The Col Agnel: The Second Highest Road in the French Alps
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
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300
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+100 France
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1 day
The Col Agnel: The Second Highest Road in the French Alps
300 + 100 XP
The Col Agnel crosses from the Queyras into Piedmont at about 2,744m, second only to the Col de l'Iseran among French Alpine road passes and second only to the Stelvio on the Italian side. The road up starts at Ville-Vieille and goes through Molines-en-Queyras. From the top the Barre des Écrins, the Mont Pelvoux and the Meije stand on the horizon, with the Pain de Sucre at 3,208m and the Pic d'Asti at 3,220m right on the frontier.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Drive the pass road from Ville-Vieille up through Molines-en-Queyras to the col, and see where it has to go through: the gap between the Pain de Sucre on one side and the Punta dell'Alp on the other
2
of 4
Cross the frontier at the col and drop into the Val Varaita towards Casteldelfino, and look back up at what you have just come down — ten kilometres at an average of nine and a half per cent, the hard side of the pass
3
of 4
From the col pick out the three big ones on the French horizon — the Barre des Écrins, the Mont Pelvoux and the Meije, all around 4,000 m — then turn and find Monte Viso at 3,841 m, much nearer, on the Italian side
4
of 4
Walk up the Pain de Sucre at 3,208 m from the col, a walkers' summit much used in summer, and from it look across at the pic d'Asti twelve metres higher on the same frontier ridge — that one is left to mountaineers
Drive the pass road from Ville-Vieille up through Molines-en-Queyras to the col, and see where it has to go through: the gap between the Pain de Sucre on one side and the Punta dell'Alp on the other
Cross the frontier at the col and drop into the Val Varaita towards Casteldelfino, and look back up at what you have just come down — ten kilometres at an average of nine and a half per cent, the hard side of the pass
From the col pick out the three big ones on the French horizon — the Barre des Écrins, the Mont Pelvoux and the Meije, all around 4,000 m — then turn and find Monte Viso at 3,841 m, much nearer, on the Italian side
Walk up the Pain de Sucre at 3,208 m from the col, a walkers' summit much used in summer, and from it look across at the pic d'Asti twelve metres higher on the same frontier ridge — that one is left to mountaineers
Before you go
The Col Agnel is closed by snow through the winter. It usually opens in June and shuts again in October, and the Italian side closes with it — check before committing to a crossing into Piedmont.
The Col Agnel is closed through the winter by snow and the French and Italian sides open and shut together, so a crossing into Piedmont is a summer and early-autumn proposition only — the exact dates move with the year's snowfall, so check both road authorities before committing. The Italian descent is the hard side: the final 10 km average 9.5 per cent between 1,800 m and the col, which is a long way to hold a heavy vehicle on the brakes. There is no fuel and no services at the top.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
300 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
400 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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