Col du Portillon - Bagnères de Luchon

I''m not sure about the difficulty rating given to this climb, as there is about 6 kilometers of it where it doesn''t often drop below 9 percent, including some sustained 13-16 percent sections. I climbed this having set of from Lourdes in the early hours, crossing the Tourmalet, Aspin and Perysourde before heading up this hill I''d never heard of before. I don''t think I''ll forget it any time soon though. It is fairly well sheltered on the way up and quite narrow, so I''m not sure I''d relish the descent on the French side. On the Spanish side however, it opens up for a very fast and fun descent with some spectacular views from a number of lookouts. Watch out for tractors and cement mixers though!

My personal climb rating:

In the Pyrenees for 3 days, on the second day did a loop from Vielha north to the border then immediately off left to Melles and on up to Bois Epais (bit of an adventure this as road ended up as a track, not advisable in the wet or on a road bike really. Anyway, we descended to Saint-Beat then cut west on the D44 and south on the D125 to B-de-Luchon to do the Portillon. For me and my brother (both fit but in our mid 40s) it was great fun. The steeper sections had us down to 9kph and in my case a HR of 160 (my bro has been at this longer so was at about 150) but the climb is really satisfying and though warm(in late September) shady so not uncomfortable. The descent to Bossost in Spain was fast and fun. My impression is that its better going France to Spain as the route up is tight and steep and route down is fast and exhilarating. Check out the waterfalls on the way up and race the motorbikes on the way down!

My personal climb rating: