The Col de Vars: The Highest French Road Pass Kept Open All Winter
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
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Vars Summit
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250
XP
+100 France
= 350 total
1 day
The Col de Vars: The Highest French Road Pass Kept Open All Winter
250 + 100 XP
The Col de Vars reaches 2,108m on the boundary between the Hautes-Alpes and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, between the Parpaillon and Escreins massifs, and links the Ubaye valley with the Embrunais. The army put the road over it in the early 1890s on the initiative of general Berge, commanding the 14th corps at Lyon, and doubled it with the Parpaillon tunnel to the west so that one shell could not cut the link. It is the highest French road pass kept open all winter, bar exceptional weather, and one of the classic stages of the Route des Grandes Alpes.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Drive or ride over the Col de Vars at 2,108m — the highest road pass in France that is kept open right through the winter — and find the summit marker for the Tour de France, which has crossed here thirty-six times and graded it hors catégorie in 2024
2
of 4
Stop at the refuge Napoléon, two kilometres down the north side of the col, built in 1855 — nearly forty years before there was a road here, when the crossing was made on foot and a shelter at this height was the difference between arriving and not
3
of 4
Drop down the south side into the Ubaye towards Barcelonnette and, from the col, pick out the Parpaillon massif to the west, under which the army drove a second tunnel so that losing this pass would not lose them the valley
4
of 4
Stand at the col where the last scene of Les Fugitifs was filmed with Depardieu and Pierre Richard, and find the mountain that closes the shot behind them — the Brec de Chambeyron, away to the east over the Ubaye
Drive or ride over the Col de Vars at 2,108m — the highest road pass in France that is kept open right through the winter — and find the summit marker for the Tour de France, which has crossed here thirty-six times and graded it hors catégorie in 2024
Stop at the refuge Napoléon, two kilometres down the north side of the col, built in 1855 — nearly forty years before there was a road here, when the crossing was made on foot and a shelter at this height was the difference between arriving and not
Drop down the south side into the Ubaye towards Barcelonnette and, from the col, pick out the Parpaillon massif to the west, under which the army drove a second tunnel so that losing this pass would not lose them the valley
Stand at the col where the last scene of Les Fugitifs was filmed with Depardieu and Pierre Richard, and find the mountain that closes the shot behind them — the Brec de Chambeyron, away to the east over the Ubaye
Before you go
The Vars is kept clear through the winter, but the source's own caveat stands — exceptionally bad weather does shut it, and from November to the end of March you must carry chains, snow socks or winter tyres on the signed mountain roads either side. Check before committing a motorhome: the alternatives into the Ubaye are long. The refuge Napoléon two kilometres down the north side is a working inn with its own hours, so ring rather than arrive hungry.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
250 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
350 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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