Col des Glières: Car-Free day
By Will • Jul 1st, 2012 • Category: Climbs, CyclingSaturday morning Doreen and I cycled Col des Glières on another special bike-only day.
Saturday morning Doreen and I cycled Col des Glières on another special bike-only day.
This is one of my favourite winter Alpine loops. In the opposite direction than usual.
Back in May, we hiked up to Chalet des Auges above Col des Glières. We were astonished to see a mountain biker there. Upon interrogation we discovered that there is a terrible quality, old road up the back way, starting in Entremont.
Be patient, the downhill starts in 40 seconds.
A near perfect day cross country skiing.
Believe it or not, I have yet to go cycling in 2009. Don’t worry, I haven’t been too lazy.
The climb to Col des Gliéres is one of a very few big climbs that I think is actually better (more fun!) in the winter.
That funny white thing with wings is a giant monument to the French Resistance.
Glieres was a major base in WW2 for the Maquis.
I started to run into snow and ice on long stretches shaded from the sun. My tires were slipping and I considered turning around – but I promised myself I would descend the crazy parts by foot.
Col des Glieres starts only about 15 miles from home. It’s a beautiful hair-pinned route up the side of a mountain past a superb cliff waterfall. Steepish in parts with 6 kms at 9% or more. Up top is the Plateau des Glieres. During WW2, this plateau was generally inaccessible in winter and the Maquis [...]