Petit Col des Encombres

Col des Encombres

The Petit Col des Encombres connects the Maurienne region with Val Thorens and provides great MTB terrain with lots of very varied trails, especially on the south side.

Description

The starting point of the tour is Saint-Michel-Maurienne at the foot of the famous Col du Galibier. Instead of heading towards the famous Tour de France pass, this route rides on the opposite southern flank of the valley. The ascent is quickly described: First, the route climbs steadily for around 1,370 meters on an asphalt road. The surface then changes at the ridge, and for the remaining 300 meters in altitude, a rough but perfectly rideable gravel road leads further up. The last few meters to the Petit Col des Encombres are finally on an easy trail.

The Petit Col des Encombres is particularly attractive for two reasons: on the one hand, it offers a magnificent view of Mont Blanc, and on the other, a long and varied singletrail descent awaits here. This initially rides through open meadow terrain, sometimes a little more technical, then more flowy and slightly furrowed in the earthy ground in places. This is how you reach the altitude at which you previously turned onto the gravel road on the ascent. On the descent, however, you now keep to the right and follow a somewhat strenuous mountain path. As soon as you start to descend again, the fun returns. The level of difficulty here is S3, with more flowing passages at S2 level.

The trail becomes really flowy as soon as it enters the forest: fast, playful, varied and with ideal flow. This is how you reach the road that you already know from the ascent.

This is where the second part of the descent begins, which has a completely different character. A mixture of easy trails and gravel paths takes you to a trailhead below the small hamlet of Beaune. This S1 trail descends almost in a straight line for around 350 meters along a small stream. A short stretch of asphalt follows at Villard-Bernon before you turn onto the final trail that rides to the first houses of Saint-Michel-Maurienne.

A lonely, scenic tour with a very long and varied descent. It is particularly rewarding in October, when the whole forest glows in intense autumn colors - "Indian Summer" at its best.

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Details of the tour

32 km

1700 m

1700 masl

705 above sea level

2388 above sea level

1 day

Saint-Michel-Maurienne