San Gottardo Via Tremola Photo

Photographer’s Note

Saint Gotthard/San Gottardo is a mountain group, situated in the southern part of central Switzerland, serving as a water and climate barrier between northern and southern Europe. It is crossed by the Saint Gotthard Pass at 2.108m/6,916ft - one of the most important connecting links over and through the Alps.

The image shows the old cobbled pass road - into the Val Tremolo ("Valley of Trembling") - built in 1827-30 and leading down to Airolo in the Ticino canton. The language is Italian, the climate is Mediterranean and all rivers run south.

Classified as a post road, the Via Tremola was the main road on the south side of the pass, until the new paved road opened sometime during the end of 1960s - beginning of 1970s. Completion of the motorway tunnel in 1980 made year-round traffic possible.

When I passed here the first time - in 1964 - all transit traffic had to go up or down this meandering road. It was amazing to see - and especially hear - the heavy loaded trucks slowly working their way, loudly honking before every one of the fourteen hairpin bends...

Since then I’ve traveled in Europe at least once a year!

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Scanned at 600dpi, cropped, ran autolevels, resized for TE, sharpened(x2), framed and saved for Web.

RAP, burdallet, hispic, Rockyboy, elroyie, Tavo, Gix, Clochette, danyy, pamastro, Riz, nwoehnl, Porteplume, iro has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

RAP (1053) 2004-07-29 16:24

Hermosa imagen Kaj.
Me recuerda a una que capturé en otras latitudes y que tiene mucho que ver con esta... si deseas, puedes verla dentro de mis fotos.
Excelente encuadre y profundidad, bellos colores y gran nitidez.
Bien hecho!

Beautiful image Kaj.
It remembers me that I captured in other latitudes and that much has to do with this... if you wish, you can see it within my photos.
Excellent frame and depth, pretty colors and great clearness.
Well done!

Lithium (596) 2004-07-29 17:13

A fantastic picture with some great explanations.
I used to pass Saint Gotthard Tunnel quite often, and was always wondering how does it look like "up there"... So now I know. Next time I'm there during summer - I'm not taking the tunnel! ;o)

burdallet (0) 2004-07-29 17:27

it"s remember me a James Bond movie .. GoldFinger ? isn't ?

elroyie (2750) 2004-07-29 17:32

Great picture with very good composition and very good exposure on this great landscape, the curved road is awsome, well done.

pepeto (264) 2004-07-30 2:34

I know this road very well. 20 years ago I did my military service in Motto Bartola, which is right at the beginning of the Tremola Road. So I surely walked about 20 times up and down this road, to go to the St.-Gotthard-Pass for doing our exercices. So I know exactly every stone of the road. When the wheater was good, it was nice and we enjoyed the panorama, but when it was raining or snowing it was a hard time.
Anyway, I have a lot of good souvenirs of that times, and I already forgot the bad souvenirs.
Thank you for remembering me the Tremola

Clochette (8076) 2004-07-30 3:08

It is impressive... I'm not sure I would like this road, and I suspect I would soon be sick ;-)

Regarding the pic, I like the curves made by the road in the mountain. Watching at this landscape, I was imagining the same pic, taken a few minutes after the sunset, with a long exposure to catch the car lights as lines... An idea for a future trip in the region ?

langaloo (489) 2004-07-30 7:33

1964? Me too.
I practice this Saint Gotthard Pass a hundred times with my father, as a little girl, going from Switzerland to Italia or the south of France.
My favorite place was the Valley d'Aoste, with castles and vineyards, one of the most beautifull place in the world? Do you know what I mean?
Thank you for bringing back the good memories.

pamastro (7213) 2004-07-30 11:52

That is an impressive road. It also blends into the landscape, too. It looks like it could be a really smooth flowing river of this same white rock as I see in other parts of this photo. I love following this path with my eyes, especially where it disappears for a moment and linking it up with the other side. It sure is beautiful scenery here. I can imagine a sight like this really driving someone to make sure they travel Europe at least once a year. I know it would certainly urge me to travel again and again to find other impressive sights like this. Very nicely done, depth and colors and composition and note.

Riz (0) 2004-07-30 13:18

well captured Kaj- i like this shot I would hate to drive that road.

nwoehnl (118) 2004-07-30 13:23

Great shot, Kaj (and indeed a funny coincidence that we would both be posting alpine roads the same day). The rugged texture of the mountains is crisply rendered, and of course it's fun to let the eye follow the street and the switchbacks throughout the frame. Well contrasted and a good presentation in natural colors; fine job!

Rockyboy (20580) 2004-07-30 14:31

I remind I drove on that road because there was traffic jam in the tunnel but the weather was rainy and there was clouds on the top... So, I didn' saw anything! Here, that's a very nice composition with the road. Bravo!

Pts tom..

maphoto (8076) 2004-07-30 22:06

Nice shot Kaj and very nice curved road well spoted in this mountainous landscape, well seen.

Porteplume (3255) 2004-07-31 10:02

It looks like a long white ribbon having fallen from the sky... Really amazing!
Even if a little bit overxeposed it's a very nice shot.
I saw this when a child it was not too far from our home & going on vacation - but I think it would be a good idea to pay it a visit again next year on our - possible- way to Slovenia.

(Do you think we would have more sun than in Sweden? ;o)))

Lolydodia (578) 2004-08-28 9:53