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French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

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Shooter
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French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by Shooter » Mon Oct 13, 2014 4:39 pm

But mainly French. :D

This was my first long trip with the M Roadster, and my first vacation in a long time. Here is the trip as seen by Google Maps.

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Pictures to follow !
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Re: French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by Shooter » Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:22 pm

Day 1: the south loop Notre Dame de Bellecombe -> Chamonix -> Martigny (Swiss) through the col de la Forclaz -> Aoste (Italy) through the col du Grand Saint Bernard -> Bourg-Saint-Maurice through the col du Petit Saint Bernard -> Beaufort -> Roselend -> ND de Bellecombe.

Start :
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Aoste:
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Quick lunch:
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The Roselend dam:
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(550 MW, the biggest concrete construction in France)
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Re: French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by Shooter » Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:26 pm

Day 2: not much to say. I started from Ugine, then go fot the pass of l'Arpettaz, then down on Beaufort through les Saisies. We wanted to go through the col du Joky, but the weather was really not nice this morning. From Beaufort, back to les Saisies, then col des Aravis (under some heavy rain), le Grand Bornand, col de la Colombière (where the weather was sunny ans almost too warm) and stop at Saint-Jeoire.

Le col de l'Arpettaz :
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Le col de la Colombière :
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Re: French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by Shooter » Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:33 pm

Day 3: i started really early under some fog and light rain. The mountain wind didn't get things better. The car said the temperature was around 7°C, but with the wind and humidity, i guess it was colder than that.

First pass of the day : Joux Plane. 7°C, wind, fog...
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From Joux Plane, we go thought Morzine, back in the valley and then right to Abondance via the col du Corbier.

Col du Corbier:
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Then it's back in Switzerland, Martigny and the the pass of Forclaz the other way round !
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And then back to France, in Albertville in order to get some sleep before a big stage tomorrow.
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Re: French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by si-forks » Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:38 pm

Love the pics great part of the world
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Re: French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by Shooter » Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:42 pm

Day 4: the biggest day of the trip !

So, start from Albertville. Not really sunny yet, but encouraging.
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I was going for the Galibier Pass directcly, but i changed my mind en-route. Now, go for the Glandon Pass first. I don't regret it a second because this pass is one of the best of the trip !
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The road to get there:
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Up there, the car smelled of hot brakes and tires, just like after a track session... :D

From the Glandon to the Croix de fer.
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Now, we go down to Saint Jean de Maurienne and we can start to clim the Galibier.
First pass, the Telegraph:
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And then, the Galibier:
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Really good road there also.

Viewed from the top:
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Now, down to Briançon, and then, the col de l'Izoard:
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This is the best one of the trip. The road to climb the pass is long and large, very goos visibility, the pavement is like new, there are some quick portions, hairpins... anything you want on a decent mountain road.
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Re: French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by Shooter » Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:53 pm

Day 6 (day 5 was spent.. well, mostly sleeping... :D). From Risoul to the coast.

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Let's go... there.
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I was supposed to go through the Mercantour National Park, but the pass of Cayolle was closed for work. Instead, i went for the pass of Allos. So, this is were i was supposed to be:
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The col d'Allos:
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From the top:
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Another pass, the col des champs:
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This last pass was a very difficult one. 2000 m high, 12°C at the top, a very narrow road where the car could barely fit, a lot of the climb in a forest, with very low visibility, some really tight hairpins, bad pavement... really demanding, both for the pilot and the car.
Once out of the forest, you find yourself on the moon, with bare rocks everywhere, including on the road.

But after that, the road down is much better, and the Gorges du Verdon open to you.
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Last part of the day is some back country road to the coast.
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Re: French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by Shooter » Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:56 pm

Last day, from Grimaud to Nîmes.

Breakfast:
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Port Grimaud (just outside Saint Tropez):
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Nîmes and the roman theater:
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And on the way back, a milestone:
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Then, it's the looooong way back home to Paris. No picture there.

Hope you enjoyed it !
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Re: French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by paulgs1000 » Mon Oct 13, 2014 6:45 pm

Really enjoyed looking through your post Shooter :thumbsup:

Got me yearning for when my wife retires in about a years time. . .

Did you keep any distance records Shooter - how many miles in total and if you don't mind me asking - what overall mpg for the trip?

Thanks for posting!

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Re: French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by Darren Slone » Mon Oct 13, 2014 6:55 pm

What a trip Shooter :driving:

Loving the pics 8)

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Re: French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by RoyE » Mon Oct 13, 2014 6:56 pm

Great pics, I feel a trip across the pond coming up.
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Re: French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by RickRob » Mon Oct 13, 2014 7:16 pm

Loved the pics. Wish that Mrs R would go for something like this.
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Re: French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by Grumpyowl » Mon Oct 13, 2014 7:24 pm

What a great road trip, Brilliant :thumbsup:

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Re: French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by CornishRob » Mon Oct 13, 2014 7:37 pm

Love it. I know some of the roads you have been on as I lived in Les Gets for 3 winters. I can picture all that area. Very jelious!
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Re: French (and a bit of Swiss, and Italian) Alps roadtrip

Post by Shooter » Mon Oct 13, 2014 9:55 pm

Thx every one !

As for the mileage, the complete trip was around 3100 km (1900 miles), with approximately 1500 km of "fun roads" and 1600 km of "just getting there".
Average consumption for the whole trip was around 10 L/100 km, and in the mountain area only more of 12.5 L /100 km... :D (mpg... we don't use this in the civilized world, y'know...).
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