Col de l’Epine and Col du Chat

Fantastic loop around the Mont du Chat near Lake Bourget with Martin.

We packed the car to capacity as Doreen came along and – still recovering from a cold – did three 17 km loops around Lake Aiguebelette – while Martin and I climbed a little.

This loop is incredibly scenic and occasionally steep with about 1600 metres of ascent.

This was my first ascent of Col de l’Epine (not to be mistaken with a like named col south of Lake Annecy) and I really enjoyed the winding forest climb with great views of Lake Aiguebelette below. The second climb, Col du Chat, is a beautiful little climb that rises above Lake Bourget. As the elevation graph below shows, after Col du Chat there was still some work to do and this was in fact the steepest part – with some fairly long stretches well above 10%.

I edged the king of the mountain points but Martin killed me at the end for the stage victory.

Well deserved Kebabs, burgers and Fries for all at a nearby snack-bar.