quick orientation, because this genuinely confused me in the moment.
00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:10.400
When you're driving, it's not obvious where one pass ends and the next one starts.
00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:12.239
There's no dramatic line on the road.
00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:14.480
Alright, here's the chain from town to town.
00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:29.519
We left and climbed and crossed the sous, and then we came down uh into Harrington, and from there we climb straight into the Grimson, and then down the other side into Glenge, and then from Gletsch we climb straight into Forca finishing in rail.
00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:33.840
Three passes, four towns, one continuous day, and one round driving.
00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:37.599
Now this chart shows you each one's length and location for easy reference.
00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:42.000
And by the way, I apologize to the Swiss for my pronunciation of all of those names.
00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:44.000
So quick context if you're new.
00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:46.159
I'm a PCA national track instructor.
00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:49.840
This is a rental car, and this is part of my Alps driving tour.
00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:51.040
Let's get into it.
00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:52.400
All right, the Susten.
00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:54.640
That's the one that was actually built for cars.
00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:56.799
Now, here's something most people don't know.
00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:00.159
Forca and Grimsle both started as mule tracks.
00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:04.560
So Susten was designed for cars from day one in 1945.
00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:06.159
You feel the difference immediately.
00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:14.960
The sight lines are better, the hairpins are more consistent, and the 11 tunnels turn this into the most varied drive experience of all three.
00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:16.960
Susten is the one that eases you in.
00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:23.599
Now leaving Vussen, there are no switchbacks or hair pins for surprisingly long stretch, just long flowing climbs.
00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:25.120
Then you're into tunnels.
00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:33.680
Several short ones cut right through sections of the mountain, and a couple of them are open on one side, which is unlike anything I'd ever driven before.
00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:38.000
You're in a tunnel, but half of it just open air beside you.
00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:40.719
Part way up, we climbed straight into the clouds.
00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:45.120
And as we kept climbing, you could watch the landscape change in real time.
00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:49.199
I mean, there is fewer bushes, less vegetation until it's just rock.
00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:58.960
Now, right about at the halfway point is the Steinglechter restaurant, and it might be the single most authentically Swiss Alps place we stopped at on the whole trip.
00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:02.159
The lunch was, you know what, it was genuinely incredible.
00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:08.719
By the time we left, the scenery had already become noticeably more barren than what we'd left behind back in Vassen.
00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:12.000
Now my take on the Susten is it's a group pass.
00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:19.439
It's wide and well engineered enough that driving with other cars around you, you know, it's genuine it's genuinely comfortable.
00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:03.199
The danger factor is moderate, not the road itself, but the tunnels and weekend bike and car traffic.
00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:04.720
But was it my favorite?
00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:06.160
We'll get to that a little bit later.
00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:12.079
Grimsell trades hair pin drama for something none of the other passes in this trip actually offers.
00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:16.000
Three turquoise glacier reservoirs stacked up on the mountainside.
00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:19.439
This is the pass where you stop the car more than you actually drive it hard.
00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:22.800
If you only have one amazing picture in you today, stop and take it here.
00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:28.399
As a road, it's wide, well engineered, and honestly a little less demanding than the Forca or the Susan.
00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:31.839
Several sections near the top have been newly repaved.
00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:36.240
And it showed this was by a clear margin the best surface of the three.
00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:38.639
Traffic was the lightest of the day here too.
00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:42.240
And the sight lines you know, they were genuinely excellent.
00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:49.199
You could see far enough ahead to know whether it was actually safe to pass, which isn't definitely something you can't say about every alpine pass.
00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:55.439
My take here was it was another group friendly pass, wide, busy in spots, but it was manageable.
00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:26.959
You know, rather than the road itself.
00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:31.519
Now would be a great time to subscribe.
00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:33.519
The Forca Pass is the famous pass.
00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:40.720
Now the Forca is barren, genuinely the starkest landscape of the three, and that's exactly what makes it very exciting.
