Col de l’Epine is on the shoulder of Mont du Chat and not far from that redoutable climb – details here. I shouldn’t really climb this without adding Mont du Chat …. but considering it’s December, this was a good little loop.
The road to Epine was signed as closed due to the snow a couple of weeks back – but it was completely clear …. and with the closure also car free.
From the Col is a forest road (turning into a hiking trail) along the ridge of the mountain that passes by Col du Crucifix and Col Saint-Michel.
These two passes – overlooking Lac Aiguebelette – are far from any roads or civilization – but were used as roads in past times. Col Saint-Michel was a Roman road used as a short cut to Chambery. And in the early 1700’s, when the Roman road was crumbling, a new road was commissioned over Col du Cricifix.
From Saint-Michel I descended towards Saint-Sulpice on the old Roman road – now just a deep rutted hiking trail. To be clear, it’s very technical on a mountain bike (this is code meaning I walked for long stretches).
Don’t confuse this climb with another Col de l’Epine a little north of Albertville – details here
2 Comments
En effet, un bon petit tour pour l’hiver, bravo !
Et pour te faciliter la descente, il te faut un stage aux Gets, avec les anglais
😉
Bien joué ! Je ne sais pas si un stage aux Gets suffirait car, si mes souvenirs sont bons, la descente du Col St Michel est vraiment compliquée pour un vélo et la route pavée n’était surement pas comme ça au départ. Il faudrait que tu testes Philippe, pour voir 😉