676 - Breuil-Cervinia and 678 - Colle del Nivolet

Some questions about 676 - Breuil-Cervinia and 678 - Colle del Nivolet.

676 - Breuil-Cervinia: Is this road paved? Or is it better to do with the MTB?

678 - Colle del Nivolet: I want to climb this one from Introd (Aosta valley) I read about this climb on the website of Jerry. He wrote that that the section between Pont and the top of Nicolet is not paved but most of this path is OK for the MTB. Anyone recent experience overthere??

Martin Kool wrote:

Some questions about 676 - Breuil-Cervinia and 678 - Colle del Nivolet.

676 - Breuil-Cervinia: Is this road paved? Or is it better to do with the MTB?

678 - Colle del Nivolet: I want to climb this one from Introd (Aosta valley) I read about this climb on the website of Jerry. He wrote that that the section between Pont and the top of Nicolet is not paved but most of this path is OK for the MTB. Anyone recent experience overthere??

676: Of course it is paved to the ski resort Breuil-Cervinia! Its like asking if the motorway from Amsterdam to Aachen is paved or not . But the continuation above is gravel and some parts on some of the gravel roads up there might be used with a race bike, but you will not get to Teodulpass or Rif. Bozzi (or what the recent name is) sitting on a race bike ... .

678: I also fell without control down the steep mountainside (but stopped with only a broken rib or two ...). Mountainbike shoes are preferred! I told someone that it would only take 3 hours to walk and that it should be easy, but the person later come back to me after having done this road and said he should have told me that he was not travelling as light as me ....

With a MTB I think you might only need one hour of walk if you are good and travel light and the weather is fine! .... Also (as I was being told by Fred Wright -- who wrote/assembled the fantastic compendium 'Rough Stuff Cycling in the Alps') it might be as well to get off the gravel road, if coming from the Nivolet pass, as soon as possible and choose the path to avoid having to climb down a steep mountainside from the road further ahead. It takes 3 hour to walk without stopping in about the speed as if you had no bicycle with you from asphalt to asphalt. Good luck (it is nice up there and a break from cycling could be welcome at times ...). /Jerry

eyeless wrote:

676: Of course it is paved to the ski resort Breuil-Cervinia! Its like asking if the motorway from Amsterdam to Aachen is paved or not .

Oops I thought the BIG 676 was higher than the ski resort

Thanks for your tips! I doubt if it's OK to do Nivolet from Aosta Valley. I take my MTB with me but I don't like walking with a bike. Maybe it's better to do Nicolet from the southside some other time.

Martin Kool wrote:

eyeless wrote:

676: Of course it is paved to the ski resort Breuil-Cervinia! Its like asking if the motorway from Amsterdam to Aachen is paved or not .

Oops I thought the BIG 676 was higher than the ski resort

Thanks for your tips! I doubt if it's OK to do Nivolet from Aosta Valley. I take my MTB with me but I don't like walking with a bike. Maybe it's better to do Nicolet from the southside some other time.

Actually I did not look it up before answering you, but it appears I was right in my guess and here's the salite.ch profile:
http://tinyurl.com/24rtok

There is also some info and photos at the BIG site:
http://challenge-big.eu/list/676.htm

Viamichelin.com has much better satellite views of the area than Google!!

Good luck! I will also go to Aosta this Summer (or so I hope to do).

I found two stories about climbing the Nivolet .

Nr. 1: Came from the south.NIVOLET Translated in English with Google: TRANSLATED PAGE The autor (Willem Megens) contacted you (Jerry) about this climb. It took him 3,5 hours from the top down to Pont.

Nr. 2: Came from the north.LONELY CYCLIST This guy turned around when he came in Pont (from Aosta).

I'am sure now....I don't go up the Nivolet from Pont.
I'll try it some other time from the southside.

Martin Kool wrote:

I found two stories about climbing the Nivolet .

Nr. 1: Came from the south.NIVOLET Translated in English with Google: TRANSLATED PAGE The autor (Willem Megens) contacted you (Jerry) about this climb. It took him 3,5 hours from the top down to Pont.

Nice! - I had not seen/read his online account - I signed in and posted a comment there ... .

