Airolo, at the southern portal of the Gotthard Tunnel, is the gateway to sun-drenched Ticino. The motorway runs south through the Valle Leventina towards Lake Maggiore or Lake Como. Nowhere else in Switzerland are the contrasts between the Mediterranean climate in the valleys and the high alpine world of rock and snow as pronounced as on the main alpine ridge of the Gotthard. I’ve passed this way countless times, e.g. for the trip to Monte Zucchero in the Verzasca Valley.