Col de Couz
This low pass just barely skirts the north eastern edge of
the Chartreuse Mountains. Along the way several turnoffs
lead to more interesting passes in the Chartreuse.
 |
1.(400m,00.0km)
START-END SOUTH: Les Echelles
2.(636m,07.6km)TOP: Col De Couz
3.(280m,24.2km)START-END NORTH: Chambery
|
Approaches
From South. The wide and busy road
leaving les Echelles also has a bikelane, at least on the
climbing side, and is nice bike ride without problems. There is
a nice view onto the village Saint Christophe sur Guiers with
bands of limestone cliffs behind it (pictured below). Then the
road goes through a tunnel and gains the crest with a long
straight away. The few widely spaced houses near the top of the
pass comprise the village St Jean de Couz. In 2005 it was 260
people spread over 7.7 square kms.
From North. (described downwards) a
long shallow roll leads straight into the center of Annecy. The
bike line disappears on the downhill section
A Dayride with this summit as intermediate point is on
page: Col du Cucheron
History:
This seemingly insignificant pass has a long history. It was
already part of a Roman road between Lyon to Milan. The road was
restored by the Piedmont-Sardinia kingdom. It was also a post
for French resistance during the German invasion in WW2.
|