Col Informer Archives

Col du Galibier

The pass of the Col du Galibier (2,645 metres) is located in the southern region of the French Dauphiné Alps.

The tunnel at 2,556 meters used to be the only through road until 1976.

When the tunnel was closed for restoration, a loop around the summit, similar to the one over the Bonette, was constructed.

This reaches the ‘official’ summit of 2,645 meters.

With this loop included, it claims 9th spot in the highest paved European roads list, and 5th spot of highest mountain passes.

Without it, it’s ranked 11th and 6th respectively.

Like all passes in the area, it’s closed during winter, roughly between October and June.

The Col de la Croix de Fer (2,067 meters) connects the Isère and Savoie regions.

The area – on both sides – attracts many cyclists, as there are many famous climbs to be found, besides this one.

In Isère – centred around Bourg-d’Oisans – these include the Lautaret, Les Deux Alps, la Bérarde and “the most famous of them all”, the Alpe d’Huez.

In the Savoie region, centred around Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, you’ll find – among others – the Glandon, Télégraphe / Galibier and the Madeleine.

With its 2,770 meters, the official summit of the Col de l’Iseran is the highest paved pass in Europe.

The Cime, an artificial loop around the Bonette, is claimed by many – mostly from the Ubaye valley – as being higher.

While mathematically correct, the official pass height of the Bonette is 2,715 meters.

The Iseran, the Stelvio (2,758) and the Agnel (2,744) are higher ‘by nature’…

With a summit at 2,501 meters it earns a top 10 spot in the list of highest paved passes in Europe and it is the highest paved pass in Switzerland.

The Umbrail was a side-trip into Switzerland during the Giro of 2011 and the start of my Giro of 2020.

I started the climb in bad weather during my Tour de Suisse 2019 too, but found it was blocked by a landslide some 5 or 6 kilometers in.

The Umbrail from Bormio is the same climb as the Stelvio, minus the final 3.3 kilometers.

Either end of the Umbrail can be cycled free of motorized traffic during the Stelvio Bike Day.

With a summit at 2,236 meters, the Passo di Giau doesn’t earn a high ranking in the list of highest (paved) passes in Europe.

However, with an average of 9.2%, the climb from Selva di Cadore is a tough one.