Au Coeur des Géants: Col du Lautaret and Col du Galibier

A perfect summer day in the Hautes-Alps

 

A day in among the giants of the Alps. We drove the road from the south of the Col du Galibier, a twisting 8.5km from the Col du Lautaret. It's one of the highest paved roads in the Alps and we passed through the tunnel at 2556m which is the highest in Europe. 

Another legendary Tour de France landmark, the most visited climb in the event's history and a mecca for all cyclists. We spoke to a young German girl who is cycling the classic passes with a group and they put in months of training and planning, its a life event for many and it is for Fred and me too.

And its all about the outstanding viewpoints from both the Col du Lautaret and the Col du Galibier and we had unrestricted views across to Mont Blanc (4810m)! 

Mont Blanc from the Table d'Orientation at the Col du Galibier

Day three in the Alps and we saved the best for last, such beauty wherever we looked.

Typical alpine scenery and the iconic switchbacks.

Route des Grande Alps: on the Col l'Izoard, Briancon

 

Arriving after a 19km drive up the Col l'Izoard

Another day of navigating the tight switchbacks and roads here in the Grande Alps, along with cyclists, motorcyclists, alpine 'skiers', the Porsche Club outing, utility vans and trucks, cars and the Kersten's. I remember hearing Ant Mccrossan on the Tour de France talk about the difference between the roads of the Alps versus the Pyrenees, the main difference is that Alps are designed for traffic. 

Gosh, nervous passenger the whole way up and over and back up and down - 60 km of incredible roads, would have loved a quieter day...

We took in the scenery and then headed out on the Clot la Cime hike, it was a narrow vertiginous path but we were away from the noise of the motorcycles and floated above the pass which was a joy. And a quite perfect picnic moment alongside the road, baguette, market bought vine tomatoes in olive oil and Italian Toma cheese from the farm near our apartment in Sestriere....

Hiking along the Clot de Cime with its magnificent views

The view from our hiking trail, another Tour de France epic mountain pass.

Riding and hiking the Col du Granon: a high mountain pass in the Haute-Alps in France

Grand Lac de l'Oule, Granon, French Alps

Each year I spend the 3 weeks of the Tour de France on the couch, with the afternoon sun on my back and a knitting or embroidery project in hand, watching this great event. And I have done so since we lived in France in the mid 1980's. We had 'accidentally' watched an individual time trail in Nice some years before and did not even know what it was all about. How times have changed for this fan of Le Tour!

Last year (2022 Tour de France) we watched a particularly epic day when Team Jumbo-Visma launched an attack against our favourite, Tadej Pogacar, on the Col du Granon. The attack lost him a few minutes and the ultimately any chance of winning the race. Well yesterday we drove these steep narrow switchbacks, the cyclists names in white on the tarmac road, and wound our way up the mountain to 2413m, completely in awe of these cyclist we so admire. 

Our Grand Lac de l'Oule hiking trail started from the Col du Granon and we climbed gently towards the Col de l'Oule. We walked through vast pastures, with beautiful views of the Cerces massif and the rocky cliffs of Grand Pierron and then onto the peaceful setting of the green alpine lake. The way back along the ridge with its panorama of the Guisane valley and the Ecrins massif was quintessential alpine landscape. 

A truly memorable circular hike, 300m elevation gain and 7km.

On the path down to the Grand Lac de l'Oule

Fred with the Granon peak in the background

Majesty of our hiking trail

Sidebar: so a slippery rock on the muddy path along the Guisane Valley got the better of Fred, he feel on his right hand and because he was protecting his phone, he split his skin above the knuckle to the bone. So our afternoon was a visit to the medical centre in the village for stitches....never a dull moment.