Region: French Alps
Climbing effort: 757 cep
Elevation meters: 675
Steepest kilometer: 13.6%

Steepest 250 m: 16%
Foot: 727 m    Top: 1393 m
Mean slope: 9.7%
Length: 6.9 km

From: l'Essert
Road conditions (2019): good
Other race bikers: 1-5 per hour
Motor vehicles: <10 per hour
Scenery and road: (3/5)
Restaurant or bar near top: yes

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Other climbs French Alps

This climb does not overcome a lot of elevation meters (675) but it is utterly steep. In 2019 this ascent to the Plateau des Glières was, among the climbs of this website in the French Alps, the one with the steepest kilometer (13.6%) and the greatest effective slope (11.2%). The ride begins along the D12 at the turnoff to l'Essert. The first more than 500 meters are almost horizontal but then the real thing starts. First there is a still relatively pleasant section (8-9%) of just over a kilometer but after that the great suffering begins. The next three kilometers have an average gradient of 11.5% on a road that is exciting thanks to the hairpin bends and the abysses. Where a farm comes into sight to the right, the road suddenly becomes flatter. But don't be fooled! After the farm, the slope of the now somewhat wider street gets infernal again. There is still a little more than a kilometer to go. Part of it is the steepest kilometer of the ascent (13.6%). A parking lot with a café with a terrace on the left marks the finish.