Col du Telegraphe and then "The Mighty" Col du Galibier

The biggest climb around Bourg d'Oisins is the Col du Galibier. Given a 10/10 in "the book", its 2646m high with a height gain of 1216m from Valloire. Its 19km long with an average gradient of ~7%. We planned to climb from the north and that route means that its not just a climb of the Galibier but also the Col du Telegraphe as well first. On its own the Telegraphe is a 6/10. The Telegraphe is a 12km climb of 878m (average gradient 7.4%) to an altitude of 1566m.

Given these numbers I was really excited to have a go at this pair of Cols. There were some considerations that meant that I actually planned this ride (other than just the route). Firstly there was the small matter of getting to the foot of the Telegraphe in the town of Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne. The shortest route (due to the landslide) was up to the Glandon and then down the other side, along the valley and park in Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne - the short matter of around 50 miles and 90 minutes driving. Second the weather - or more precisely the temperature. Given my experience climbing the Col de Sarenne I was very concerned about the distance and height gain we'd do if the temperature was as high as it was when I did the Sarenne. However the weather forecast for the Wednesday suggested it would be a relatively cool 25 Deg C so we chose that day, but with an early start from Bourg d'Oisins to get most of the climbing done before it was too hot. 

We drove off and reached Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne without any issues (clear roads all the way), and parked just down from the station (commenting that almost everywhere in France seems to be free parking whereas we'd always pay in the UK). After 10 minutes of getting the bikes and ourselves ready we set off. As the Telegraphe starts less than 1km from the main road, we headed off for 3-4km first in the wrong direction to warm up as much as we could. So we passed the car again and rode through the town and the turned right to climb the Telegraphe.

Here's the route:

The Cols of Telegraphe and Galibier from the North

The Profile

We crossed the river and went under the railway and the climb started - as with all Cols the gradient went from almost 0 straight to ~8%. My son started pulling away almost from the off and I found the first few km hard as I was not properly warmed up. However I was able to stay in the 28tooth at the rear and gradually my heart rate started to drop a little for the same level of effort - and whilst it was not easy it was certainly much easier than it had been in the first week and my confidence grew. I was still conscious that I had a big ride ahead and it was all about pacing and took it steady.

About 1/2 way up I was passing a picnic area and was flagged down - "Francais?" was the question - "non-Anglais" was the answer. The wrong answer it transpired. The issue was that the front wheel of one of the cyclists' bikes (a brand new mid spec Trek) had completely gone out of true. He'd got it "better" with some brute force using the slats of the picnic bench but it was still very bad and he wanted to open the brakes and needed a multi-tool- so I lent him mine. He ended up having to remove the brake pads as well. Once he'd got that far the bike was as readable as it could be and I re-packed my tool and set back up the Col.

It was not a massively hard climb - the road surface was good and the gradient even, so it was a case of pacing carefully anticipating the much bigger climb to come. I reached the top in a time of 1:00:16 - I was very please with that as I'd "lost" about 5 minutes with lending my multi tool - a time of 1 hour put me at around 4800th of over 13000 so pretty good I think. Here's the requisite photo of my bike at the summit:

At the top of the Telegraphe

A quick stop to fill the water bottle I'd emptied and we set off for the Galibier. There's a reasonable and fast descent down to the village of Valloire, and then you follow the one way system round to the climb for the Galibier. The climbing starts in the village in fact and I was in the small front in the village. It then heads out past 1-2 km of ski lodges starting at 19km to go. It was actually steeper than the the overall average gradient for these couple of km and it was hard and tiring. The gradient then eased to a few % to 5-6% for quite a few km. If I was less tired I'd have been able to push on the big ring but I need to use the small and could not get a good cadence going.

As the climb progressed it started to rise at a more consistent gradient and I started to feel better as I got more into a rhythm. It continues like this up to about 10km to the summit - constantly climbing and the landscape getting progressively barren and mountainous. I passed a few cyclist on the way. There was some traffic but not a lot and the road was wide enough to be passed easily.

The 10km point marks the start of the "Big mountain". You pass a small cafe on your left (Plan Lachat) and a few 100 meters further on the road doubles back on itself and the real climbing begins.

It starts with several straight sections zig-zagging backwards and forwards for a few km. Once you are heading generally southwards again it straightens and then curves round following the contours. There is another sharp hairpin and the road now takes a more southwesterly route. It continues in this directions climbing all the while but contouring round the mountain. Its about this point that you can just start to make out the summit and see that there was snow still on the summit. It was also very windy here and the bike was blown a little around in the strong gusts coming of the summit. The gradient seemed to ease slightly here and I was able to drop into 3rd gear (34-26) and press on.

The hairpins stat again about 1.5-1km from the summit. A photographer was here and I later bought one of the photos.

At 1km the choice is to go through the tunnel (Bikes are banned) or ride up to the summit. There's again several switch backs and the gradient rises again. I was hoping to stay in the 34-28 but need to use the 34-30 for the last 500m or so. Finally you crest the summit which is quite a large area surprisingly with a car park and a lot of cyclist standing around the sign. Here's me and my son at the "top".

My son at the top of the Galibier

Me at the top of the Galibier (with my sons thumb!)

Here's a video of the last 9km of the climb (50 minutes long):

Its not actually the highest point - you can clamber a further 20-30m higher - but I was not going to do that in cycling shoes!

I stood around and enjoyed the view:

Looking South from the of the Galibier

Another view looking south from the top of the Galibier

Another view looking south from the top of the Galibier

Looking north from the top of the Galibier (the way we'd come)

Looking north from the top of the Galibier (the way we'd come)

Looking north from the top of the Galibier (the way we'd come)

After 5-10 minutes at the top all that was required was to go down again! We stopped for some lunch in Valliore. I had a very nice pasta dish

Lunch in Valloire

Leaving Valliore meant we had to ascend to the top of the Telegraphe again. It was not too hard a climb but after a lot of climbing already and stopping for lunch I could not quite make it up in the big ring (my son did though). The descent off the Telegraphe was fast although there was no way I could or would live with my son's speed down the mountains.

To Summarise:

• The Galibier is the highest point that I have stood on earth
• I climbed a total of 7500ft over 48 miles at an average speed of 12mph
• 7500ft is the biggest climb I have ever completed on my bike
• Its the best climb I have ever done and the sense of achievement was tremendous

There's a Strava segment that replicates the TimToo timing points: https://www.strava.com/segments/7474237
Its an "HC" climb - 11.3miles long, average gradient 7% of and height gain of 4044ft. I made it in 1:30:12 and was placed ~2600th of 12800 - excellent I felt.

Awesome!