Over 2000" mountain bike outing on the Cent Cols de Suisse from Le Châble (VS) on Saturday 3 August 2013
Presentation
Only one pass this year, but not a small one, as I propose the Col des Gentianes (CH-VS-2890) at 2,894 m. On the way down, you can take the Col de Médran (CH-VS-2485a) 2,465 m. 1,500 m elevation gain.
Meet at 8.00 am in Le Châble in the cable car car park. Coffee will be served from 8.00 am to 8.20 am, after which we’ll take the cable car to Verbier (10 francs, including the bike). We’ll set off on our bikes from Verbier at 9.00 am. You can also drive up to Verbier and meet us at the cable car station.
Contact
Pierre Mai, route du Signal 22, 1165 Allaman.
Tel: +41 21 807 34 17
Mobile: +41 76 498 58 73
Email : [email]pmai@bluewin.ch[/email]

Report
The outing on Saturday 3 August from Verbier went really well. A few clouds and raindrops in the morning meant we were just a little worried that we wouldn't be able to get up to 3000 metres.
18 participants set off at 9 o’clock sharp, a 17 km climb on a Route 1, passing through Les Ruinettes (2,200 m), La Chaux (2,300m), the Mont Fort hut (2,500m) and finally arriving at the summit of the Col des Gentianes at 2,890m at 12.30pm. Gérald, who was celebrating his 500th pass, treated us to a glass of Clairette de Die at the foot of the Tortin glacier. On the descent, a few participants took a short detour via the Col de Médran whilst the rest of the team enjoyed a quick beer at Les Ruinettes.
It was a wonderful day, with the usual excellent atmosphere.

Sporting greetings
Your host and TD
Pierre Mai