Col de L'Iseran

the Col de L'iseran You know there is something special ahead as you turn off the N90 and onto the D902 sign posted Val d'Isere, this is the start of the run up to Val d'Isere and over the Col de Iseran and the descent to Lanslebourg. The climb to Val d'Isere see's the road following the river Isere, along the valley floor slowly climbing as it hugs the valley wall while passing through numerous tunnels and round bends that seem to hang out into the valley, then around the next bend the road cuts back away from the abyss.

It’s 16 miles to Val d’Isere and another 10 miles to the summit, the road to the top is a combination of long straights and very sharp bends, the higher you climb the greater the views become and the road becomes more and more challenging. Val d’Isere eventually becomes a collection of buildings in the distance. The summit is a bit of an anticlimax; the car park at the top is overflowing with cars and coaches and you have to avoid the ever present Japanese tourists, but they are useful to take your picture next to the sign that says you have reached the 2770M summit, so if you are looking for solitude you won’t find it at the top of the highest pass in the Alps. But you may well find snow. The descent to Lanslebourg is a spectacular road that twists and turns as it drops you down in a loop into the valley and into the village of Bonneval-Sur-Arc; from here to Lanslebourg it is a short but steep descent. By the time we had reached Lanslebourg it was early evening and there was no shortage of places to stay, many hotels along the route to Lanslebourg were offering safe garage parking for motorbikes, so it was a case of take your pick.

There is nothing quite like waking up to glorious sunshine and fresh alpine air streaming through the open window, when you know that one of the wildest and most rugged passes is waiting for you. The Col du Galibier is 2645M high and it offers some of the most extreme and wild, riding in the Alps. Between Galibier and us was the smaller but no less spectacular Col du Telegraphe1570M, the road what would take us to this wonderers place was the N6 east out of Lanslebourg, this runs through the Val d’Arc and when you reach the town of St Michel-de-Maurienne turn onto the D902, it’s a short but rapid ascent to the summit of the Telegraphe, and once you’ve tackled the descent you pass through the small ski resort of Valloire from here it starts to climb to the Galibier. The sign at the approach of the pass ominously says open, it can be closed as late as June if there has been a heavy winter snow. As the road starts to climb the gradient gets stepper and steeper and you start to realize that this wonderful road commands some respect. As the bends become tighter and the distance between the edge of the road and a gravity fed elevator to the valley floor becomes ever nearer, you know that if you don’t play nice! It will turn nasty. As the road climbs out of the valley you soon loose sight of the trees and the landscape changes and by time you crest the summit it’s very barren. The descent can be seen in all its glory from the small car parking area at the summit, it’s switch back after switch back as the road rapidly looses height and can be seen snaking off into the distance. As you descend the south side of the Col du Galibier the top of the Col du Lautaret 2057M comes into view, turn east-west onto the D91 and the Lautaret seems like a little hill between you and the valley on the other side that runs all the way to Grenoble.


	You know there is something special ahead as you turn off the N90 and onto the D902 sign posted Val d'Isere, this is the start of the run up to Val d'Isere and over the Col de Iseran and the descent to Lanslebourg. The climb to Val d'Isere see's the road following the river Isere, along the valley floor slowly climbing as it hugs the valley wall while passing through numerous tunnels and round bends that seem to hang out into the valley, then around the next bend the road cuts back away from the abyss. It’s 16 miles to Val d’Isere and another 10 miles to the summit, the road to the top is a combination of long straights and very sharp bends, the higher you climb the greater the views become and the road becomes more and more challenging. Val d’Isere eventually becomes a collection of buildings in the distance. The summit is a bit of an anticlimax; the car park at the top is overflowing with cars and coaches and you have to avoid the ever present Japanese tourists, but they are useful to take your picture next to the sign that says you have reached the 2770M summit, so if you are looking for solitude you won’t find it at the top of the highest pass in the Alps. But you may well find snow. The descent to Lanslebourg is a spectacular road that twists and turns as it drops you down in a loop into the valley and into the village of Bonneval-Sur-Arc; from here to Lanslebourg it is a short but steep descent. By the time we had reached Lanslebourg it was early evening and there was no shortage of places to stay, many hotels along the route to Lanslebourg were offering safe garage parking for motorbikes, so it was a case of take your pick. There is nothing quite like waking up to glorious sunshine and fresh alpine air streaming through the open window, when you know that one of the wildest and most rugged passes is waiting for you. The Col du Galibier is 2645M high and it offers some of the most extreme and wild, riding in the Alps. Between Galibier and us was the smaller but no less spectacular Col du Telegraphe1570M, the road what would take us to this wonderers place was the N6 east out of Lanslebourg, this runs through the Val d’Arc and when you reach the town of St Michel-de-Maurienne turn onto the D902, it’s a short but rapid ascent to the summit of the Telegraphe, and once you’ve tackled the descent you pass through the small ski resort of Valloire from here it starts to climb to the Galibier. The sign at the approach of the pass ominously says open, it can be closed as late as June if there has been a heavy winter snow. As the road starts to climb the gradient gets stepper and steeper and you start to realize that this wonderful road commands some respect. As the bends become tighter and the distance between the edge of the road and a gravity fed elevator to the valley floor becomes ever nearer, you know that if you don’t play nice! It will turn nasty. As the road climbs out of the valley you soon loose sight of the trees and the landscape changes and by time you crest the summit it’s very barren. The descent can be seen in all its glory from the small car parking area at the summit, it’s switch back after switch back as the road rapidly looses height and can be seen snaking off into the distance. As you descend the south side of the Col du Galibier the top of the Col du Lautaret 2057M comes into view, turn east-west onto the D91 and the Lautaret seems like a little hill between you and the valley on the other side that runs all the way to Grenoble.