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Colle dei Morti

Colle dei MORTI or Colle FAUNIERA (Piedmont) 2480m IT-CN-2480a

EAST SLOPE :
Taken for the first time by the riders of the «99 Giro, under the name of »Colle FAUNIERA", the practically unknown Colle dei MORTI is nonetheless a very big pass, in terms of its considerable altitude difference and, above all, its steep, sustained gradients, spread over 15km. The pass has an average gradient of 9.2%!
Colle dei Morti seems cut off from the world in its austere setting of rocky outcrops, rocky bars and vast mountain pastures where a few sheep graze. It's a place of total isolation! When you climb this pass for the first time, you're amazed by the beauty of the landscape, which is constantly renewed as you progress, towards new horizons, higher and higher, and you have the feeling that you'll never see the end of the climb, that you're «soaring to the sky», as one of the Giro's organisers put it.
The climb begins peacefully at Monteroso Grana. On leaving Pradleves, you climb up steep gorges along the Grana torrent. After Campomolino, the slope steepens considerably to reach the San Magno sanctuary, worthy of a Himalayan temple! (Average gradient: 10% over 6 km, maximum 12 to 13%). After the sanctuary, the road becomes very narrow and, after a short level, the gradient steepens to 12%, while the landscape becomes increasingly wild and grandiose! The Trofarello refuge heralds the final two kilometres, where the gradient eases to 7.4% until you reach the junction on the right towards the Colle d'Esischie (2366m IT-CN-2366b), which takes you 20.3 km up the northern slope to Ponte Marmora. Colle Vallonetto (2439m IT-CN-2438) before arriving at the Col dei Morti, the end of the climb, at the foot of the Cima Fauniera (2515m) on the left, reached by a path.

SOUTH-EAST SLOPE :
Approached from the south-east, Colle dei Morti also offers a sumptuous climb, almost as hard as the Pradleves side, and with equally wild and beautiful scenery. Although the route starts at a slightly higher altitude, the gradient is very similar to that of the eastern slope due to a slight descent after Fedio. The average gradient for the 24.2 km ascent is 7.1%.
From Demonte, the climb starts straight away, and is fairly irregular (maximum 10.5% before Fedio). This is followed by a short descent to a bridge over a stream, and then the climb resumes, interspersed with numerous steep sections (maximum 14% before Trinità). As far as San Giacomo, the road passes through a number of hamlets, and the landscape is restful and wooded. After San Giacomo, the road narrows as it climbs the upper part of the Arma valley. After the 12^e kilometre begins the most difficult part, a 9.9km section at 9.2% with numerous passages at 11% and above. It takes you up to the Colle di Valcavera (2416m IT-CN-2429), a few metres to the left of the road.
Here too, the austerity and beauty of the scenery are striking, especially after the Colle di Valcavera junction where you enter the Morti valley through a surprisingly mineral world! Initially flat, the road rises steeply (almost 14%) to cross a very narrow gorge carved into the rock that leads to the Colle dei Morti, dominated on the right by the Cima Fauniera topped by a cross.

Thierry PERRET