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Western alps
Western alps
Mont Blanc ?? Monaco
Granted, there are faster ways to get to the Mediterranean from the mightiest peak in the Alps. But who drives on time when the highest passes are on the route??
Joachim Deleker
09/29/2006
Big mountains need distance. Seen up close, they look steep at best, but never really huge. Even Mont Blanc is no exception. If you stand directly in front of it, you will hardly believe that this block towers almost four kilometers high above Chamonix into the steel-blue sky. Only when I turn the Yamaha XT 660 around and take the small path up to Lac d’Emosson in the direction of the Swiss border, the dimensions are right again. Like an impregnable bastion of rock and ice, the 4807 meter high king dominates the Alps, often referred to as the highest mountain in Europe. Even if geographers and mountaineers see it differently. For them, Elbrus in distant Russia is the highest point on the continent at 5642 meters, as it is a few kilometers north of the main Caucasus ridge and thus on this side of the arbitrary border between Europe and Asia. In view of this great prospect, however, I don’t care about such quibbles.
The Italian side of the mountain now appeals to me. Theoretically, it would be reached in a few moments through the nearly twelve-kilometer-long Mont Blanc tunnel. In practice, things look different. 25-year-old memories when I tormented my way through the tube on my old XT 500 are too strong. In front of my funzel there were wretchedly smoking trucks that crept along with asphyxiating 20 things. No thanks, not again. The alternative is a 150-kilometer detour over the Great St. Bernard Pass. But what does detour actually mean? This region is home to a selection of the Oberliga passes that merge almost immediately into one another in the Western Alps – and form a highly attractive route down to Monaco. If you’re in a hurry, you don’t belong here anyway and can reach the Mediterranean by other means.
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Deleker
Bizarre rocky landscapes at the Col d’Izoard.
Arrived in Italy, coming from Aosta, I head straight for the now overcast Monte Bianco. The way there leads me rather coincidentally via Colle San Carlo, which I didn’t even know by name until then. The route turns out to be a real blast in terms of driving pleasure and with its repertoire of curves and bends, demands everything from man and machine. Although “only” 1971 meters high, the route fits almost every major transition into your pocket. No question about it, the maximum number of points is awarded for this varied road layout. Only when it comes to the view does the San Carlo get a clean zero. The next pass, the approximately 51 kilometer long Col du Petit St. Bernard, is clearly superior to him and offers a clear view until he drops. The entry into the French Savoy is additionally sweetened with freshly baked blueberry cake in the hut at the top of the pass.
A look at the menu reveals the next highlight: the Col de l’Isèran. It still has to fall today. The XT literally plunges down to Bourg St. Maurice and into the oppressive heat of the valleys. Much too warm when you come from the mountains, where even in August the temperatures are Scandinavian at best. Fortunately, the D 902 climbs uphill again, some time later through the ski resort of Val d’Isère, which at this time of the year presents itself as a soulless ghost town. Although some architects even made the effort and at least adorned the facades of their concrete hotels with wood or natural stone.
Behind the village finally the ramp to Isèran. The narrow road shimmy through a subarctic landscape. No tree, no bush, just tough, green-gray grass and marmots scurrying across the street. In sheltered hollows, a few yellow flowers defy the harsh climate. Fast, low-flying clouds get caught on icy mountain peaks. Cold wind cheats through the jacket. Wasn’t it still summer? The euphoria of arriving at the top of the 2770-meter-high Col de l’Isèran – the second highest pass in the Alps – after 17 kilometers becomes a bit hypothermic at nine degrees. A ten minute break to catch the view before the sun finally dips behind the peaks. Down in the valley the hammer falls for today.
Western Alps (3)
Deleker
Old military roads – the salt in the soup.
The next day you are spoiled for choice: three passes southwards, Allos, Cayolle and Bonette, the latter with a height of 2802 meters is considered the giant of all tarred Alpine passes. The decision is easy – I’ll take all three of them under the cleats. First the bonette. The long driveway is only really exciting beyond the tree line. The brown, red and yellow mountains could just as well grow in the Argentine Andes or a Spanish Sierra, drawing a completely different world than on the Galibier or Isèran. For the ultimate panoramic view, I take the last few meters to the summit of the 2,860 meter high Bonette on foot.
