High-Alps MTB
Tour 2002
A Mountain-Bike Week in the
Swiss, French and Italian
Day 6, Thursday,
July 25, 2002: Courmayeur –
Today
is our last day. We start in Courmayeur, at a low elevation of 1,224 m. The
southern ranges of the
Climbing
up to the Col Ferret will require about 1300 m (4000 ft). We start slowly in
the cool, almost cold morning air. The sun reaches us. It feels good to get
warm, but not hot. In fact, there is a cold wind blowing down from the high
mountain which requires us to keep the wind jacket. One French guy passes us by
riding up this valley with his chest naked, without even so much as a T-Shirt!
I can’t understand how he can tolerate the cold wind…
We
follow a small street to the end of the Val Ferret. Finally we warm up and shed
some layers of clothing. It is a beautiful scenery along the little river
coming down from the glaciers.
Our
first goal is a local hut which also attracts a lot of tourists and day hikers.
Initially we ride in groups of two, chatting about various aspects of our lives
back home, which seems strangely remote at this point. Later, as the steepening
slope forces the road into switch-backs, we each find our own rhythm and climb
towards the end of the road.
Eventually
we reach the hut around 11:20am. We park the bikes and have some drinks and
refreshments. We have the peak where
After
some well deserved rest at the hut we continue towards the Col Ferret. Now
there is no more road, so we push our bikes along a small foot path. The higher
we climb, the more the surrounding scenery unfolds. In the following still
looking West, the mountain above the bike is the Grandes Jorasses; its famous
North face is considered one of the toughest combined rock / ice climbs in the
Finally
we top out at the Col Ferret at 1:30pm. We stand on the Italian and Swiss
border. Strong and cold wind greets us so we don’t linger very long.
We
put on our wind jackets and start to roll down the East side of the pass.
Luckily the path is smooth and not very steep, so we can ride down almost the
entire descent.
It
is a long way down. First there are steep flanks, but the path leads down in
switch-backs which can almost all be negotiated without getting off the bike.
Eventually
we reach the end of the road leading down and out the valley to the East. When
we get to the first little village, we stop for some more coffee and drinks.
The view goes back up to the mountains and pass we have just crossed.
It
is 3:30pm. We are all tired. Perhaps our bodies sense that we are approaching
the end of this MTB week with its daily dose of 2000m vertical climbs and
frenzied bike descents. Speaking of which, first we have to roll down all the
way out to the lowest parts of the valley. It is a sheer endless road and we
are playing with each others draft as we roll down, trying to assume as
aerodynamic a position as possible.
After
a long descent and rounding another corner at the bottom of the valley we need
to ride back up to Lourtier. Even though it is only about 200m, this last climb
really stings. Only the knowledge that our car is up there keeps us going and
at 5:30pm we finally reach Lourtier.
We
have closed the loop! 5 days ago we started here early in the morning full of
anticipation for the high mountains and passes we got to see. What a great
trip!
We
take a shower in the hotel we had stayed at the very beginning as per our
agreement with the host there. This proves quite refreshing and is more than
necessary for our long late-night drive back to
The
trip back is a long one, but all in all uneventful. It is way past midnight
when four tired, but thoroughly happy bikers get out of the car in
Three
days later, Frank celebrates his 40th birthday in