Wednesday, 5 September 2012

The giant of the Alps (Col De l'Iseran)

Bonneval sur l'Arc is the starting point for the south side of the Col de L'Iseran uphill, actually I started from Lanslevillard 30 kms away from the Col de L'Iseran top. Once arrived in in Bonneval I notice in the big welcome sign that it is twin town of Le Baux de Provence... I felt a cold sweat.


The Iseran Mountain pass is considered one of the highest in Europe (2770 m), many stages of the Tour de France were arriving in here.
The biggest problem was rather that the slope and the length, the temperature. Despite the sunny day in Bonneval there were 15 degrees and on the top there were 7 degrees with strong wind, hence an even lower temperature perception. Additionally I had only summer bike clothes. For that reason I escaped down and I had no time for the usual picture of the sign were these bikers in this picture are taking.
Maximum slope on the south side from Bonneval is 10.5% (km 7 and km 11), the altitude differnce is 977m and the avarge slope is 7.3%
The uphill from Bonneval gives the possibility to enjoy the view of the glaciers that seem to be more or less at the same altitude.
It is very helpful to have milestones with indication of the distance and the slope. They are also really choreographic.
  • Distance: 70.0 km
  • Total vertical climb: ca. 1200 m
  • Surface: Paved


GPS Tracking 

Unfortunately when I tried to take pictures with freezing hands at the uphill top, I switched of the mobile, so I lost the tracing on the way back.

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