You fall straight from the Alps into Provence via the freshly tarred southern ramp. Suddenly there is an intense smell of wild thyme, pine and eucalyptus trees, and the places are no longer exclusively presented in dreary gray, but in friendly red and yellow pastel tones. Old men crouch in the shade of thick plane trees, presumably observing the hustle and bustle on the street for decades. It is almost difficult to turn the XT in St. Saveur again in the direction of the high alpine mountains, it suddenly seems so tempting to roll down to the sea on the fastest route. But a plan is a plan: So up to the Col de la Cayolle and back over the Col d’Allos. Countless curves, little traffic and once again awesome panoramas. It would have been foolish to rush straight to the coast. The grandiose finale of the day, however, does not provide a pass, but the Daluis Gorge. Dark red rocks plunge vertically into the depths dug by the Var River over millions of years. It is almost unbelievable how the D 902 clings to the edge of this canyon.
Deleker
Monaco: 32,000 inhabitants on 1.9 square kilometers.
The decision is made early the next morning: My symbolic destination, the Principality of Monaco, will have to wait another day for my arrival (can happen if you dig into the maps again in the evening). Via Beuil and St. Saveur I drive the Yamaha towards Isola and over the Col de la Lombarde again to Italy and there to the Colle di Tenda. The south ramp of the old fortress road, which is already on the French side again, attracts with 48 gravel hairpin bends and provides perfect off-road happiness. With such impressions in mind, even the legendary Col de Turini, where the heroes of the Monte Carlo Rally celebrate their drifting skills every winter, fades a little. You can almost smell the sea. When the XT finally turns onto the Grande Corniche, that famous panoramic road above the Côte d’Azur, the blue stretches in front of me to the horizon.
All that remains is the detour to Monaco – the total contrast to the world of the Alps. 32,000 people in just under two square kilometers. There is no other country in the world that is closer. A single gray-silver high-rise disaster. It’s hard to believe that one of the most expensive spots in the world can be so ugly. Whoever lives here usually only has one financial problem: what to do with the cash? The world-famous casino is ideal. Or an anchorage in the harbor, where luxury yachts in ocean liner format are moored. On the quay, the entire automobile celebrity. Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maybach count as Volkswagen. When I want to photograph a Rolls Royce in front of the giant yacht Lady Moura, a uniformed gorilla hurries towards me from the ship: “You probably won’t …, that’s private.” I am completely out of place in the world of the beautiful and the rich. I’m retreating, running the XT. Rough direction Mont Blanc. The way will then be revealed.
Western Alps (2)
Deleker
At the top: the cafe on the Col d’Allos.
Map study during breakfast the next morning takes a little longer. The legendary “Route des Grandes Alpes”, the great alpine road, aims from Lanslebourg directly west to the Col du Galibier. So this transition could be tackled in an hour. But I would taste one of the highlights of the Western Alps: the Assietta-Kammstrabe. So I postpone the Galibier until later, swing further east over the Col du Mt. Cenis to Italy and turn in Susa onto the hardly car-wide road to Colle delle Finestre. Bingo! 54 extremely tight turns that hang stacked on top of each other in the mountain. This route must be a nightmare for a fully loaded travel steamer, but the XT is finally moving in its element. The road only becomes easier when it swaps the fresh tar for dusty gravel beyond the tree line, the radii become wider and thus clearer.
Finally, behind the Finestre, the Assietta-Kammstrabe branches off. Fortunately, the weather is great, because the views from this former military road almost knock you out of your saddle. The green valleys shimmer deep down, on the left the Valle Chisone, on the right the river landscape of the Dora Riparia. On the western horizon, the four-thousand-meter peaks of the Ecrins massif bore their way into white clouds. The uncomplicated gravel road hardly raises any questions. Only the many waves and potholes require concentration and good shock absorption. Nevertheless, I think I am dreaming when a Gold Wing, steaming away under full sail, lurches towards me and the Italian flag is hoisted on the top case.
The Assietta rappels down to Sestrière, which has by no means become more beautiful due to the construction boom for the Winter Olympics. Shortly afterwards the border with France, then Briançon, the highest town in the Alps, with an exciting, historical maze of alleys. Before I finally set out on the Mediterranean, I treat myself to one last detour north: to the Col du Galibier, now finally. This pass is a total work of art and even has a support group: in the south the Col du Lautaret and on the other side the sensational Col du Telegraphe. In between, the ensemble of curves winds its way up to a height of 2642 meters. From the very top I discover Mont Blanc, which should be a good 100 kilometers away from the Galibier. Beeline, of course. Almost opposite, the steep and almost completely glaciated east face of the almost 4000 meter high La Meije sparkles just as impressively.
