Chasseral - Le Pâquier

As my respected cyclist colleague Matevz above ;I did this beautiful climb by bike from St Imier enjoying the shade of the woods on the way up the subsidary col des pontins. There is a farm cafe here where you can consume some sugar for the final ascent of the magnificent Chasseral. You turn left soon afterwards, off the main Neuchatel road at point 1091m (as mentioned above) and start climbing a picturesque cow pasture by way of a narrow road which descends briefly past a dramatic cliffside before the final spectacular corners to the top of the Chasseral and the ever towering antennae which marks the highest point of the Jura in Switzerland. It is more impressive to do it from this side because you see the sensational view at the very last moment and also you can then really enjoy the fantastic descent all the way to Neuchatel whilst waving at the poor cyclists on their way up.

My personal climb rating:

I did this one from St. Imier – the two approaches join at the 1091 m point and the first part of the ascent is a bit more difficult from St. Im., with 50 m more of gradient and the percentage between 7 and 9 %. Quite some traffic to this point, but also lots of wood. After the 1091 point, it is a very nice climb with few dramatic changes of the steepness and the views from the top are superb. Descending, I went to Biel via Nods and Thann, the final 200 m to the lake shore have great scenery, though I wouldn''t go up this way - there is a long section with almost no trees when approaching Nods.

My personal climb rating: