Grand Col opening dates 2016
davidof
Posts: 3,036
Croix de Fer opened last Friday, but was passable by bike at least 10 days before. I rode up today from home
Very very cold and windy with a lot of snow round still.
Cormet de Roselend should open on the 21st May, Petit Saint-Bernard and the col de la Madeleine on the 28th
Col de l'Iseran will open in mid June, still 8 meters of snow depth on the north side.
Clearing the north side of the Col du Glandon today, still a lot of work to make is passable http://www.data-avalanche.org/listAvala ... 2948184319 …
It has been passable on the 10 may the last two years.
Very very cold and windy with a lot of snow round still.
Cormet de Roselend should open on the 21st May, Petit Saint-Bernard and the col de la Madeleine on the 28th
Col de l'Iseran will open in mid June, still 8 meters of snow depth on the north side.
Clearing the north side of the Col du Glandon today, still a lot of work to make is passable http://www.data-avalanche.org/listAvala ... 2948184319 …
It has been passable on the 10 may the last two years.
BASI Nordic Ski Instructor
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I saw this picture from Galibier the other day...
It's been a funny old spring (to put it mildly - or perhaps not mildly would be more accurate...)
Even the Colombiere is still closed.0 -
Amazed to see the Col de la Bataille on Vercors still closed at 1336m... it has indeed been a funny spring - I rode the Col de Menée at 1402m in February and it was even clear on the northern side. But since then the weather has stayed stubbornly cold - even now it's not really warmed up properly.SheffSimon wrote:0 -
Heading to Valloire on the 5th June, so I do hope the Galibier is open?Orbea Orca OMX DI2 MyO
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snow forecast down to 1400m tomorrow...0
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Petit St-Bernard...
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In 2013 it was still under 15ft of snow at the beginning of June...Teebs_123 wrote:Heading to Valloire on the 5th June, so I do hope the Galibier is open?0 -
They're estimating 3rd June for the Galibier openingOrbea Orca OMX DI2 MyO
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Col du Galibier is now open
Just hope the weather picks up over the next 2 weeks..Orbea Orca OMX DI2 MyO
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We went to watch the Tour in July. Enough snow on the Galibier that day to cancel them racing over it. You can't guarantee anything in the high mountains.0
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Meteociel is probably the most useful and nuanced forecasting site. If anything they err on the pessimistic side, but keep watching it and you start to get an idea of trends. But the weather's still a bit haywire - they are forecasting 26C for Saturday for 'my' area, but the following Thursday it's just 17C ... and that's in a 'Mediterranean' climate.Teebs_123 wrote:Col du Galibier is now open
Just hope the weather picks up over the next 2 weeks..0 -
Teebs_123 wrote:Col du Galibier is now open
Just hope the weather picks up over the next 2 weeks..
It is only open as far as the tunnel, they are still clearing snow on the col, so not sure it is a good plan for cycling; I've never tried the tunnel on a bike and officially it is banned.
The Glandon is passable on the North side now but still officially closed. The Agnel is open officially. The Madeleine should open in a couple of days.BASI Nordic Ski Instructor
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Madeleine, Petit St-Bernard and Cormet de Roselend are now open. Whether you'd want to ride up them in this awful weather is another matter, however...0
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meanwhile, on the Iseran...
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Lastly, the Colombiere is still closed but that is more to do with the major roadworks taking place in Chinaillon (there is a diversion in place or you can pick your way carefully up the side of the road). The Col itself is clear.0
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Yes the weather has been dreek (as the Scots say). I'm looking at the Roselund for this w'end, it is pretty late this year. Then the Iseran for the w'end after, weather permitting.BASI Nordic Ski Instructor
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This thread has got me concerned! I'm heading out to the Piedmont/Provence region on Monday and was hoping to hit some decent climbs.
Does anyone know what the state of the Col de la Bonnette, Col d'Allos/Champs/Cayolle, Col de la Lombarde and Colle Fauniera are? Also planning on hitting Mont Ventoux on my way down to Marseille, is that likely to be passable this time next week?
I know the weather isn't great right now, but it's forecast to improve next week so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! I'm quite happy dealing with inclement weather, but I don't fancy being one of those moronic tourists who gets stricken/killed on a mountain because they've crashed on ice/been struck by lightning/been blown off the road!0 -
Bonnette, Allos, Ventoux are all open. The weather is much better south of Grenoble.BASI Nordic Ski Instructor
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Thanks for the reply, that's encouraging!
Hoping the weather clears up a bit because there's still a lot of thunderstorms forecast!0 -
I am heading to La Grave to hit the climbs starting on Friday 9th June. I was worried about the forecast rain but sound like I should be more concerned about the snow.
EDIT: Weather turned out to be very good, bar a bit of rain on the Sunday on our way back down the Sarenne. All the Col's were open, and was quite chilly at the tops of climbs, but it proved to be a great trip.0 -
Got back from Bourg d'Oisans on Sunday. This was my fist trip to the Alps and I can't wait to go again. The weather wasn't the greatest with a fair amount of rain but it didn't stop us getting out. We stayed at the Belladonne campsite just outside Bourg, which made a good base. Hired bikes from Bleach Xtreme - bikes were in good condition and the guys in the shop were very helpful setting up our bikes, fitting pedals and saddles.
Day one was a wash out and we only did 10 miles
Day two saw us head up the Col du Lautaret and then up the Col du Galibier. Still a lot of snow at the top of the Galibier.
Day three was a morning ride up the Col du Glandon and Col de la Croix de Fer and an afternoon ride up the to the Col du Solude, including some unlit tunnels and a bit of comedy off road on a gravel track not really made for road bikes. Got wet on both rides, including hailstones in the afternoon!
Day four was a morning ride up Alpe d'Huez before heading for home.
Used this site for planning rides http://bike-oisans.com/en/cycling-oisan ... tes-oisans
Fancy going to the Maurienne Valley next :-)0 -
This was Petit St Bernard in 2013 in early June:
The walls were much higher part way down the road. At the start of the week the road was closed and we have to clamber over 3m of snow to get onto the road to Italy.
This was a cold stop:
Later the same week on Semnoz:
3 weeks before he rolled into Paris in yellow.0 -
Went up the Iseran today, road is clear, snow banks at top but resurfacing going on with a contra flow in place for about a mile making it a bit of a nightmare on a bike.0
