Col du Tourmalet

Its only the end March and I am already receiving emails asking when the Tourmalet is open. The answer is not for 2 months yet. At the moment you can ride from Luz to the ski station at Superberages which is 4.6km from the summit at 1800m. From the east you can ride to La Mongie which is 4.3 km from the summit at 1840m. In 2009 the Col did not open until 6th June, however it was possible to cycle to the summit from La Mongie for a couple of weeks before that. The road on the western side (Luz) remains closed longer as the risk of avalanche in greater that side.

Here is the link to the webcams on Pic du Midi which overlook the  Col du Tourmalet, it will give you live weather reports as well.

Remember that on average the temperature drops by 1 degree centigrade for every 100m of altitude, so if it is 0°c on Pic du Midi it will be 7°c on Col du Tourmalet and 24°c in Argeles-Gazost.

Below is an interactive 3D map from Google Earth, use the controls on the right hand side to manipulate the map.

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Tagged as: cols, Cycling, Le Tour de France, Maps, Pic du Midi, pyrenees, spring, Tourmalet