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Region: French Alps
Climbing effort: 845 cep
Elevation meters: 1106
Steepest kilometer: 10.1%

Steepest 250 m: 11%
Foot: 501 m    Top: 1607 m
Mean slope: 6.8%
Length: 16.2 km

From: Scionzier
Road conditions (2019): good
Other race bikers: 5-10 per hour
Motor vehicles: 30-60 per hour
Scenery and road: (4/5)
Restaurant or bar near top: yes

PHOTOS    
SW SIDE     Download gpx

         

Other climbs French Alps

The Col de la Colombière is one of the passes of the Route des Grandes Alpes and is often climbed in the Tour de France (22 times up to and including 2019). The road that starts in Scionzier in the Arve Valley is relatively quiet and sometimes quite narrow and therefore pleasant for cyclists. Furthermore, the climb is quite a challenge because it spans a considerable number of elevation meters (1106) and because it is pretty steep in the second half of the trip. The first nine kilometers up to Le Reposoir take place mainly in the forest so views on the surrounding mountains are rare. For the real climber, this part is not that challenging (2-8%). In Le Reposoir, the character of the ascent suddenly changes. The landscape becomes more open which, among other things, results in a beautiful view of the, at least when I was cycling here, snow-covered Chaîne du Reposoir (left of the climbing cyclist). Also past Le Reposoir, the road becomes much steeper. The remaining more than 7 kilometers to the pass slope 8.6%, on average. The pass becomes visible at about three kilometers before it is reached. These final kilometers include the steepest kilometer of the trip (10.1%), just before the end. There is a terrace at the pass, a good place to recover from the effort.