Great St. Bernard Pass — Switzerland/Italy: June 16, 2022

20^oC with a bracing breeze

(By Jim and Laurel)

You might expect that a hostel which has been continuously providing refuge to VF pilgrims and alpine travelers since the year 1049 (yes, for a thousand years!) would be rustic and a bit the worse for wear.  The Great St. Bernard Hospice, however, is in wonderful condition and provides a very comfortable stay with modern conveniences.  We shared a dormitory room with three other VF pilgrims (from Australia and France) and met a few more at the communal supper.  Nearly fifty hikers and pilgrims utilized the hostel that evening.

The hostel is located at the apex of the Great St. Bernard Pass (GSBP), at an altitude of 2,473 meters.  It’s between Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa, two of the highest mountains in the Alps, and it connects Aosta in Italy with Martigny in Switzerland.  What history!  As an ancient pass, it was controlled by Rome from its settlement Augusta (present day Aosta), and in 1800 Napoleon and his army used the pass to enter Italy.  The hospice was also responsible for breeding and training St. Bernard rescue dogs.  Although the last dog rescue occurred in the 1950s, the dogs are still present on site as part of an educational museum.

Today, there are easier routes through the pass such as the Great St. Bernard Tunnel, but none are more beautiful.

The hostel, located on the Swiss side, beside the glacial lake.

Straddling Switzerland (on my left) and Italy (on my right).  The black line on the stone marker indicates the border.

Top photo: view of the Italian end of the lake, with a Swiss building in the foreground.

Bottom photo:  looking from the pass down the valley into Switzerland..

Hostel interiors.

Top:  statue of St. Bernard.

Bottom:  St. Bernard dog out for a walk near the hostel.

Old stone buildings at the site; a few snow banks not yet melted.