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Region: Switzerland
Climbing effort: 1204 cep
Elevation meters: 1698
Steepest kilometer: 9.4%

Steepest 250 m: 10%
Foot: 498 m    Top: 2100 m
Mean slope: 4.2%
Length: 38.3 km

From: Sion
Road conditions (2025): average
Other race bikers: 0-1 per hour
Motor vehicles: 60-180 per hour
Scenery and road: (2/5)
Restaurant or bar near top: yes

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Other climbs Switzerland

This ride from Sion in the Rhône valley through the Val d’Hérens up to Arolla is very long (38 kilometres). This is due in part to three almost horizontal sections, which together account for about half of the total distance. That raises the question whether this is actually a climb at all. These three near-flat sections separate four genuine climbing sections from one another. The road is mostly wide and has a decent surface. Up to the village of Vex, which is reached after six kilometres, there is a lot of traffic. After that it becomes quieter, the further you ride into the valley. However, when I was biking here, there were also many lorries, which was not particularly pleasant. On the positive stands the fact that the cyclist is awarded by a scenic highlight that becomes visible in the final kilometres of the ride, near Arolla. It is the view of the Mont Collon (3637 metres), which, with its almost symmetrical shape, is one of the most beautiful mountains I know.

After starting in Sion, climbing starts immediately, with a section in which more than 400 metres of elevation at a gradient of mostly 7% are gained. After Vex comes the first and longest almost horizontal part (nearly 10 kilometres), where about halfway you pass the “Pyramides d’Euseigne”. These are cone-shaped rock formations created by erosion. They are best seen on the descent. Where the road switches to the other side of the valley, the second climbing section begins (nearly 400 metres of elevation gain at mostly 8%), ending just before Evolène. Through this tourist village and then on to Les Haudères, the road continues with only a very small elevation gain (slope between –2 and 3%). This is followed by the most demanding climbing section of the entire ride, around 350 metres of elevation gain at a gradient of mostly 9%. In the flatter section that follows there are several tunnels, all but one of which are semi-open. Shortly before reaching Arolla, the road becomes steeper again, and after the village centre the ride ends with a pleasant, slightly steeper section (8%).