Col du Lein
Description
The first few meters in altitude are covered on the gondola lift from Riddes to Isérables and then climb up the little road to La Tzoumaz. At a traffic circle above the village, you head straight on, past the valley station of the chairlift, and finally uphill into the forest, where a Suonen trail begins. You follow this for a long time, winding down a steep section in between, before finally reaching the mountain road to the Col du Lein on the old Bisse de Saxon. At the top of the pass, turn right, pass the Col du Tronc and then take the singletrail to Le Planard. To get to Martigny, stay on this trail, but our route turns right here and rides along a tricky, fun and constantly downhill singletrail via Mayen Moret to Charrat. The route now leads along the vineyards via Saxon back to Riddes.
Alternatives: Descent from Le Planard to Martigny
Map & GPX-Track
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Details of the tour
37 km
955 m
1575 m
460 above sea level
1743 above sea level
1 day
Iserables
Riddes
1452
well suited
More information
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User comments (6)
About the author: Thomas Giger
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
We walked the route on August 22, 2024. The Isérables - La Tsoumaz section is on asphalt and has nothing to offer. The path along the Suone is often interrupted by pushing and carrying sections. The descent from the pass is quite demanding. Crossing a scree field was borderline in terms of safety. Overall, I would advise against this route. The condition of the paths was possibly due to the storms in June...
Wanted to try out the tour today and learned that the cable car is serviced every first Tuesday of the month (unless it's a public holiday, then a week later). On such days it rides until 8am and then not again until 4:10pm.
We tried it again today and it worked (11 francs including bike). But we rode the tour via the Pierre Avoi over the Croix der Coeur. Unfortunately, I can't confirm that the descent is smooth. Lots of slippage as the terrain is very steep. There are some really great sections but all in all the descent is not worth it in my opinion. Maybe the trail to Martigny is better, but there are similar comments there too.
We were there in May 2023. The Suone is still mostly closed, but you can get through with a few push/carry passages.
At the Planard junction, we were spoiled for choice: down to Martigny or to Saxon? We opted for the former, as I already knew Saxon. Both trails are fantastic: very flowy and racy with a few tricky sections. Regarding mundm's comment: you can also pedal very well up the Col des Planches, which is just under 1000 m in altitude.
The tour is currently not recommended, the path does not seem to have been maintained since the last comment (2019) (a prohibition sign is at the end of the La Tzouma forest road!) The "steep section" as described above is not rideable, marked Passage difficile and really not cool! Certain sections are nice and good (Suone, view), but have nothing to do with singletrail fireworks! Lots of pushing and carrying passages, luckily the Caves Ouvertes saved our day!
Better: take the post bus to the Col des Planches (book in advance!) and then tackle the descent.
We did the tour the day before yesterday.
It really is a fantastic tour.
The ascent via La Tzouma is pleasant to ride.
The first section of trail along the Suone is really nice. But beware, there are trees in several places or you have to cross scree slopes. But it's all doable without any problems.
The descent from the Col du Lein is one of the best I've ever done in Valais. Technical, flowy and perfectly steep. :-D
I can really recommend this tour.