Lenzerheide Pass
Encyclopedia
Lenzerheide is the common name of a passage past a high mountain pass
in the Alps
in the canton
of Graubünden
in Switzerland
, reaching summit at 1549 m between Valbella and Parpan
, approximately 5 kilometers south of the resort of Lenzerheide
.
The road connects Chur
in the valley of the Rhine and Tiefencastel
in the valley of the Albula
, which is actually a tributary
to the Rhine. The pass nevertheless offered a shortcut which additionally avoided the gorge "Schinschlucht"
with its difficult terrain
in the past. Nowadays most traffic to Tiefencastel would use the A13 motorway to Thusis
to get to Tiefencastel on a main road.
The Lenzerheide road has a maximum grade of 11 percent and is open year-round, though road conditions frequently necessitate winter tires, especially between December and March.
Due to the local settlements nobody ever bothered to call the summit near Lenzerheide a mountain pass nor would an official document call it a pass. It will also not appear on road pass opening charts.
The mountain Piz Scalottas (el 2321 m.) offers a good view to overlook both routes via Lenzerheide or the Schinschlucht gorge. If you climbed the Lenzerheide pass road by mountain bike, the chairlift to Piz Scalottas will transport your mountain bike for free to the summit.
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Graubünden
Graubünden
Graubünden or Grisons is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. The canton shares borders with the cantons of Ticino, Uri, Glarus and St. Gallen and international borders with Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, reaching summit at 1549 m between Valbella and Parpan
Parpan
Parpan was a municipality in the district Plessur of the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipalities of Malix and Parpan merged into Churwalden.-History:...
, approximately 5 kilometers south of the resort of Lenzerheide
Lenzerheide
Lenzerheide is a mountain resort in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It lies at the foot of the Parpaner Rothorn. The village belongs to the municipality Vaz/Obervaz in the district of Albula, sub-district Alvaschein....
.
The road connects Chur
Chur
Chur or Coire is the capital of the Swiss canton of Graubünden and lies in the northern part of the canton.-History:The name "chur" derives perhaps from the Celtic kora or koria, meaning "tribe", or from the Latin curia....
in the valley of the Rhine and Tiefencastel
Tiefencastel
Tiefencastel is a municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.-History:Tiefencastel is first mentioned in 831 as in Castello Impitinis. Starting around in the 14th Century it was known as Tüffenkasten.-Geography:Tiefencastel has an area, , of...
in the valley of the Albula
Albula
The term albula can refer to:*Albula Range, a mountain range in Switzerland*Albula , in Switzerland*Albula , a district in canton Graubünden, Switzerland*Albula Pass*Albula Railway, which forms part of the Rhaetian Railway...
, which is actually a tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
to the Rhine. The pass nevertheless offered a shortcut which additionally avoided the gorge "Schinschlucht"
Solis Viaduct
The Solis Viaduct is a single track eleven-arched limestone railway viaduct. It spans the Albula River east of the hamlet of Solis, in the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland....
with its difficult terrain
Terrain
Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...
in the past. Nowadays most traffic to Tiefencastel would use the A13 motorway to Thusis
Thusis
Thusis is a municipality in the district of Hinterrhein in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-Geography:Thusis has an area, , of . Of this area, 18% is used for agricultural purposes, while 58.2% is forested...
to get to Tiefencastel on a main road.
The Lenzerheide road has a maximum grade of 11 percent and is open year-round, though road conditions frequently necessitate winter tires, especially between December and March.
Due to the local settlements nobody ever bothered to call the summit near Lenzerheide a mountain pass nor would an official document call it a pass. It will also not appear on road pass opening charts.
The mountain Piz Scalottas (el 2321 m.) offers a good view to overlook both routes via Lenzerheide or the Schinschlucht gorge. If you climbed the Lenzerheide pass road by mountain bike, the chairlift to Piz Scalottas will transport your mountain bike for free to the summit.
See also
- List of highest paved roads in Europe
- List of mountain passes
- List of the highest Swiss passes