Col de Pailhères - Usson Les Bains

This is one of my local rides and I do it 3 or 4 times a year. I will of course have a local bias, but I think this is one of the most under-rated climbs in the Pyrenees, if not all of France. It is tough - consistently and unrelentingly steep. It is quiet, apart maybe from tourist traffic in the middle of summer, but then you get a lot of applause from said tourists at the top. It is ruggedly attractive terrain, with different moods and aspects, especially if you start back in Axat (12 km before Usson-les-Bains). The start is sudden, steep and quite brutal – it is over 9% for almost 2 km before the respite of a km or so going through Rouse. The gradient steadily steepens again to Mijanes after which the gradient virtually never drops below 8%. The section before the Mijanes ski-station feels interminable and can be very hot as there is no tree cover here. There is one last "easy" section (only 7%) for half a klik before you hit the hairpins. Although from here on up it is consistently 8-9% (more in places), climbing through all the hairpins is quite exhilarating and so this part never feels as bad. In my opinion, this climb, although not quite as long as Mont Ventoux, the Galibier or the Tourmalet, is a tougher proposition.

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It is a very difficult climb, especislly when you factor in the hi winds, poor road conditions, and cold weather, even in August. A real leg breaker, especislly if one arrives having done other nesrby cols. Wow!!!

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