The Col d'Aspin: Pine Woods, Payolle and Loose Cattle
Occitanie, France
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250
XP
+100 France
= 350 total
1 day
The Col d'Aspin: Pine Woods, Payolle and Loose Cattle
250 + 100 XP
The Col d'Aspin joins the Campan valley to the Aure, running from Sainte-Marie-de-Campan to Arreau past the cross-country ski area and lake at Payolle. The Tour de France has crossed it 78 times, and cattle and horses graze loose on the open grass at the top, right across the road.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Cross the col at about 1,490 m and do it from the harder side if you are on a bike: twelve kilometres at 6.6 per cent up from the fork outside Arreau, against 12.85 km at under 5 per cent from the church at Sainte-Marie-de-Campan — and on the western side notice where the easy run past Payolle ends and the road starts switchbacking through conifers at 8 to 9 per cent, on a pass the Tour de France has used 78 times
2
of 5
At the summit, stop the engine and wait: the cattle and the horses up here are not fenced, they graze across the tarmac, and they have right of way in practice whatever the sign says — count how many of each are on the road before you move off
3
of 5
Walk round the lac de Payolle at 1,100 m and find the two things on its shore: the dam that made it, holding back the Adour de Payolle only a few hundred metres below its source, and the memorial to the maquis that worked out of this plateau
4
of 5
From the top, pick out the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, then turn and work out the other two ways off the Payolle plateau into the Aure valley: the col de Beyrède at 1,417 m and, higher than the one you are standing on, the forest road over the Hourquette d'Ancizan at 1,638 m
5
of 5
Take the guided visit of the Espiadet marble quarry at the foot of the col, worked from Roman times right through to 1986, and find the cut faces the stone came off — the same marble was used to build the Grand Trianon at Versailles
Cross the col at about 1,490 m and do it from the harder side if you are on a bike: twelve kilometres at 6.6 per cent up from the fork outside Arreau, against 12.85 km at under 5 per cent from the church at Sainte-Marie-de-Campan — and on the western side notice where the easy run past Payolle ends and the road starts switchbacking through conifers at 8 to 9 per cent, on a pass the Tour de France has used 78 times
At the summit, stop the engine and wait: the cattle and the horses up here are not fenced, they graze across the tarmac, and they have right of way in practice whatever the sign says — count how many of each are on the road before you move off
Walk round the lac de Payolle at 1,100 m and find the two things on its shore: the dam that made it, holding back the Adour de Payolle only a few hundred metres below its source, and the memorial to the maquis that worked out of this plateau
From the top, pick out the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, then turn and work out the other two ways off the Payolle plateau into the Aure valley: the col de Beyrède at 1,417 m and, higher than the one you are standing on, the forest road over the Hourquette d'Ancizan at 1,638 m
Take the guided visit of the Espiadet marble quarry at the foot of the col, worked from Roman times right through to 1986, and find the cut faces the stone came off — the same marble was used to build the Grand Trianon at Versailles
Before you go
Cattle and horses roam loose on the road at the summit and will not move for a horn — take the last kilometre at walking pace, and keep food and bins out of reach when you stop. Summer traffic on the route des cols is heavy with motorhomes and motorbikes, so cross early in the day in July and August. It is a mountain pass at about 1,490 m: it takes snow and can close at short notice outside summer. The Espiadet quarry is a guided visit run by a local association, so check its times rather than turning up.
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About Occitanie
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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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