00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:48.000
There's almost nothing to look at except rock sky and that amazing road itself, which somehow makes every curve feel bigger.
00:08:32.159 --> 00:08:36.399
It doesn't matter what angle you approach it from, it looks absolutely incredible.
00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:14.480
And it's definitely for a reason.
00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:16.080
A part a lot of people ask about.
00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:20.799
It was used in the movie Goldfinger.
00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:27.519
And there's an actual sign bend near the summit on the Uri side toward Rial, known as James Bond Curve.
00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:29.279
So, how do you actually find it?
00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:30.399
Well, it's not a guess.
00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:37.759
There's a small lookout and a parking area right at the bend with its own informational signage, just a short drive, like I say, from Real.
00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:39.360
You don't need to hunt for it.
00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:41.759
You'll know it when you see it at the pull-off.
00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:45.679
Now, my take on the forca is the one that I'd call a convoy friend.
00:09:45.919 --> 00:09:48.240
Wide enough to drive comfortably as a group.
00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:28.639
You know, what you're after.
00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:33.039
Midday if you want the shot, dawn or dusk if you want to dodge those post bus.
00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:34.639
The danger factor is moderate.
00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:38.559
Tight hair pins, and you're sharing the road with that same post bus.
00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:44.639
When it comes to those buses, your best bet is to pull over to the right and stop and just to let it go by.
00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:49.440
When it comes to the danger factor, a few things were consistent across all three passes.
00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:54.399
There are a lot of very fast local petrol heads who know these roads intimately.
00:11:54.559 --> 00:12:02.960
And even faster motorcycles that will pass you close to the center line with real confidence because they've driven the exact curve a hundred times.
00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:03.840
You haven't.
00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:05.600
Drive like it and let them buy.
00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:12.720
And about those little concrete posts along the edge of the road, those ones are marking where the pavement ends and the drop begins.
00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:15.039
They won't do much to save you if you go off.
00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:17.360
They're mostly just markers, not barriers.
00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:22.000
On stretches where there's a real guardrail, you feel the difference immediately.
00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:26.320
On those stretches where it's just those little posts, you sense that difference too.
00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:28.720
Now here's the honest, slightly surprising part.
00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:31.279
Driving all of this was far more than exciting.
00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:34.080
But I was surprisingly not fearful at all.
00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:35.519
Part of that is the pace.
00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:40.960
Every one of these passes is driven at genuinely low speeds, nothing like the Autobahn at all.
00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:49.440
And part of it, I'll credit directly to my track instructor background, reading the road, respecting blind corners, and never assuming the lane ahead is clear.
00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:53.120
So if you only have one day for the big three, here's my actual ranking.
00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:55.679
Most photogenic, by far the Grimzel.
00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:56.720
No contest.
00:12:56.960 --> 00:12:59.039
Most famous, and it earns it the forka.
00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:03.759
But the best pure driving road of the three, for my money, is definitely the Susten.
00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:09.440
It's the one built by engineers who actually thought about the driver, not just the destination.
00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:12.639
And all of those tunnels, you know, they're super cool.
00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:17.279
For me, that's number one of seven passes and one glacier road on this trip.
00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:22.399
And so far, Susten is my early leader for the best drive of the whole week.
00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:24.000
Let's see how long that lasts.
00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:26.159
Now, if you're enjoying this series, subscribe.
00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:30.480
There's a lot more of this trip coming, and you can check out all of the videos right here.
00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:31.759
Be sure to comment below.
00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:32.879
I read everyone.
00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:21.359
Now here's something most people don't know.
00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:30.160
The Forca and Grimsall Every Alps road trip list tells you to drive the big three, you know, the Seusten, Grimsall, and Forca, back to back in one day.
00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:34.320
Now nobody ever tells you which one is actually worth your time if you're short on it.
00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:38.479
Three completely different passes, three completely different characters.