Deleker
Provencal flair and scents in charming St. Sauveur.
Back in Briançon, turn signal left and up to Col d’Izoard. Moderate incline and a comparatively calm route. Time to take a breath – until the path winds through the Casse Deserte. Bizarre brown rock towers, pinnacles and arches modeled by wind and weather protrude from the reddish shimmering scree slopes. Erosion in its most beautiful form.
The rest of the day goes by in a flash. Shortly after the charming Guillestre, the Col de Parpaillon branches off. According to the “Denzel Alpine Road Guide” a route for “particularly sporty and experienced mountain bikers”. That makes you curious, no question about it. I promptly find myself on a rough, stony track that climbs steeply uphill through barren meadows. Oops, so this is where the music plays. At the apex, which is 2,632 meters high, a rough world awaits me with desolate scree and sparse grass, before the path descends into an approximately 500-meter-long, pitch-black tunnel. Inside, ice plates should block the track even in summer. The “Denzel” advises you to bring ice ax and shovel with you, but this warning is probably aimed primarily at motorists. Nevertheless, be careful. First course. I feel the ground with the beam of light from the Yamaha, but instead of rolling over ice, the XT rolls through huge puddles and mud. No problem.
Western Alps (information)
Deleker
A must for mountain fans: the panorama window on the summit of la Bonette – 2,860 meters above zero.
The Western Alps offer everything, from a tricky gravel path to a fast pass. Hardly anywhere else are the contrasts greater than between Mont Blanc and the Mediterranean.
Getting there:
The shortest routes to Mont Blanc lead either through Switzerland via Basel, Bern and Martigny or along Lake Geneva to Chamonix. If you want to approach this route from the south, you can get to Nice and Monaco in France via the toll highways E 15 and E 80. The most convenient way to get here is the DB Autozug, which runs from Hamburg and Dusseldorf to Frejus on the Côte d’Azur. For one person and a motorcycle, a one-way trip from Dusseldorf costs from 208 euros, depending on the season. Information from DB Autozug, phone 0180/5241224 or on the Internet at www.dbautozug.de.
Travel time:
August is the main travel month in France and Italy. Traffic jams and annoying room or campground searches are the result. In June, July and September, things are more problem-free. Whereby the high passes in June can still be in hibernation. The respective automobile clubs provide information about winter closures: ADAC, phone 089/76760, www.adac.de; TCS (Touring Club Switzerland), phone 0041/22412424, www.tcs.ch; ACI (L’Automobile Club d’Italia), phone 0039/06/491115, www.aci.it; ACF (Automobile Club France), phone 0033/2241/72424, www.automobileclub.org.
Deleker
Duration of the trip: four days; Distance driven: 1000 kilometers.
Stay:
Whether a campsite or a five-star hotel – every wish can be fulfilled in the Alpine countries. However, things can get tight in France and Italy in August. Otherwise there are refugios and albergos at practically every pass, which are guaranteed to have one or two beds for the night. A tent is particularly worthwhile for the French part of the Alps, as there are the most beautiful campsites there. If you approach it carefully and considerately, you will be able to set up your hut wildly without having to expect problems with the authorities. Italian campsites are usually in the firm hands of long-term campers.
Offroad:
The French and Italians are comparatively tolerant when it comes to driving on the old military tracks. However, even with them, the fun stops when all-terrain heaters abuse the paths as a race track. The result is route closures with drastic penalties for disregard. There are still some free stretches that are perfect for enduro hiking. How long it stays that way depends solely on the driving behavior of each individual.
Literature:
Outstanding is the “Grosse Alpenstrabenfuhrer” from Denzel-Verlag, affectionately known as “the Denzel”. The thick tome costs 36 euros, is updated every two years and describes in great detail almost all drivable roads in the entire Alps. You will look in vain for hotel or route tips in this work. The tour guide “Lust auf French Alps” from the Highlights publishing house for eleven euros is also highly recommended. It lives up to its name with ten detailed tour suggestions. Top map material comes from Michelin on a scale of 1: 150,000. The route described can be found on sheets 333, 334 and 341 at a cost of 7.50 euros each.
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