The 1,559 metre altitude is almost ridiculous. And yet the Col de la Ramaz is actually one of the highest passes in the region between Chamonix and Lake Geneva. But against the King of the Alps, all the mountains here seem ridiculously small, shrinking reverently into hills. Then suddenly the clouds clear and its majesty is revealed: an incredible three kilometres higher up, the summit of Mont Blanc glistens in the spring sun. A gigantic wall of rock, ice and snow. The difference in altitude from the Col de la Ramaz to the summit of Mont Blanc at 4,810 metres is 3,251 metres to be precise. The official altitude of 4,807 metres was only corrected upwards by 3.40 metres in September 2001 - thanks to satellites and GPS.
The pass I have just climbed is 35 kilometres from the summit as the crow flies, and yet I can see the crevasses on the Glacier des Bossons with the naked eye. The ice masses have been gnawing away at the rock for thousands of years. And the Bossons is not the only glacier on the flanks of Mont Blanc, let alone the largest. Further to the left, the Mer de Glace is hidden behind the breathtaking Aiguille du Midi rock needle. For almost 20 kilometres, the stream, which has been pressed into ice, pushes its way down into the valley.
Day after day, the lonely mountain roads south of Lake Geneva enticed me to go on extended tours. The roads often wind their way through the "French Allgäu" with only one lane. Through valleys with picturesque villages, lush green meadows and blossoming trees - and more than a dozen small passes. Col du Feu, Col de Cou or Col de Terramont - hardly anyone knows their names, apart from the farmers who cultivate their steep fields beside the roads. The Tour de France has even made its way to the Joux Plane, most recently in July 2000.
You can find these four tours in the PDF download:
Tour 1: Lake and mountains
(76 kilometres, 1,050/1,350 metres in altitude, max. 8 percent)
Thonon - Anthy - Excenevex - Yvoire - Massongy - Ballaison - Bons - Saxel - Boege - Col de Cou - Allinges - Thonon
Tour 2: Mini-Brevet
(83 kilometres, 1,720/1,980 vertical metres, max. 13 percent)
Thonon - Armoy - Lyaud - Orcier - Col du Feu - Col des Arces - Habère Poche - Col de Terramont - Lullin - Vailly - Pont du Diable - la Forclaz - Col du Grand Taillet - Ecotex - Vinzier - Thonon
Tour 3: Portes du Soleil
(113 kilometres, 1,290 vertical metres, max. 9 percent)
Thonon - Publier - Neuvecelle - Lugrin - St. Gingolph - Vouvry - Barges - Monthey - Pas de Morgins - Châtel - Abondance - Vinzier - Thonon
Tour 4: Mont Blanc Panorama
(84 kilometres, 1,280 metres in altitude, max. 9 percent)
Taninges - Mieussy - Col de la Ramaz - Rond - Taninges - Morillon - Samoens - Cirque du Fer à Cheval - Samoens - Taninges (alternative: Col de Joux Plane - Morzine - les Gets - Taninges)
(Text: Matthias Rotter)
Downloads:
download
