A 'col' is another word for a mountain pass, and this month's microadventure was to climb one on my bike, coinciding with the Tour de France https://www.letour.fr/en/
Staying in the heart of Morzine in the French Alps, there were a lot to choose from, ranging in difficulty, altitude, distance and gradient.
There are two sides to the Col de la Joux Verte - the better known southern route from Morzine to Avoriaz (known as Montée d'Avoriaz or Route d'Avoriaz) or the lesser known northern ascent - more beautiful, more varied and less busy. So we decided to go for that. Starting at the roundabout in the village of Montriond, the road climbs from 886 m through wooded areas and past the stunning Lake Montriond for a total of 14.7 km before finally reaching the col at 1760 m.
The average gradient was 6.5% and each km post tells you the gradient of the next km, which I found really helpful... until the middle sections rarely dipped below 9% and I would have rather just not known! Just as I was in the middle of one of those km, I saw a snail and reminded my competitive alter ego that it didn't matter how slow I went, just to KEEP PEDALING!
The scenery on the way up really was stunning, with Lake Montriond (where we swam the next day) and the village of Les Lindarets (aka GOAT VILLAGE) being highlights.
After Les Lindarets, there was a welcome 2 km respite at 5% before the final 2 km ramped back up to 8%. It then flattened out just before I arrived at the Morzine-Avoriaz ski station and then enjoyed the descent back down to Morzine.
Staying in the heart of Morzine in the French Alps, there were a lot to choose from, ranging in difficulty, altitude, distance and gradient.
There are two sides to the Col de la Joux Verte - the better known southern route from Morzine to Avoriaz (known as Montée d'Avoriaz or Route d'Avoriaz) or the lesser known northern ascent - more beautiful, more varied and less busy. So we decided to go for that. Starting at the roundabout in the village of Montriond, the road climbs from 886 m through wooded areas and past the stunning Lake Montriond for a total of 14.7 km before finally reaching the col at 1760 m.
The average gradient was 6.5% and each km post tells you the gradient of the next km, which I found really helpful... until the middle sections rarely dipped below 9% and I would have rather just not known! Just as I was in the middle of one of those km, I saw a snail and reminded my competitive alter ego that it didn't matter how slow I went, just to KEEP PEDALING!
The scenery on the way up really was stunning, with Lake Montriond (where we swam the next day) and the village of Les Lindarets (aka GOAT VILLAGE) being highlights.
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| Lake Montriond |
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| Swimming in Lake Montriond the next day |
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| Meeting the goats at Les Lindarets |
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| Start of the descent from Morzine-Avoriaz Ski Station back down to Morzine |
A couple of days (and cols, because climbing mountains actually starts to become 'fun'...) later, we went to watch the Tour heading up Col de Romme, and even made it on the telly! They make it look so easy...
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| The leaders of the peloton on Col de Romme |
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| We made it onto TV! |
