Luz Ardiden - Luz Saint Sauveur

Via the Gorges de Luz, you reach Luz St-sauveur. There, you can go left for the Tourmalet and right for the skistation Luz Ardiden. The first 7 km of the climb are pretty steep. Only halfway the climb, it gets a bit more modest with a km of about 5%. But the bendy lasts kms are, again, quite hard.

The Luz Ardiden is situated in Midi-Pyrenees and belongs to the Pyrenees . Starting from Luz Saint Sauveur, the Luz Ardiden ascent is 14.7 km long. Over this distance, you climb 1010 heightmeters. The average percentage thus is 6.9 %.

Are you planning to climb the Luz Ardiden? Here, you find all the information to train to climb the Luz Ardiden successfully.

Look for other sides to climb the Luz Ardiden.

Since 2005, the Luz Ardiden will be/was climbed in the following big tour stages:
Tour de France 2011 :  Cugnaux > Luz-Ardiden on 14/07/2011

Story by Thomas Blondiau from , Belgium, submitted on 08/02/2010

Nice ride, not too difficult. The steepest parts are definitely in the middle. Once you get out of the forest, it gets less steep. Dont forget to turn left on the crossroad about 2K before the top!

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Story by Christian Rocca from , Gibraltar, submitted on 15/06/2010

Chippy and I climbed Luz Ardiden the day after the Tourmalet. It is 15km from Luz-Saint Sauveur to the top. the real climb is about 13 km. A wet and misty day made sure we didnt get the best of the views. in fact visibility at the top was about 20 metres. All in all a different climb to the Tourmalet, more switchbacks and not as relentless both on the mind and the legs. Lets you in gently and then there are 3 kilometres in the middle section of 9%, 9.5% and 9% before easing off slightly. The last couple of kilometres even allow you to change up a gear or two! Would love to climb it again on a clear day.

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Story by Rik Batt from Burnham on Sea, United Kingdom, submitted on 20/12/2009

Did this climb in August 2009 with my brother-in-law and big sister in a holiday which later took in the Tourmalet, Soulor, Aubisque and Hautacam. Maybe I didnt yet have my climbing legs but I found this tougher than all the others. Really steep at the beginning it eases up a bit in the middle before becoming really tough again towards the top with the spectacular hairpins. After collapsing at the top the views were awesome across the mountain tops and the descent was equally enthralling. The route is much, much tougher than the average gradient suggests but is well worth the effort.

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Story by Steven Carleton from , United States, submitted on 15/09/2009

Not sure I believe the profile view on this site. I climbed Col du Tourmalet first then descended to Luz St. Sauveur and decided what the heck, I""ll give this one a shot. My Garmin showed long stretches of 9-11%, which I guess if you average that with some of the recovery sections would give you the per km averages on the profile. I was taken aback by how steep this climb was. I was anticipating something much more mellow than Tourmalet, but I think it was more difficult. Wonderful views of the valley below though and highly recommend it. The hairpins are wonderful especially at the top!

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Story by frederik defossez from Ghent, Belgium, submitted on 10/12/2008

On a very hot day in august 2008, I did the climb to this (very humble) ski station. Because of the hot weather the climb was very hard, esp. after 7-8K were the trees dont give any protection against the burning sun. The last kilometers are full with u-turns. The view on top is quite nice. Because this is an ending road and this climb is not so famous (like f.e. Tourmalet) theres not so much traffic.

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Story by Kempenstoemper from eindhoven, The Netherlands, submitted on 24/09/2008

Went up 3 times in my summer holiday 2008. It is a very quiet climb with some easy sections. The last part is the best but best chance for a nice view is to be at the top late morning/early afternoon. Clouds tend to settle easily at the summits of the Pyreneees which ruins your view. First time I went up the last 5k were cloudy, second last 3km, last time only last 500meters, so luckily I could enjoy the view on the hairpins to the top. In summer there is no activity at the summit, only some cyclist taking pictures.... Because it was quiet I could descend quickly and reached speeds over 80km/h on the steep sections :-)

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Story by Cumbrian Cyclist from Wigton, United Kingdom, submitted on 19/02/2008

Spent the week in Luz St Sauveur in July 2007, did this climb three times with my son. Glorious ascent, first time was a horrible cold damp evening on the day of our arrival, second time a beautiful summer evening a few days later. What a contrast. When the climb opens out the views are fantastic. The last 4km are tantalising as the road zigzags below the summit which is always in sight. Despite my best attempts, my son beat me by some 3 or 4 minutes each time. Next year....

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