00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:46.320
Tunnels and glaciers views, torquoise reservoirs, and the actual road from that most famous James Bond film, Goldfinger.
00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:50.079
So which of these legendary passes actually deserves the hype?
00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:54.159
I drove all three in this 2026 911 Cabriolet.
00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:56.399
And by the end of this video, I'll rank them.
00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:01.119
Not on scenery, but on what actually matters from the driver's seat.
00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:05.200
Now quick orientation, because this genuinely confused me in the moment.
00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:10.400
When you're driving, it's not obvious where one pass ends and the next one starts.
00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:12.239
There's no dramatic line on the road.
00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:14.480
Alright, here's the chain from town to town.
00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:29.519
We left and climbed and crossed the sous, and then we came down uh into Harrington, and from there we climb straight into the Grimson, and then down the other side into Glenge, and then from Gletsch we climb straight into Forca finishing in rail.
00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:33.840
Three passes, four towns, one continuous day, and one round driving.
00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:37.599
Now this chart shows you each one's length and location for easy reference.
00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:42.000
And by the way, I apologize to the Swiss for my pronunciation of all of those names.
00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:44.000
So quick context if you're new.
00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:46.159
I'm a PCA national track instructor.
00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:49.840
This is a rental car, and this is part of my Alps driving tour.
00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:51.040
Let's get into it.
00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:52.400
All right, the Susten.
00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:54.640
That's the one that was actually built for cars.
00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:56.799
Now, here's something most people don't know.
00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:00.159
Forca and Grimsle both started as mule tracks.
00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:04.560
So Susten was designed for cars from day one in 1945.
00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:06.159
You feel the difference immediately.
00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:14.960
The sight lines are better, the hairpins are more consistent, and the 11 tunnels turn this into the most varied drive experience of all three.
00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:16.960
Susten is the one that eases you in.
00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:23.599
Now leaving Vussen, there are no switchbacks or hair pins for surprisingly long stretch, just long flowing climbs.
00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:25.120
Then you're into tunnels.
00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:33.680
Several short ones cut right through sections of the mountain, and a couple of them are open on one side, which is unlike anything I'd ever driven before.
00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:38.000
You're in a tunnel, but half of it just open air beside you.
00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:40.719
Part way up, we climbed straight into the clouds.
00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:45.120
And as we kept climbing, you could watch the landscape change in real time.
00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:49.199
I mean, there is fewer bushes, less vegetation until it's just rock.
00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:58.960
Now, right about at the halfway point is the Steinglechter restaurant, and it might be the single most authentically Swiss Alps place we stopped at on the whole trip.
00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:02.159
The lunch was, you know what, it was genuinely incredible.
00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:08.719
By the time we left, the scenery had already become noticeably more barren than what we'd left behind back in Vassen.
00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:12.000
Now my take on the Susten is it's a group pass.
00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:19.439
It's wide and well engineered enough that driving with other cars around you, you know, it's genuine it's genuinely comfortable.
00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:03.199
The danger factor is moderate, not the road itself, but the tunnels and weekend bike and car traffic.
00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:04.720
But was it my favorite?
00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:06.160
We'll get to that a little bit later.
00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:12.079
Grimsell trades hair pin drama for something none of the other passes in this trip actually offers.
00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:16.000
Three turquoise glacier reservoirs stacked up on the mountainside.
00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:19.439
This is the pass where you stop the car more than you actually drive it hard.
00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:22.800
If you only have one amazing picture in you today, stop and take it here.
00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:28.399
As a road, it's wide, well engineered, and honestly a little less demanding than the Forca or the Susan.
00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:31.839
Several sections near the top have been newly repaved.
00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:36.240
And it showed this was by a clear margin the best surface of the three.
00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:38.639
Traffic was the lightest of the day here too.
00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:42.240
And the sight lines you know, they were genuinely excellent.
00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:49.199
You could see far enough ahead to know whether it was actually safe to pass, which isn't definitely something you can't say about every alpine pass.
