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Septentrion" Challenge

Bernard Pommel (CC3094) is proposing this challenge:

Climb all the passes north of a line joining Hendaye (FR) to Devin (-Stralsund-DE), a total of 99 passes including 76 road passes and 23 mule passes, spread over 5 countries.

Three other lines (Hendaye - Dunkerque (FR), Hendaye - Bremerhaven (DE), and Hendaye -Travemünde (DE)) subdivide the Challenge du Septentrion into 4 sectors and 4 levels of success.
This challenge is open to members and non-members of the Club des Cent Cols.

Contact : [email]septentrion@centcols.org[/email]

Objectives

The creation of the Challenge du Septentrion du Club des Cent Cols was prompted by a number of objectives, largely determined by listening to the members of the Cent Cols brotherhood, by observing the particular or original cycling practices of certain cyclists and, finally, by the precepts of cycle tourism.
One of these objectives is to rebalance the interest in climbing passes in geographical areas with few of them compared with the mountain ranges (Alps, Pyrenees, etc.), which are largely favoured by the numbers in our catalogues.
Rather than endlessly increasing the number of mountain passes climbed, many of us have long since set ourselves the goal of achieving a geographically or culturally determined objective. The Challenge du Septentrion is inspired by this.
Encouraging the discovery of new landscapes and places by taking to the back roads in search of rarer, more confidential or secret passes is the spirit of cycle tourism.
We thought it would be a good idea to offer this Challenge to non-members of the Club des Cent Cols, so that they can start a "collection of passes" in the regions where they live or where they go on holiday, and develop it at any age as they wish. To do this, we provide them with our expertise on the passes of many countries and we make sophisticated IT tools available to them.
In this way, we hope to promote the joys and pleasures of discovery and travel by bike.

How it works

The Club des Cent Cols has created the Challenge du Septentrion, a challenge which is obtained after crossing all the passes contained in a given geographical section: the north of the Hendaye (FR) - Devin (-Stralsund-DE) line (76 road passes, 23 mule passes), a section itself subdivided into four zones; the passes are those listed in the pass catalogues of the Confrérie des Cent Cols in the countries concerned at the date the Challenge was created. The number of passes in each geographical zone varies according to the zone, but the total number of passes in the four zones is 99.
When all the passes in a zone have been crossed, the participant obtains the Bronze level. Silver is awarded for crossing all the passes in two zones, Gold for crossing all the passes in three zones, and the Septentrion Challenge ('Platinum') is awarded when the participant has crossed all the passes in four zones.

• Download the list of Challenge passes in xls format here
• - Nota Bene: the 99 passes in the Challenge are those listed in the various Catalogues on the date the Challenge was created; this list is definitive. If passes are subsequently added in the area covered by the various additions, they will not be taken into account for the Challenge.
• The annual declaration is made by sending the completed xls file to the person responsible for the Challenge : septentrion@centcols.org who analyses the results and draws up the Roll of Honour.
• A number will be assigned in the order of registration.
• A number will be allocated on receipt of the declaration of completion of the challenge.
• Participants have the option of printing out the Challenge du Septentrion "Platine" and having it sent to them by the person responsible for the challenge for the sum of six euros. (This sum includes the cost of special paper, printing and postage). It is also possible to present the Challenge ("Platinum") in person or at Club des Cent Cols events.
• A Roll of Honour of the holders of each Challenge and of the registered participants (with their degree of progression) is drawn up and will be available for consultation on the Club's website. This list will be published in the Cent Cols Club's annual magazine, unless the participant requests otherwise.

Description of the challenge zones

The geographical section and the four zones of the Challenge are determined by four straight lines (drawn on a "great circle" on the CCway tool of the Club des Cent Cols) between Hendaye and :

Dunkerque (FR)

Bremerhaven (DE)

Travemünde (DE)

Devin (-Stralsund-DE)

The zones are of course located to the north of the lines.

The passes concerned are those located in continental Europe.

The lines delimiting the zones are given for information only and vary according to the tools used to create and display them. Only the official list of Challenge passes is authentic.

Number of passes per zone

Table of pass difficulty by zone

A list of the passes concerned can be found in the appendix at the end of this document.

List of passes added to the Challenge zone after it was created ("non-Challenge" passes) in the appendix at the end of the document.

Challenge rules

• The challenge is open to members and non-members of the Club des Cent Cols.
• To register for the Challenge, you need to: fill in registration form acceptance of these rules
• The aim of the Challenge is to climb all the passes in a given geographical area. The list of passes is drawn up by the Club des Cent Cols according to strict criteria of topography and place names.
• Each pass climbed in this zone is declared as such on the good faith of the participant.
• There is no set deadline.
• A certificate is awarded when all the passes in the zone concerned have been climbed.

Appendix: list of passes concerned and their zone

3

List of passes added to the Challenge zone after it has been created ("non-Challenge" passes)

Challenge rankings