This is not what I woke up thinking I was going to do today.
My pal Damian emailed me the night before saying he was up for a quick spin up the "Col", meaning Col des Montets. I met up with him in the morning for a few miles, then let him know I wanted to add on a bit more. Just so happened that his friend Chris Johnsonrode up behind us at the summit and was planning a longer ride - Col du Grand Saint Bernard. I told him it was certainly more than I was expecting but why not.
It turns out that Stage 16 of the 2009 Tour de France highlighted this climb. From Martigny to the summit
is a constant 40.5km (25 mile) climb, ranging from 3% to 10%. The Tour measures the lst 24.4 km as an "HC". Didn't realize that until after I finished, but there it is, my first official HC.
Km 40.5 - Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard - 24.4 km climb to 6.2 % - Category H
(The map below show the entire stage. We did a different route that included the main climb only.)
Our route started in Chamonix goig up Col des Montets, crossing the border into Switzerland (where we were for most of the ride), up Col de la Forclaz, down the col into Martigny, then up the nice long climb of Col du Grand Saint Bernard.
Looking back on the descent from Forclaz into Martigny. Really a beautiful area. As soon as you start down you can feel the temperature rising. The last 2 miles are the warmest, dropping out of the trees and being surrounded by vineyards on both sides.
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| Leaving Martigny |
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| Chris taking a pull (backpack with a dish of pasta) |
The only official road sign with mile (km) markers. Plenty if others pointing the direction to the towns, but nothing to remind me how much more pain lied ahead. Probably better that way. Towards the top the trucks are separated out and have to take a bypass tunnel (bottom of the sign), while our destination was Col GdStBernard 25km. Although we'd already been climbing a good bit at this point, from here to the top is where the Tour rates the climb as an HC.
Chris with the valley behind him. Believe it or not he was smiling just as big when we got to the top.
Looking down on a fun bit of switchbacks we just finished.
From Martigny to this point the weather was in the 90's. (And to think I was taking a break from the AZ heat.) We entered a portion of the road that was covered. The left side of the tunnel is up against the mountain, while the right side opens to the valley. Designed to help keep roads open when the winter snow hits. The temperature dropped into the high 70's, but better yet we didn't have the sun beating down on us.
We found a small opening and popped out to take a picture over the damn.
I mentioned to Chris that we had been in the tunnel for 2 miles already. We were both pleasantly surprised. We'll take what we can get. Perhaps another reason why Chris is still smiling.
The separation and end of our shaded climb. Note the little image of a hill - they make it look so simple.
Very cool to see a little history, seeing the racers names painted on the climb.
The climb itself was very beautiful once you leave the tunnel. No trees since we're at a nice altitude, but plenty of fresh running water everywhere. Eventually the patches of snow are surrounding us. A handful of times I remarked to Chris that I was going to jump off my bike, roll down the hillside, and hope I land in the running water. I resisted the temptation.
This is the last kick up in the climb. Better yet, it's the last part of the climb that kicked my butt. Take a close look at the top for the red tour bus. Yep, two switchbacks and I'm there.Looking down at some of the climbing we just finished.
Enfin! Made it to the top. Started in France, spent most of the ride in Switzerland, finished in Italy.
Chris and I at the top. From Martigny up was a nice 6,300' climb. In the back is the hospice and monastery. They became famous for using the St. Bernard dogs (carrying a small barrel of brandy around their neck) in rescue operations. I never saw any of the dogs coming to our rescue, but a German couple offered to top up our bottles along the climb, and Chris' container of pasta was a nice touch as well.
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| Chris Johnson |
9,137 feet of climbing in 50 miles. We actually returned back to Martigny to make it a good 75 miles.
Matt! Hey, it's been awhile. If you're now living in England will we ever see you in Mesa again?
ReplyDeleteGreat blog you've got, takes me right there to the rides I've dreamed about doing.
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