00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:55.439
My take here was it was another group friendly pass, wide, busy in spots, but it was manageable.
00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:26.959
You know, rather than the road itself.
00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:31.519
Now would be a great time to subscribe.
00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:33.519
The Forca Pass is the famous pass.
00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:40.720
Now the Forca is barren, genuinely the starkest landscape of the three, and that's exactly what makes it very exciting.
00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:48.000
There's almost nothing to look at except rock sky and that amazing road itself, which somehow makes every curve feel bigger.
00:08:32.159 --> 00:08:36.399
It doesn't matter what angle you approach it from, it looks absolutely incredible.
00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:14.480
And it's definitely for a reason.
00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:16.080
A part a lot of people ask about.
00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:20.799
It was used in the movie Goldfinger.
00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:27.519
And there's an actual sign bend near the summit on the Uri side toward Rial, known as James Bond Curve.
00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:29.279
So, how do you actually find it?
00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:30.399
Well, it's not a guess.
00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:37.759
There's a small lookout and a parking area right at the bend with its own informational signage, just a short drive, like I say, from Real.
00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:39.360
You don't need to hunt for it.
00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:41.759
You'll know it when you see it at the pull-off.
00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:45.679
Now, my take on the forca is the one that I'd call a convoy friend.
00:09:45.919 --> 00:09:48.240
Wide enough to drive comfortably as a group.
00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:28.639
You know, what you're after.
00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:33.039
Midday if you want the shot, dawn or dusk if you want to dodge those post bus.
00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:34.639
The danger factor is moderate.
00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:38.559
Tight hair pins, and you're sharing the road with that same post bus.
00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:44.639
When it comes to those buses, your best bet is to pull over to the right and stop and just to let it go by.
00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:49.440
When it comes to the danger factor, a few things were consistent across all three passes.
00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:54.399
There are a lot of very fast local petrol heads who know these roads intimately.
00:11:54.559 --> 00:12:02.960
And even faster motorcycles that will pass you close to the center line with real confidence because they've driven the exact curve a hundred times.
00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:03.840
You haven't.
00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:05.600
Drive like it and let them buy.
00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:12.720
And about those little concrete posts along the edge of the road, those ones are marking where the pavement ends and the drop begins.
00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:15.039
They won't do much to save you if you go off.
00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:17.360
They're mostly just markers, not barriers.
00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:22.000
On stretches where there's a real guardrail, you feel the difference immediately.
00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:26.320
On those stretches where it's just those little posts, you sense that difference too.
00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:28.720
Now here's the honest, slightly surprising part.
00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:31.279
Driving all of this was far more than exciting.
00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:34.080
But I was surprisingly not fearful at all.
00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:35.519
Part of that is the pace.
00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:40.960
Every one of these passes is driven at genuinely low speeds, nothing like the Autobahn at all.
00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:49.440
And part of it, I'll credit directly to my track instructor background, reading the road, respecting blind corners, and never assuming the lane ahead is clear.
00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:53.120
So if you only have one day for the big three, here's my actual ranking.
00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:55.679
Most photogenic, by far the Grimzel.
00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:56.720
No contest.
00:12:56.960 --> 00:12:59.039
Most famous, and it earns it the forka.
00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:03.759
But the best pure driving road of the three, for my money, is definitely the Susten.
00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:09.440
It's the one built by engineers who actually thought about the driver, not just the destination.
00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:12.639
And all of those tunnels, you know, they're super cool.
00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:17.279
For me, that's number one of seven passes and one glacier road on this trip.
00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:22.399
And so far, Susten is my early leader for the best drive of the whole week.
00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:24.000
Let's see how long that lasts.
00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:26.159
Now, if you're enjoying this series, subscribe.
00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:30.480
There's a lot more of this trip coming, and you can check out all of the videos right here.
00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:31.759
Be sure to comment below.
00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:32.879
I read everyone.
