Galibier from 2 sides
(80 km/2390 altimeters)
To keep this tour humane we take the car to Le Monêtier-les-Bains. This village is at the run of the Col du Lautaret, the first climb today. 13 kilometers to the col are a good warming-up, the gradient does not exceed 5.3%. The next 8 kilometers to the Col du Galibier differ in many ways from the Lautaret. The climb is steep, tortuous but the scenery and the views many times better. At the top the wind can blow hard and the weather in the Savoy may differ significantly from the weather in the Southern Hautes Alpes; keep this in mind and always bring a windbreaker. The difference in the weather is clearly reflected in the vegetation and the greenness of the landscape, green on the northern slopes and dry and arid in the south. From the top we descend about 18 kilometers and 1200 meters, tot he village named Valloire. In Valloire you’ve the possibility to refill your water bottle. From here we start with the climb of the Col du Galbier. There is a possibility to decscend after Valloire, to the Maurienne valley and climb the Telegraph as well. The Col du Galibier is 18 kilometers of climbing with an average gradient of 7%,what makes this climb very hard. The closer to the col, the heavier it gets and the rougher the landscape. But once you’re at the top you may rightly be proud. All that remains is a wonderful descent to Le Monêtier-les-Bains.
