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Aiguille de la Grand Sassière

Aiguille de la Grand Sassière

At 3751 meters above sea level, the Aiguille de la Grand Sassière is the highest point in the Alps that can be reached by mountain bike. The bike must be shouldered for most of the ascent, and some sections require a secure pedaling technique. The descent is - provided you have a good riding technique - rideable almost all the way down. However, you must be prepared to walk a few meters on the descent from time to time.

Description

We set off from the parking lot at the small reservoir above Le Villaret on the way from Bourg-St-Maurice to Val d'Isère. You can't even think about riding, the bike is on your shoulders from the very first few meters. But you can't go wrong - there is only one way up to the summit. This first leads through meadows, then follows the ridge all the way to the summit. You need to be sure-footed in places, but the route can easily be hiked in good mountain bike shoes. On the ascent, you might think you can't ride down here. However, it is advisable to lug your bike up to the summit - because you will be proven wrong. The descent follows the same route as the ascent and is rideable almost all the way. Even the summit slope is largely doable for good riders without a fear of heights.

The tour itself belongs in the realm of superlatives. There are few routes where the bike has to be dragged up so far and so steeply. There are few peaks where the views are as stunning as here - Mont Blanc, Grand Combin, Monte Rosa, Matterhorn and Grand Paradiso stand in a row. And hardly any descent is more breathtaking than this path wedged between a glacier and a vertical rock face. In a nutshell: a stunning experience for good skiing technicians with high alpine experience.

 To view the detailed tour description, the topo map, the altitude profile and to download the GPX track, you need a user account on Ride-mtb.com with a subscription. Log in now or become a subscriber.

Map & GPX-Track

The map is only available to Ride subscribers.
The Ride-Subscription is available at ride-mtb.com/abo

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12 km

1400 m

1400 m

1 day

Le Villaret

Le Villaret

1631

not suitable

Thomas Giger
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Written by Simplonrider on 22. November 2025

I've already been on the "Gobba di Rollin 3899 m" next to the Klein Matterhorn in Europe...

Written by Padrenalin on 24. August 2025

I rode the tour today. I can only agree with Thomas Giger's tour description. I also thought during the 2nd part of the ascent that at least 50% of the bike would have to be carried down again. But it's definitely worth carrying the bike up to the summit. And lo and behold, in the end about 90% was rideable. (Assuming you have very good biking technique). Towards the end there is even some real flow. What a great descent.

Definitely an epic experience.

Portrait Thomas Giger

About the author: Thomas Giger

Thomas Giger has been the editor of Ride MTB since 2002 and is a regular online and print author. Over the years, he has specialized in tourism topics and is particularly well known for his blog-style columns. He is also one of Ride MTB's active tour authors.

Thomas Giger has been the editor of Ride MTB since 2002 and has had a significant influence on the tour database. His focus is on single trail tours. There are few who know the trails in Switzerland as well as he does. However, his areas of expertise also include Aosta, the French Western Alps, and the whole of South Tyrol.

To the author profile

Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.