Going to see Bernard's second home

It got a bit wet today

What an awesome day! I was tricked by the weather reports, eat some crepes, saw some random carved animals, met up with St Bernard again, had a hard time against a headwind again, and got drenched on the way home. It was just awesome at the top though and well worth it!

So on checking thee weather last night it looked like the rain would come at 9am, then clear through to 3pm. It made sense then to wait for thee rain to pass, head off and bee back and finished before the afternoon rain. I thought that would work out well for a wee sleep in as well and a relaxed start to the day! However, over my relaxed breakfast though I checked the weather once more and to my horror it had changed - the top of Col du Petit St Bernard was now supposed to be getting colder by the hour and raining from 11am. Bugger! Well if I left soon I could get there in time I thought, and so off I went.

I carried some warm clothes in a backpack and Rose carried nothing but me and my water. It felt weird! I thought yesterday I needed a bit of time without the extra luggage, just Rose in her natural state both as a confidence and motivational thing I think - to remember what it is like with no bags basically. Well the 2 degree forecast for the top meant I needed a backpack for warm clothes but that was all.

It started out sunny

So the climb starts pretty much as soon as you leave Bourg St Maurice and goes for 30kms uphill where you gain 1,400m. It is not steep by any means, I think the highest I saw was 8% just before the last kilometre, but it is long and averages around 5-6%. The ride though can be broken down into three sections. The first 10kms you leave Bourg St Maurice and start the switchbacks as you climb up a hill face through little villages and farmland. It is open and grassy and the whole time you can look down and see where you started.

The second 10kms you continue up switchbacks, climbing up the same face but through forests now. The forest isn't dense so you can still see glimpses of Bourg St Maurice as you go up. The hairpins become further apart through the forest but the gradient remains fairly constant at 5-6%.

This continues up to la Rosiere, a ski village, where you say good bye to the switchbacks and instead hug the side of the hill and start to head into the mountains to the top. This part is the last 10kms (well 8kms really). From this point it is all alpine country with rugged peaks and tussock. As you round a corner with 7kms to go the road stretches out before you and you can see in the distance some buildings on a saddle. This seems like the top but it is actually the 1km to go mark. The gradient down settle down a bit though, with the range more like 3-4% for a lot of this stretch with a couple of steeper bits thrown in that you don't even notice until the gradient goes back down again.

This is where it stung a bit for me. On the way up through the forest bit I was encountering a bit of wind. During switchbacks though it in't too bad as sometimes it is holding you back, sometimes it is pushing you along. As I rounded the corner for the last stretch though it was just in my face the whole time. I was hoping to push on a bit as I got up to this part but I think even though it was the part with the least gradient it was the slowest part of the ride up for me. It was worse than when I was in St Moritz, but better than it was yesterday thankfully. So this part is also when the spits of rain arrived - and wouldn't you know it, it was bang on 11am.

So this portion leads you up to the hospice, which is still 1km from the actual top though. Just before the hospice is a statue of St Bernard of course, and he is pointing again like the one on the other Grand pass. I actually checked this time and yes, he points to the hospice.

Hard to see in the rain covered lens of the Garmin sorry but first thing is Bernard, pointing to his hospice

The last kilometre is fairly flat again and leads you to the top and to the border with Italy. So I took some pictures of course and then thought for a minute or two if I should go straight back down and miss the rain (it was still only spitting) or have some crepes at the top of a climb. It was only a minute that I thought about it, and went to the bar for some crepes and a coffee.

The sign and a falling down building at the top

The top has a lot less fanfare than the Grand St Bernard, and nothing really around the hospice at all. I didn't stop in but it looked all locked up except for a restaurant. Probably the "petit" doesn't really sound like something worth going out of your way for but "Grand" is?

A second Bernard also pointing to the hospice, he was at the top though

So while in having a crepe or two I dressed up warmly for the ride back down. As you can see I prefer the fully covered options (next time will take the scarf down from my face though). Thankfully it was not the predicted 2 degrees, but a balmy 7, so with all this clothing I was quite comfortable, even in the wet.

The rain started slowly as I descended, and got worse the further I went down it seemed. I think the roads were better, and they certainly weren't as steep, as yesterday so the descent wasn't as nerve wracking in the wet thankfully.

Starting to get a bit dark

So really a well worth while climb. It is different to others in that it is long and less steep, but you tick over the miles quick enough to keep it interesting. You do also get to see different surroundings as you climb as well so that is enjoyable as well.

So tomorrow I continue on, heading for the I'Iseran and Cenis. Hope the rainy days are over!

Highlight: To take Rose on a bagless date up the hill - followed closely by crepes!
Lowlight: Trying to find space in a small room to try and dry everything that got wet.
Lesson Learned: Check the weather before breakfast.