Routes from Verbier

mattpage

I am off to Verbier in a few weeks and hoping to do a few road rides and MTB rides.
We are staying in Verbier village, so looking for some ideas for routes starting from there.

I have no idea of what is good, but looking for some big challenging climbs (Cat 1 or HC if possible?) and routes around 60-80 miles.

Cumulonimbus

Road up to the Great St Bernard pass goes through/starts from a town called Sembrancher which is slightly further down the valley from the bottom of Verbier

http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Co ... ainID=5302

Thorpe

The road up to Verbier is sort of like a mini Alpe d'Huez (IIRC, 16 hairpins, about 8 kms, no idea of gradient other than you need snowchains in the winter for the car!). Might be a good pipecleaner on Day One before you tackle the bigger hills. Down and up in less than an hour?

You can take your MTB on most of the chairlifts and the cable cars in the summer.

I'm a skier....

mrushton

prob. best looking at a map but Verbier is a dead end (like many ski resorts) so back down the mtn to Martigny and you can take the Grand Col St. Bernard for about 30km to the summit (thro' the tunnels and just keep going up) and then have a mega downhill back. Or there is the Forclaz from Martigny thro' to Chamonix (you may need your passport) which takes you over the Montets into Chamonix and you could get the train back (or train from Martigny to Chamonix). Places on the train for your bike. There is Martigny to Champex du Lac (12km) just past the wasp (you'll see what I mean if you do it), take the road thro' and descend to the main road and left back to Martigny. Or there is the main road from martigny back towars Geneva and the Lake. Don't forget that Swiss Rail is v.accomdating of bikes so that opens some possibilities.

knedlicky

Road bike:
- Barrage de Mauvoisin and back. Max 8%. Three tunnels, one longish unlit one but dead straight (so you have light in the distance for orientation). Btwn Lourtier and Fionnay, you can ride up one side of the valley and down the other.
- Col de Champex btwn Les Vallettes and Orsieres. 22 serpentine bends coming from Les Vallettes. Max 8%
- Col des Planches btwn Martigny and Sembrancher. Max. 14% (see photo).

You could combine Campex and Planches into one road bike tour.

Maybe road bike:
- Col du Lein btwn Saxon and Sembrancher. Haven’t ridden it, upper part not asphalted but heard still okay for a road bike. Max 10%.
You can get from the top of Col du Lein to the top of Col des Planches via the Col du Tronc, but have no info about that route except that, it's unpaved but riddable.

MTB:
- Col de la Croix de Coeur btwn Riddes and Verbier. Haven’t ridden it, upper part not asphalted. An acquaintance regards this one of the best passes he’s ever ridden, for the scenery. Max. 12%.
I'm told you can get from near the top of Col de la Croix de Coeur to halfway up the Col du Lein on the Saxon side, but have no other info about that possibility - can't guarantee it's riddable the whole way!
You could combine Croix de Coeur and Lein into one MTB tour.

- Cabane du Mont Fort and back.
the cabane is a swiss mountain hut at 2457 m altitude. From Loutrier (on road to the Mauvoisin barrage) ride up to Sarreyer and then on unpaved tracks along the route to the mountain hut. Not sure you can ride all the way, the last bit perhaps too steep, but MTB-ers do go to the mountain hut, probably well worth the effort.
(if he's a skier as he says, earlier poster Thorpe might know the hut as it's on some ski routes)

mattpage

Thanks for the info.

Had a quick look on the map and doing Campex and Planches together seems like it would be a good ride. Is there anything worth riding if I were to head past Sion?

MTB side of things looks to be sorted. I am heading out to do the Cristalp. Hoping to ride part of the route one day and do the "Pro Rider" route on another.

Keep the suggestions coming!

Abdoujaparov

The Forclaz (mentioned by mrushton) is supposed to be a good climb from the Swiss side - long and some steep bits. Think its HC/cat 1 borderline.

From the French side its a piece of cake so when you go over the top of it, you'll have a bit of a descent down to the border. If you hook a right near the border you can go up this small road to a lake at about 2,300m. This is a super long and challenging climb on a very quiet road with breath-taking scenery - apparently! Never done it, but was highly recommended by a local when I was in Chamonix.

If you look on the map, you'll see the road I mean.

Apparently the grand and petit st bernard passes get quite busy with traffic, but that's by french/swiss standards...it's never going to be like the M25

mattpage

Just had a look on Google Maps about the climb to the lake - looks like a nice one.

I reckon between everything that people have suggested I'll be OK for the 2 days of road work I have planned, big thanks to everyone.

At the moment thinking...

Day 1: Champex - Martigny - Planches and back up to Verbier
Day 2: Lein - Saxon - Martigny - Forclaz to the lake, then depending how I feel Champex from the otherside and back to Verbier.

knedlicky

Don't know when you're going, but there's a cyclosportive on 12 Sept from Aigle to Verbier.
Total 95 km with 1100 m climbing, but only the ascent from Le Chable to Verbier (680 m uphill in 8.6 km) will be timed and be the basis of the prizes.
All the usual good stuff for the price - lots of service, pasta party, jersey (shorts too if you pay extra), prizes to each age category, etc.