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Col du Cucheron

An article by Gérard Galland and Christian Jeandey

Col du Cucheron (FR-38-1139)

Toponymy

«Cucheron» means «hillock» or «hill».
The catalogue of French mountain passes lists two Cucheron passes:

• the one featured in this article: Col du Cucheron, Isère (FR-38-1139) on the D512

Also in the Chartreuse massif, the Col du Cucheron (FR-73-1215) located on an R1 track, south of the Col de la Cluse (FR-73-1169), on the right of the D45 from Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont (via Corbel) to Le Désert.

And two passes in the Belledonne massif (Hurtières range) also contain the word Cucheron :

• the Grand Cucheron pass (FR-73-1188), road pass (D 207) at the very north of the range (this pass was used by the Super BRA route from 1977 to 2003, when the BRA set off from Grenoble).
  • and
• the Petit Cucheron pass (FR-73-1228) to the north of Grand Cucheron, accessible from the latter via a track (R1)

Geographical location

Massif

This is the central pass of the north-south depression that crosses the Chartreuse massif (with the 3 passes: Granier (FR-73-1134), Cucheron (FR-38-1139) and Porte (FR-38-1326b)).
It lies between Grand Som to the west and Scia to the south-east.

The two images from the geol-alp by Maurice Gidon illustrate the position of the Col du Cucheron.

Geology

See article « Col de Porte »It's a great way to learn about the geology of the massif.
For specialists and more details, see :
http://www.geol-alp.com/chartreuse/6_sites_ch/col_cucheron.html

Hydrography

To the north, the Ruisseau d'Ivernon is a tributary of the Herbétan, which flows into the Guiers Vif at Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont.
To the south, the Couzon, a tributary of the Guiers Mort (confluence with the Diat below Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse).
The Guiers Mort and the Guiers Vif converge at Entre-deux-Guiers to form the Guiers, which flows into the Rhône downstream of Saint-Genix-sur-Guiers (Savoie).

Access

The D512 crosses the Col du Cucheron.

South 4.5km from the Diat crossroads (altitude 794m) via Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse.
North from Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont (alt 639 m), 8.3 km via the D512 or alternative via Le Villard (D102b), 7.4 km. The 2 routes meet at Le Planolet.

Administrative status

The Col du Cucheron lies on the boundary between the communes of Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont to the north and Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse to the south.
Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont is a village in France split between two communes with the same name:

• Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont in Isère
• Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont in Savoie

The Guiers Vif, which flows through the village and forms the basis of the current departmental boundary, was once the border between the Duchy of Savoy in the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Province of Dauphiné in the Crown of France.

What to see - tourism

South side

Please refer to the «North side» paragraph in the article entitled « Col de Porte ".

North side

North of the pass, the Le Planolet family ski resort is located immediately below the pass (the village of Le Planolet is less than 1 km away).

Cycling and cycle tourism

Chartreuse Ramblers' Certificate (BRC) See article « Col de Porte ".

Profile

South-facing slope, from La Diat (altitude 794 m), the climb via Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse is only 4.5km long but has a «serious» section in the penultimate kilometre.

North side, from Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont.
From Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont, Taking the D512, the 8km climb has a flat section halfway up (before Saint-Philibert) and a fairly steep final kilometre.

The variant par le Villard (D102b) is just under 7 km long, with no flat areas, but with a very steep start and a serious last kilometre.