June 15, 2025
Les Verneys to Briançon via Col du Galibier
Col du Galibier: done! I used to have a pair of Galibier hiking boots; I think they were the ones I took to Nepal in 1986. Heavy-duty as most boots were back then but comfortable and supportive. I somehow learned the company was named after somewhere in the Alps. Now I’ve been there.
Let’s start where I left off yesterday, at the Logis Relais du Galibier. We arrived hot and exhausted and thought this was a great place to rest and get ready for another climbing day. We were hoping today would be cooler and thought it might be cloudy too, so I took a photo from our room’s little balcony:
This is looking south, toward Galibier. Had I pointed the camera northeast, with a downward tilt, it would have shown a big white tent in the vacant lot next door and maybe even the stage. We’d seen this tent when we arrived and there were a few people inside, then when we took a look after our beer, it was empty. Later, after our very good dinner in the hotel restaurant (no pics, we were too hungry), there was live music and more people inside and around, including kids. Family-oriented event, we thought. Shouldn’t run too late.
Were we ever wrong! The loud bass was still vibrating through the walls and floors at 0300h. Silly people from Vancouver, we though it would be shut down by 10 p.m. or maybe 11. Instead, it just got louder and louder as the night wore on. We had the windows and shutters closed so the room was hot and we even used our earplugs for the first time ever. The lesson: if you’re ever given a room near a white party tent, ask to be moved. We were so tired we didn’t even really notice we were above the tent until it was too late (gear explosion, showered, laundry hanging everywhere). When I mentioned the noise to the hotelier when checking out, he groaned. I think his family apartment was even closer to the source.
It was raining when we went down to breakfast, had stopped when we went back up to change and finish packing, started again while I was checking out, but stopped by the time we were ready to ride. There were a few spits during the day, but never much and it wasn’t hot!!
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Consequently, I enjoyed my ride up to Col du Galibier. It would have been nicer without the noisy motorcycles and the vintage car club (?) but it’s Sunday in the French Alps.
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The last km of the climb, above the (no-bikes-allowed) tunnel, has only been officially open for 10 days. There were still a few patches of snow but it was lovely and cool for climbing. Al was waiting outside a café a couple of turns below the summit of the pass, out of the wind.
On the descent, above Col du Lautaret, I saw a marmot crossing the road ahead of me. I stopped, the car behind me stopped, and the little creature stopped too and looked at me. I thought I might get my camera out but it disappeared into the rocks before I even got my handlebar bag open (it was too small and too far for a phone photo). It looked a lot smaller than marmots I’ve seen in the Coast Mountains at home.
Col du Lautaret isn’t really a pass coming down from Galibier. It is, though, for the more major road we joined. There was quite a bit of development at this crossroad, and apparently there is a very nice garden to visit nearby which a friend had told me about, but I saw no signs and forgot about it in the moment. I suspect a climb there or back would be involved too, given the squiggly road on the map. So we each took a photo and carried on.
In my planning, I had read that this busier road, D1091, was unpleasant and even unsafe between Le Bourg d’Oisans (nearest town to Alpe d’Huez) and here. So we climbed Galibier from the north and took the unavoidable section of D1091 to Briançon. It was Sunday, it was busy, the posted speed limit was 90 km/h, but there were two single-lane-alternating sections to break up the traffic and we were early enough to miss the afternoon rush.
We stopped for lunch in Le Monêtier-les-Bains and a very nice lunch it was. We were watching for an open restaurant or boulangerie when Al spotted a small group of hikers heading up a quiet street. The street looked promising so we followed them and found Tripa Châoda. The food was good, the location pleasant, and the service excellent.
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Back on our bikes, still descending in our jackets because there had been drops of rain during lunch, we finally stopped to take them off after a short warming climb through the next village. The rain never happened.
Our accommodation in Briançon wasn’t as straightforward to find as the last few. We are staying in a small B&B in a quiet area at a distance from the old town which we’ll explore tomorrow.
Today's ride: 54 km (34 miles)
Total: 874 km (543 miles)
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