La Grande Dixence
By Will • Sep 29th, 2008 • Category: Climbs, Cycling
Another great climb up to an Alpine hydro-electric dam/lake.
Time is running out this year for the high Alps climbs but the weather forecast was cool yet perfect. So Eric and I headed to Sion in the Valais region of Switzerland to climb up to the Barrage de la Grande Dixence.
26.6 kilometres and 1680 metres (5500 feet) of ascent - this is a gigantic and beautiful ride well worth the visit.
The route starts out climbing above Sion. A little bit of traffic but after passing a couple of villages it becomes very quiet. After a flattish bit in the middle of the route, the best and hardest part begins.
With perhaps 9 or 10 kilometres to go, the huge dam comes into view high in the distance. It’s a daunting challenge. The last 5 kilometres wind up the end of the valley on superb and steep hairpins before the route ends at the bottom of the massive dam wall.
A steep ramp hit me pretty hard and I stopped to enjoy the atmosphere, eat a little, and mentally prepare myself for this last stretch.
At the end of the road, we of course wanted to see the lake. I had a road bike and thus needed to take a cable car up to the top. Meanwhile Eric (being Eric) took his mountain bike up a very steep but rideable little gravel road and we met up top on the dam itself - a very cold but beautiful 2365 metres.
It’s a huge lake - with high snow covered Alps at the far end. Unlike Lac d’Emesson, the water is more gray than blue giving a more remote feel.
There is a lots of hiking up top and also a trail on the right side that appears rideable for a long way along side the lake. Maybe we’ll try exploring next year.
Ooops, I left my GPS on when I took the Cable car …. 220 of the easiest metres this year!
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Will is Happiest while cycling uphill. More enthusiastic than talented, his 2008 Challenge is to (again) cycle 160,000 metres of vertical ascent.
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Ouf ! 26 km et surtout 1680m de dénivelé c’est pas de la rigolade !
6,3% de pente moyenne (j’ai sorti ma calculette
) Mais la moyenne est cassée par le replat de 3 kilomètres et le premier kilomètre.
Bastien
Oui, on peut dire avec de la confiance que celle serait une route “hors categorie”
When zooming in onto the track on bikemap.net, what looks like the most epic part is your “flight” straight up the dam. Steep!
Eric,
I enjoyed watching you cycle the last stretch from the luxury of the cable car ….. I was tired