|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
| |
Cormet de Roselend
This pass road seems to be on many favorite lists. It is the
closest paved road to the west side of the Mont Blanc
Massif, but you only catch a view of it at one particular
place. On the other side of the pass is the lower
Beaufontain group of mountains. This road stays above
treeline for a long time. On both sides approaches lead
through deep glacially cut gorges.
picture page
From South. Three pass roads converge in Bourg St Maurice, Kleiner Sankt Bernhard Pass (Col du Petit St Bernard), Col d'Isere and Cormet de Roselend. Unlike the other two, the approach to Cormet de Roselend starts climbing immediately upon leaving the roundabout outside town, and enters the massive gorge of the Versoyen. Framed by a V made of trees and rocks, a snowy peak on the south of N90 slowly grows in posture as the road rises. That was only the first part of the workout. The road levels out a bit and enters a high alpine valley, still with vertical walls. Another ice dissected peak manages to creep into view at the head of a valley on the right side at "les Chapieux". There is a junction with a dirt road and this is also the site of a fairly primitive looking, but expensive auberge. The pressures of tourism here may be higher than first suspected. Surprise - the ice dissected peak is really a flank of Mont Blanc. Now the "pressures of tourism" part starts to make sense too. Continuing past les Chapieux, the road turns east and climbs
a breadloaf shaped mass far above treeline. The top is a wide
tundra gap with the most impressive peaks on the south side,
Aguile de Grand Fond. Surprisingly all the peaks in that group
are still well below 3000m. On top of the pass is a small
parking lot and maybe a portable souvenir/ham shop.
From North. (described downwards) This side is not quite as stark looking, but maybe even more scenic. You can see various block shaped mountains in the distance falling away like a staircase. After the road passes two restaurants it descends to the Roselend Reservoir. Unless it's getting late too early, this is a chance to relax (from the strenuous downhill). The road makes its way to a picturesque chapel opposite a waterfall on the opposite side of the lake. It's almost a little too picturesque. It looks like it has been put up just for photgraphic purposes. In a way it was, and in another way it was not. It is a reconstruction of a chapel that was submerged in the reservoir. The reconstruction is authentic but the location appears contrived. Just when leaving the lake the road passes a point labeled
"Col de Maraillet" on the map. It is a shoulder point
on the paved route, and I can't find a second approach to this
pass on the map, so it remains somewhat of a mystery. Historical Notes Before the reservoir came the town. The town of
Roselend was already a tourist destination. It had three hotes
for wealthy tourists. Between the time that the land for the
damn was sold, to the time that the damn was actually filled to
maximum capacity with water, 29 years passed (1949-1978). Prior
to this major water storage facility, there was already a
smaller reservoir at this location. Cycling - Tour de France: The race
crossed the summit 10 times between 1979 and 2009. A day on an extended tour:
(<Col de la Madeleine|>)
Cormet de Roselend: Aime > Bourg St Maurice > Cormet de Roselend > Beaufort > Queige: 51.8miles with 5190ft of climbing in 5:21hrs (VDO MC1.0 m4:12.6.18)
Dayrides from the
endpoint on this day, Queige, are on page:
Cormet d'Areches Col de l'Arpettaz Col des Saises Colle de Tamie
back to Cycling
Passes in Europe 
|
Approaches