Pic Ouest de la Côte Belle

Pic Ouest de la Côte Belle

With the extremely panoramic Pic Ouest de la Côte Belle, you climb a magnificent bike summit with very impressive views and a varied trail descent over the Crête de Glaisette.

Description

The starting point of this impressive mountain bike tour is the small village of Château-Queyras in the French Queyras Valley. From here, you follow the main road steadily uphill towards Brunissard - a charming Alpine village at the foot of the legendary Col d'Izoard. The historic pass road climbs gently through an impressive mountain landscape until you reach a viewpoint that opens up the first sweeping views over the valley.

From here, you leave the road and turn onto a hiking trail that leads up to Lac de Souliers - partly pushing, partly carrying. The idyllic mountain lake is picturesquely embedded and marks the transition to the final ascent. A few meters later, the Pic Ouest de la Côte Belle is reached, which is also the highest point of the tour. The view from the summit is breathtaking - an alpine box seat with an unobstructed view of the surrounding peaks and valleys.

The descent from the summit is a highlight for experienced mountain bikers. A technically challenging trail with key sections at difficulty level S3 awaits in the upper section. The trail gradually becomes more flowing and leads back to Lac de Souliers, then on to the Col du Tronchet.

Above the vegetation line, the terrain presents itself in all its diversity: grippy gravel, Mediterranean plants and spectacular views of bizarre rock formations characterize this passage. The trail winds along the ridge in an impressive setting towards Lac de Roue. From there, a varied descent through shady forests begins. The trail is pleasantly wide and technically moderate (difficulty S2), which makes for a relaxed ride back to Château-Queyras.

If you don't want to take the carrying passage up to the summit, take the route via the Crête de Glaisette.

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.