(I cannot remember the staircase he has photos of there and the last track down to Pont clearly looked better - on the whole - than in his photo. I mean, mountainbikers use this path almost every sunny day in the Summer and whole families go up there for picnics ... .)

I have a good knowledge of the Valle d'Aosta. I used to spend week holiday 12-15 yrs ago in Val Rhemes.

I failed twice the climb to Col Nivolet from Pont. The first time because I followed the indication of an project road reported in a old map. The road ends up in a tunnel filled of big stones at about 2300 m. You can see the memory stones of the workers who died to build a very dangerous and absurd road. The project was discontinued due to the protests of naturalists at the end of '70.

The year later I got detailed information and I walked on the path for 40 minutes with the MTB on the shoulder before a thunderstorm forced to go down.

In 2004 I climbed the Nivolet from Pont Canavese. It is one of the most beautiful climbs in the Alps. My recommendation is to follow the small road outside the long tunnel (about 3 km at 8-10%).

For the rest you can follow the instruction of Jerry. Nobody knows the Alps better than Jerry. I read all his holiday reports available online and now I wish to go in many places.

Hope to see you in Sonthofen and/or in September in Liguria

Gabriele

gbrunetti wrote:

Nobody knows the Alps better than Jerry. I read all his holiday reports available online and now I wish to go in many places.

Thanks! But probably a bit of an overstatement - but I am working on it! (I still have never been to Jura, nor have I been to the south German Alps, nor have I been to the lower Alps near Vienna/Wien and Linz. Some other areas I have only visited briefly (like the Liguria, Slovenian Alps, Steiermark, and some lower areas in the France alps). But I do really prefer the Alps with snowy peaks! :-)

Last week (june 30 2009) I climbed the Nivolet from Locana (southside). Beautiful pass with a lot of snow! The climb from the North (from Pont Valsavarenche) is impossible with a bike. The path is very narrow and steep and not even possible with MTB. I walked (without bicycle) from Pont to Top Nivolet through Pian del Nivolet (a valley at 2500 m and marvelous!!) I took route nr 3. See THIS MAP
I suggest to delete the north climb (Introd) from the BIG site. See: http://www.challenge-big.eu/list/678.htm
I stayed in Aosta valley for 2 weeks and climbed: Breuil Cervinia, San Carlo and Grand Snt. Bernard. Nice area.

MY PICTURES

Gr. Martin

Martin Kool wrote:

Last week (june 30 2009) I climbed the Nivolet from Locana (southside). Beautiful pass with a lot of snow! The climb from the North (from Pont Valsavarenche) is impossible with a bike. The path is very narrow and steep and not even possible with MTB. I walked (without bicycle) from Pont to Top Nivolet through Pian del Nivolet (a valley at 2500 m and marvelous!!) I took route nr 3. See THIS MAP
I suggest to delete the north climb (Introd) from the BIG site. See: http://www.challenge-big.eu/list/678.htm
I stayed in Aosta valley for 2 weeks and climbed: Breuil Cervinia, San Carlo and Grand Snt. Bernard. Nice area.

MY PICTURES

Gr. Martin

Really nice photos!! They look "kool"!
Good map! I also took that number 3 route (which they say should only take 2h20mins down - guess I was too slow).
The path is only steep from Pont to Croce de Roley and I did not think it was very steep even there and I have surely seen more narrow paths than this one - I mean I never carried my bicycle but led it on the side of me all the time ... (I lifted it a few times briefly). I even bicycled a little at the start with my 23" road bike ... but with the snow, I guess that would be hard. (But, sure, I also don't think the north side ought to be a BIG climb.)

If you want to try something a bit tricky, try any of these:
Chèvres pass
http://www.ocd.org.uk/alps/rs/87a.htm
Albrun pass:
http://www.ocd.org.uk/alps/rs/9315.htm
or Pitztalerjoch perhaps:
http://www.ocd.org.uk/alps/rs/9058.htm
from Fred Wright's travels (his description of crossing Col Collon for example makes the passes above come across as very simple though....).
/Jerry

eyeless wrote:

Really nice photos!! They look "kool"!
Jerry

Thanks.

That Fred is a hero! Great climbs but with a lot of walking.