Col de la Pare
Description
Start east of Barcelonnette in the scenic Ubaye valley. At the beginning, you follow a mixture of official cycle paths and the main road in the direction of La Condamine-Châtelard. From there, the route initially leads on asphalt, later on a gravel road towards Col du Parpaillon - one of the highest Alpine crossings, which is also popular with off-road vehicles.
Below the tunnel, the tour branches off into the Vallon du Parpaillon. Here, the terrain becomes increasingly challenging and the mountain bike has to be pushed over a longer distance. The route leads to the Col de la Pare at 2655 meters above sea level, a spectacular pass with a magnificent panorama.
From the pass, a trail-rich descent begins with initial sections at difficulty levels S2 and S1. After a few forks in the trail, you leave the GR56 hiking trail and keep left. This is followed by a challenging slope crossing, which can be particularly difficult in changeable weather conditions. The sometimes loose ground requires surefootedness and concentration.
Afterwards, you reach a serpentine trail below the Tête de Frusta, which winds its way over the ridge in a variety of ways with difficulty S1 and in places S2. Some airy passages with spectacular views provide a real ridge-ride feeling. Finally, you reach the Ubaye valley again along this route.
Overall, this is an exceptionally scenic tour, but one that requires a certain amount of experience and preparation due to the alpine terrain and varying conditions.
Note for e-mountainbikes: The tour is generally feasible with a light e-mountainbike, as there are longer pushing sections and technically challenging crossings to tackle. The route is not recommended for heavy e-mountainbikes and should only be tackled under your own responsibility.
Map & GPX-Track
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Details of the tour
38 km
1550 m
1550 m
1 day
Barcelonnette
Barcelonnette
3524
limited
More information
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User comments (1)
About the author: Martin Depauli
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
Caution: On the high-altitude trail (Chemin Horizontal), immediately after the Crête de Rasinière, there is a section through a gravel pile that is now very difficult to navigate. The trail effectively no longer exists, and the terrain is very slippery. Alternative: Descend from the Crête de Rasinière on an S3 trail, then follow a section of gravel road. Eventually, you can rejoin the descent via a wonderful trail, though you’ll miss the first section of the long single-track descent. Even so, the descent is still very beautiful!