Alps at Easter, cols open to ride?

FHKJ

I've been invited, with family, to a friend's chalet in Manigod over Easter. Kids and wife ski, but I don't. Does anyone know if Id be able to ride the cols around Manigod at Easter-time?

There are loads of great cols: Col de la Croix Fry, Col de la Merdassier and Col de Plan-Bois, all of which I'd love to ride, but not if they're knee deep in snow...

Help much appreciated!

andymiller

How high are they?

FHKJ

Max 1500-1600m height...

schweiz

Easter is late this year (24th April) and so far it's not been a great winter for skiing so at first glance I would have said 'maybe' given the heights of them (1300 - 1500 m) but it seems like the answer is yes....all year round!

http://www.cycling-challenge.com/col-de ... es-aravis/

http://www.cycling-challenge.com/col-de ... an-bois-2/

Fogliettaz

At that height they will probably still have snow on them, anything up to 1200mts should be clear as I am thinking of taking my bike out at the same time to get some climbing practice in before July.

schweiz

For the record looking at some my Garmin records of early season passes over the last few years...

25 April - Brünigpass (1007m) - This pass stays open all winter, so no problems.

06 May . Oberergletscher Grindelwald (1225m) Road through Grindelwald normally left 'white' in winter but was black

14 May - Steingletscher (1865m) - Road was blocked (artificially with a snow bank) from this point to the summit. There were some small 'avalanches' across the road on the way back down (that ween't there on the way up!)

17 May - Glaubenbielenpass (1611m) and Glaubenbergpass (1543m) - Snow banks at side of road but both were ploughed and had no problems

29 May - Grosse Scheidegg (1961m) - Road was officially closed at the top although clear. Ducked under the rope and rode through no problems.

FHKJ

Thanks schweiz, I'll probably risk it based on that, much better than riding round Richmond Park...

andymiller

FHKJ wrote:

Thanks schweiz, I'll probably risk it based on that, much better than riding round Richmond Park...

At those heights then there's a good chance they should be OK, but the weather isn't completely predictable - you can get heavy snowfalls even in April. So it's best to have a Plan B in case a pass is closed. Also there are websites that tell you whether a particular pass is open or not - use the search facility I'm sure there've been posts about this.

danny1c

I went last year in mid May and the Galiber, Croix de fer and Glandon were still closed. It was very cold and had lots of icy showers. Still had a great time though

dilemna

It might be a good idea to take snow tyres.