homeAlpe Galm
Alpe Galm Height Climbing height - length
2236m 1613m - 17.9 km (Getwing)
1614m - 18.6 km (Susten via Brunnen)
1614m - 19.3 km (Susten)
Difficulty Beauty
4-5 (5) 5 (5)
How to get there

This is one of the nicest climbs in the Alps, but also one of the hardest. I would suggest taking the road up from Getwing (623m), which is a very good somewhat new road (I think), but also quite steep. Through Erschmatt it becomes easier and in Erschmatt is also the only place for water and a shop along the road. After Erschmatt it is nearly flat for a while as you cross the valley and just after there is an obvious, but quite narrow and not so good asphalt road. This road becomes much better higher up when it joins the road coming up from Grechmatte. Now it will get steeper and steeper the further you get. Do not take off to Tschärmilonga, but thene there are no more road choices. The last ramp up above Oberu (2029m) is the final test and by Teugmatte (2134m) it is just a nice sweet road to the end just before Alpe Galm.

The climb from Susten (622m) via Leuk and Brunnen should be similar is steepness with some quite steep section through Brunnen. I had planned to take that way as I had been staying in Leuk, but needed to fix my rear wheel in Visp. You can also take the main road to Grechmatte and be happy enough with the final steepness.
Other comments

This climb is hard and bordering on a straight 5, but I tend to reserve it for those climbs of the very worst category of climbs like Rionda, which borders on the impossible no matter how fit you are. This climb is possible for most ambitious road cyclists with 39-28. Make sure to take it easy down – I have never had a tube explode because of overheating the rim, but it happened on this descent. I blame the rim tape – extremely important to not use most of the rim tapes on the market, but something good like Velox (18 mm) or Continental special high pressure tape (18 mm) or an accident is only a matter of time!!! (Do not buy shit from Pedros, BBB etc.) The rim was so hot I could not touch it though. In Erschmatt I stopped and put the wheels into the water basin to chill them down and then continued carefully down shifting alternatively with rear and front brakes. But it is easy saying you should not brake all the time on roads like this … .

The views from above Oberu are simply amazing even for the great area that it is.


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