Alpe D'Huez Weather?

durhamwasp

Planning an assault on the Alpe in late June, does anybody have any tips or experience of the weather in the area at that time? Im presuming it will be pretty warm by then! How about early June?

We are gonna ascend it from 2 sides - from Bourg and then Rochetaillée. Anyone done it, any tips?

Also i notice there are 2 above Alpe shots with yellow lining the route, one bears right near the top, the other bears left, which is the official route?

Cheers!

rc856

Lucky you
Did the Alpe a few years ago. You should be warm enough at the base of the climb but I think the temperature drops 1C every 100m you climb.
I only had about 500 training miles in my legs but it was ok.
1hr 15 for me on my 39x29!
I believe the tourist finish is in the town and the tour is further. I remember following the road through the town and turning left at a roundabout which took you up to the finish.

andymiller

[quote="RC856"You should be warm enough at the base of the climb but I think the temperature drops 1C every 100m you climb.[/quote]

Nearly - 6.5 degrees C for every 1000m.

durhamwasp

Bearing left

or


Bearing right?

malcolmfrost

I think the second picture is wrong, might be the old tdF route.
The times I have done it you get to the tourist office, which is the first finish, or "vieil Alpe" turn left under the bridge and keep going to the Tour finish "mythique"
Course descriptions are here:
.
http://www.timtoo.com/timtoo.php?chronometrage&fa_view_parcours&idpays=2

You can get a timing chip at the tourist office in Bourg d'Oisans

Ands

I have been twice in early June - it gets very cold at night. Daytime it varies but don't bank on good weather. One year it was very cold in the daytime, the other was scorchio. Either way, you can see a complete transformation in temps over a couple of days anyway. You'll need clothing for all seasons on the bike. What sort of accommodation are you planning? We did chalet/mobile home and it was very cold at night and needed loads of layers.

The TdF finsih line is about a mile further on from the finish line in the old town.

singlespeedexplosif

I believe the tourist finish is in the town and the tour is further.
what is the point of that first one anyway?! who would go to the Alpe, ride up most of it and not actually get to the proper finish line? are people *really* in that bad a shape by the time they get to that point that they can't manage a few hundred metres more?


The Alpe in June? Well, it's a mountain.
It can be hot, it can be cold. It can snow, or you can get sunstroke!! You could be baking hot in the valley and fecking freezing by the top. Don't ruin your trip - go prepared for all eventualities and then pick your kit on the day

malcolmfrost

what is the point of that first one anyway?! who would go to the Alpe, ride up most of it and not actually get to the proper finish line?

I suppose the old finish is where the Tour used to finish until they ran out of space for all the vehicles and TV crews.
It also has a podium and a few cafes to sit and gloat, whereas the new one is like a barren car park!
Personally I have always gone "belting" through the old one, go to the new one and then come back for the gloating

durhamwasp

Cheers guys, weather sounds fine! We took different clothing options to le geant and we'll do the same here, it was bloody freezing at 8pm on top of the baldy mountain, but the beers at the bottom warmed us up!

We are driving in and staying in our motorhome, seen a few decent campsites in Bourg and theres 7 of us and an electric heater in there so we should be snug! Cant wait...

singlespeedexplosif

nice campsite right at the bottom of the first ramp. Cascade, or similar. Def worth a look. And a fantastic post-Alpe pizzeria snuck away in a back street in town. Worth having a hunt for.

ratsbeyfus

singlespeedexplosif wrote:

nice campsite right at the bottom of the first ramp. Cascade, or similar. Def worth a look. And a fantastic post-Alpe pizzeria snuck away in a back street in town. Worth having a hunt for.

+1

Yep, La Cascade was a great place to stay. Pitches for tents/caravans and huts to rent. Plenty of other cyclists staying there to join up with as well.

airwise

Pitch your motorhome at the Aire near the Altoport. Free at that time of year and great views.

I'm in Bourg right now and the weather is better than it was in June. This year it snowed heavily around the 21st so beware.

Finally if you are staying a while, do try to climb the Sabot and Solude - both harder than the Alpe and less full of to$$ers.

durhamwasp

airwise wrote:

Pitch your motorhome at the Aire near the Altoport. Free at that time of year and great views.

Thanks great tip! Any maps or info to where it is exactly? cheers!

Interesting about snow on June 21!

airwise

• Brandes motorhome park (65 spaces) (N5): +33 (0)4 76 11 21 21
Water supplies, drainage points

Prices
• Parking + water supply: € 10 / day (tourist tax € 0,40 / day) - unlimited parking time
• Services include: toilets, drinking water, drainage
Payment for motor homes is done automatically on-site.
Booking in advance not possible.

GPS coordinates (lat x lon): 45.086339 6.078916 X

They start charging when the resort opens in July so it's a cheap option. We were there for a week this June as I said. Camnp sites at the bottom will typically charge €15 for a pitch and around €7 per person in addition. If there's four of you you'll be saving over €40 a night.

durhamwasp

Thanks for that tip! Could be a good option!

Yeah Ive noticed campsites are more expensive than we paid in Bedoin, but even at €8 a night each its not too bad, given that we'll get a shower as well. Still, that aire looks good.