Saturday 9th July: Blue skies 15°C to 24°C
La Chalp: 17k walk: 8.30am to 1.00pm: 4 hrs 30 mins
Accommodation: Ferme d’Izoard La Chalp
Cyclists heading up to Col d'Izoard
A day off!! Sort of! At least we got to sleep in the same bed twice in a row. Ian and I decided to climb the legendary Col d'Izoard (2365m), which has featured in the Tour de France 34 times, and Jenny and Graham had a recovery day. Highlight for us was being on the Col d'Izoard on a Saturday - motorcycle and cycle day - when there's hundreds of cyclists testing their stamina on the 1000 metre climb to the Col and just as many motorcyclists testing their manoeuvrability at high speeds around the sharp hairpins. The views in all directions are worth the effort - simply magnificent. Our climb was a little less at 700 metres, as La Chalp is half way up the valley.
We're heading up the gorge
Blue skies up the gorge
Steep track to Col d'Izoard
Col d'Izoard 2365m
Saturday - motorcycle heaven
Morning coffee Col d'Izoard
Col Fromage and Col Girardin
Mont Thabor and Val Etoile
Cycling to Col d'Izoard on an ebike
Signs mark route to col
Memorial to Fausto Coppi and Louison Bobet
Down the road and more views
Cyclists & motorcyclists on way up
A lazy start to the day with our own store bought breakfast of Museli and yoghurt. Ian and I leave with a light back pack with just a Jetboil, tea coffee and sugar and some lunch just in case. The morning is cool, with brilliant blue skies as we walk up the main road, through the village of Brunissard, then take the walking track at the beginning of the steep climb to Col d’Izoard. There'd already a stream of cyclists slowly, slowly pedalling past and motorcyclists whizzing by, so we were glad to be off the road and walking up the gravelly gorge in the shade. We had a map but couldn't possibly get lost.
The gorge is only 20 metres wide at the bottom and there's no water in it - all the snow has melted. The path criss crosses from side to side, initially through scattered pine trees and higher up through steep loose dry dirt and shale. Close to the top, the walking track merges with the zig zags of the road, and we need to cross the road 7 times to finally get to the top. It took us 1hr 45 minutes from our hotel La Ferme d'Izoard to climb 700 metres to the Col.
The col appears out of nowhere, hidden behind a mound, and when we arrive there's hundreds of cyclists, motorcyclists, touring sports cars and just plain tourists stopped at the col for photographs. We're the only hikers, many of them today have parked their cars half way up to hike other mountain tracks. The views on both sides are stunning. To the south, we can see the Col Fromage and Col Girardin, both cols we had crossed in earlier days and to the north, Mont Thabor and Val Etoile where we hiked on the GR5 in 2012.
Time for a casual morning Jet Boiled coffee perched near the Col d'Izoard monument before wandering up to the Table d'Orientation with photographs of all the mountain peaks labelled. At 11.10am, it's time to walk back down. Ian decides to give his knees a rest on the downhill, so we take the road for a bit. Sometimes quiet, sometimes busy, the views stay with us all the way. Half way down is a memorial to 2 great tour de France riders, Fausto Coppi and Louison Bobet, who alternately won the Col'd'Izoard stage between 1953 and 1957.
It takes us a little longer to descend the zig zags on the road - 7k on the walking path, 10k by road – but much more enjoyable on a gentler grade with time to enjoy the views. We're back at the hotel at 1.10pm and have the lunch that we'd carted up and back down the mountain. It went well with a cold beer.
Time to have a lazy afternoon showering, washing and watching the Tour de France - a big Stage 8 in the Hautes Pyrenees from Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon. There were four big mountain climbs including the Col du Tourmalet and Col de Peyresourde. The stage was won by Chris Froome for Team Sky. Listening to the French commentators is exasperating when they get so excited that you think there’s a major happening every few minutes. It’s not possible to listen to Phil Liggett provide a steady informative view of the race.
Dinner was the same as last night in our room – ham, tinned tomatoes, onion, cheese, lettuce and a boiled egg. Plus a bottle of rose and few beers.
La Chalp and Brunissard in Valley