Col de l’Echelle
Col de l’Echelle (el. 1762 m) is a mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France. It is the lower mountain pass between France and Italy and connects Vallee de la Claree and Vallee Etroite. The highest point between both valleys is actually at 1779 meter, 2 kilometers north of the official Col de l’Échelle at the Mauvais Pas. This pass is actually the lowest pass across the Western Alps. It is not used as much as the nearby Col de Montgenevre (1851m) since it is only 71m less high and the Montgenevre pass has a wide smooth road with easy gradients and is a much more direct link between France and Italy.
Region: Piemonte
City: Bardonecchia
Distance: 12.79 km
Elevation Gain: 555 m
Elevation Loss: 116 m
Difficulty: 417 (Moderate)
FIETS Index: 2.76 FIETS
Avg Grade: 5.3 %
Max cat climb: 2
Min elevation: 1260 m
Max elevation: 1781 m
Ride Category: Climb