how was your weather?

Thanks Sergio -- It was your suggestions by Email that got me thinking about
Col de la Seigne, and looking for Jobst Brandt's reports about it -- and his
and other people's reports about Col du Grand Ferret.

And it was your suggestion of Col du Grand St Bernard / Passo del Gran San
Bernardo that got me wanting to make a loop route with that. But riding all
the way around the Mont Blanc massif seemed like too much, and I liked Jobst
Brandt's idea that seeing the Mont Blanc massif from the south side was very
spectacular.

So I started in Orsieres in Switzerland, rode over Grand St Bernand (indeed
spectaculay like you said) to Aosta in Italy, then over Col du Petit St
Bernard (Piccolo San Bernardo) into France and found a hotel down in Bourg
St Maurice. Next morning I started riding north toward Cormet de Roselend,
but then turned northwest into Val des Glaciers. I left the road when I saw
the sign for the Col de la Seigne hiking trail, did a little more riding,
then lots of steep uphill pushing. Funny thing was the first four people I
met on the trail that morning on bicycles -- they were amazed anybody would
try this on a _road_ bicycle. I added a photo of one of the mountain bikers
and the trail surface to this page: http://roberts-1.com/t/b06/mb

Then over the Col into Italy and down Val Veny to Entreves -- I didn't feel
I had time to visit Courmayeur. Then the steep climb up thru la Palud, and
the delightful gentle paved road in Val Ferret with a festive atmosphere
with so many people out on a sunny afternoon. Then the steep climb up the
hiking trail where I was regretting having ever read Jobst's and other
reports of Col du Grand Ferret. Followed by the happiness of enjoying the
descent on dirt into Switzerland, and glad I had learned from Jobst that the
downhill would be more fun taking it south-to-north. Reaching the smooth
pavement near la Fouly and a high-speed cruise down to the Orsieres train
station (which made me glad I was on my road bike).

A good adventure with three countries and two high pass crossings on each
day -- not sure I'd do all of again.

A few days later I got to try some of your other ideas like Grosse
Scheidegg -- very spectacular going east to west, and made a nice loop route
for me with Interlaken and the Brienzersee and Meiringen.

Ken

Ken Roberts writes:

Thanks Sergio -- It was your suggestions by Email that got me
thinking about Col de la Seigne, and looking for Jobst Brandt's
reports about it -- and his and other people's reports about Col du
Grand Ferret.

And it was your suggestion of Col du Grand St Bernard / Passo del
Gran San Bernardo that got me wanting to make a loop route with
that. But riding all the way around the Mont Blanc massif seemed
like too much, and I liked Jobst Brandt's idea that seeing the Mont
Blanc massif from the south side was very spectacular.

So I started in Orsieres in Switzerland, rode over Grand St Bernard
(indeed spectacular, as you said) to Aosta in Italy, then over Col
du Petit St Bernard (Piccolo San Bernardo) into France and found a
hotel down in Bourg St Maurice. Next morning I started riding north
toward Cormet de Roselend, but then turned northwest into Val des
Glaciers. I left the road when I saw the sign for the Col de la
Seigne hiking trail, did a little more riding, then lots of steep
uphill pushing. Funny thing was the first four people I met on the
trail that morning on bicycles -- they were amazed anybody would try
this on a _road_ bicycle. I added a photo of one of the mountain
bikers and the trail surface to this page:
http://roberts-1.com/t/b06/mb

Then over the Col into Italy and down Val Veny to Entreves -- I
didn't feel I had time to visit Courmayeur. Then the steep climb up
thru la Palud, and the delightful gentle paved road in Val Ferret
with a festive atmosphere with so many people out on a sunny
afternoon. Then the steep climb up the hiking trail where I was
regretting having ever read Jobst's and other reports of Col du
Grand Ferret. Followed by the happiness of enjoying the descent on
dirt into Switzerland, and glad I had learned from Jobst that the
downhill would be more fun taking it south-to-north. Reaching the
smooth pavement near la Fouly and a high-speed cruise down to the
Orsieres train station (which made me glad I was on my road bike).

A good adventure with three countries and two high pass crossings on
each day -- not sure I'd do all of again.

I noticed the loss of glacial ice as I rode over these passes this
year, especially on the Col Ferret as well as the Rhone Glacier.

You can see the loss of ice in the following two pictures, seen from
the col Ferret:

http://mly.smugmug.com/gallery/1815091/10/90657821
http://tinyurl.com/egdhb
http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s82.html

A few days later I got to try some of your other ideas like Grosse
Scheidegg -- very spectacular going east to west, and made a nice
loop route for me with Interlaken and the Brienzersee and Meiringen.

At least there the ice isn't visibly reduced because you can't see the
trailing moraines. Just the same it was great weather.

Jobst Brandt

Wow, Ken, those are stunning pictures of a great ride. Hmm, if I ever
get back to the Alps again I will have to ride more northerly than I
did in 2002, which was all south of the Maurienne valley to Nice.

Tim McNamara wrote
... if I ever get back to the Alps again I will have to
ride more northerly than I did in 2002, which was
all south of the Maurienne valley to Nice.

I used to wonder why Jobst's reports seemed to spend more time in
Switzerland and northeast Italy and less time in southern Alps of France.
Now that I've ridden in both, I think I get it. On my last day over in
eastern Switzerland, I met a couple of English-speaking guys. They said it
was their 6th time coming to eastern Switzerland to ride the high passes.

... those are stunning pictures of a great ride.

There's a bit of luck in that: It had snowed above 2300 meters altitude
just a couple of days before (and pouring rain below that) -- so the
glaciers looked whiter and brighter than you'd usually see on a bicycle
tour. In September the glaciers are often kind of dirty with lots of
brownish-gray tint.

But you don't have to leave that to luck. The mountains generally look more
spectacular with some snow on them for contrast against the blue sky and
dark rocks. If you come in June (or late May), you're going to see more
peaks that still have snow on them, and more likely the snow will be a
brighter white. (that's why I like to go to the mountains in April and early
May and climb up on my _skis_ -- I've skied to both Col du Galibier and
Furkapass while they were fully covered with deep snow -- likewise Tioga
pass and the Minaret summit road in the California Sierras)

The downside of bicycling in the Alps in early season is that some passes
might be closed, and those unpaved crossings can be pretty slushy -- or very
muddy with continual slow feeding from melt-water of snow remaining from
winter -- or new snow in a late-spring storm.

Ken

Jobst Brandt wrote:
I noticed the loss of glacial ice as I rode over these passes
this year, especially on the Col Ferret as well as the Rhone Glacier.

Yes, visible in your photos. The view of the Rhone glacier from the
Furkapass road must have been more spectacular back when it was a bright
white glacier instead of dull white rock.

From some of the smugmug.com photos, looks to me sorta like for Col Ferret
you stayed on the road all the way to Rifugio Elena / Pre du Bar - - true??
I took the hiking trail starting from the end of the public road at Arnuva,
and the trail there starts off real steep and strenuous. Then I got to Elena
and saw somebody had driven a car up there. I'm sure I would have been
happier with Col Ferret if I'd started the strenuous lifting and rolling
higher + closer at Elena.

Looks like you sure had some nice sunny days for photos. I especially
noticed how your photos of climbing Sustenpass (smugmug.com page 2:
http://mly.smugmug.com/gallery/1815091/2) came out better than mine --
because I liked Sustenpass and wish I'd had photos more worthy of it. But I
had some cloudy days around then -- pleasant for long climbs but not for
photos.

Ken