Giétroz et Finhaut

The Road Less Traveled
The climb to Giétroz is the toughest mile I can ever recall doing.  I did it last year on my way to Emosson, until I realized it was not the regular route., and now I fully understand why.  MapMyRide says 12% grade, but locals claim 14%.  I tend to believe the locals.  MapMyRide has ben wrong compared to The Tour on some climbs and this felt much harder than other 12% climbs.  Fortunately it was just over a mile, but that sure does wipe you out.

	Distance			Elevation		Grade
Cat	Start	End	Length	Min	Max	Avg.	Max
	0.00 mi	1.10 mi	1.10 mi	3,212 ft	3,922 ft	12.2%	--

In retrospect it seems that 8 miles @ 8% is more manageable than 1.2 miles at 12%. 

These 3 switchbacks were fun.  They always look worse then they are.  Switchbacks actually give a chance to change things up.  If you need a breather then take the outside where it evens out the grade, or take the inside for a quicker initial pace before the pace pitches up again.  I still get a kick out of remembering watching a compact car need to do a 3-point turn to make it through.

Finhaut is quaint little town on the hillside where getting from one side to the other also requires a little climbing. 

Lac d'Emosson with Jan

Another beautiful day to ride in the Alps.  I opted for Emosson to see how my legs were feeling.  I made sure to spin on the approach to Montets, then not to hard up Montets.  I summited in good time still, a sign to me I should be alright on Emosson.  At the top of Col des Montets I met a gent climbing from the other side.  A snapped a photo of him then we chatted for a minute.  It was his final ride prior to "Etape" (French for "Stage".  They open up one of the stages of The Tour the morning of the race, just the same as Warriors at Tour of Utah. 

As I got back on my bike to continue I met Jan.  It turns out Jan was also getting in his last good ride before "Etape".  Jan is new to the sport.  3 months ago he signed up for l'Etape, then decided he should probably get a bike and get in shape for it.  I like your style Jan!

Jan and I chatted all the way up Emosson.  I may have talked his ear off, but time passed quick and before I knew it we were nearly to the top.

A few moments to relax and chat overlooking the lake and dam.  With the weather today we finished above cloudbase.  Fun descending and watching the others dissapear down through the clouds.

We had different routes back, so once we reached the dam I wished him well in his first race...Stage 8 of the 2012 TDF.

Stats
Distance: 40 miles
Time:       3 hours
Climb:     5,394 feet

Climb Information

	Distance			Elevation		Grade
Cat	Start	End	Length	Min	Max	Avg.	Max
	2.59 mi	4.29 mi	1.71 mi	3,547 ft	3,909 ft	4.0%	--
	5.00 mi	7.72 mi	2.71 mi	3,990 ft	4,712 ft	5.0%	--
	13.49 mi	19.85 mi	6.36 mi	3,526 ft	6,286 ft	8.2%	--
	26.73 mi	32.14 mi	5.41 mi	3,536 ft	4,718 ft	4.1%	--

Lac d'Emosson (alternate route)

I decided to tackle Emosson again, twice to be precise.  After talking to some friends I learned that my first time up I took the road less travelled.  (Leave it to me to find it.)  Rather than the super steep switchbacks in the beginning, followed by the walking the planks over the nonexistent road at the entrance to Finhaut, this route has nice sweeping and more consistent climbs on the approach.  Of course both routes meet up at the top of Finaut and follow the same great climb to the top of Lac d'Emosson. 

Sign marking turn

Short tunnel.  Note the road peeking through the trees in the background.

River below the bridge

Town of Finhaut, built on a hillside. 

Finhaut

Somebody parked my dream car, Austin Heeley. under the overpass.  Had to stop and look. 

When in doubt take the road that leads up.

Climbing to Emosson shows a great view across the valley.  At te bottom of the road (not in picture) is where you turn off to Emosson.  That road is the climb up Forclaz, another great ride.

My little Orbea held up.  Still no problems with the machine, just the engine.

Lac d'Emosson

The way home.  Mont-Blanc is the smooth peak set back on the right-side. 

Looking down on Finhaut from Emosson

My favorite switchback on the route.  Figured if it was worth repeating on the bike then so was the photo.

Stream running along the route as you get closer back to Chamonix.

Last downhill descending Col des Montets towards Chamonix.  Mont-Blanc and the glacier make for an incredible backdrop on a great descent.

• 40 miles (RT)
• 5,400 feet of climbing total
• Final climb
• 6.36 miles @ 8.2% (per MapmyRide)
• Starts at 6%, finishes at 10.7%
• HC - Yes, just found out it's ranked

My first time doing this (alternate) route I did 3:15 (RT) riding time with a 30 min. break at the top to catch up on emails for work.  Earlier this week I did it again.  This time kept the camera in my pocket, and stopped at the top only long enough to put on a jacket.  Got it down to 3:05, trying to save a little energy for later.  And to think we do 40-miles back home in 2 hours.

-ML

Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard (2009 Tour de France Stage 16)

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.

http://www.letour.fr/2009/TDF/COURSE/us/1600/etape_par_etape.html

http://www.letour.fr/2009/TDF/COURSE/us/les_sommets_du_tour.html

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.

Leaving Martigny

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.



Chris Johnson

9,137 feet of climbing in 50 miles.  We actually returned back to Martigny to make it a good 75 miles.