Col du Mont-Cenis (North side)
Mont Cenis (Italian: Moncenisio) is a massif (el. 3,612 m / 11,850 ft) and pass (el. 2081 m / 6827 ft) in Savoie (France), which forms the limit between the Cottian and Graian Alps. The term Mont Cenis could derive from mont des cendres (mountain of ashes). According to tradition, following a forest fire, a great quantity of ashes accumulated on the ground, thus the name. The path of ashes was found during the building work of the route. The pass connects Val-Cenis in France in the northwest with Susa in Italy in the southeast. A road over the pass was built in 1806 by Napoleon to improve military connections. By 1810, it was the most travelled road between France and Italy. The Lac du Mont Cenis is an artificial dam that was constructed in 1921 on top of the original road and border crossing. It feeds two hydroelectric power plants. The lake is occasionally drained for maintenance. This French side of the climb is much shorter than its Italian counterpart, mainly because it already starts at 1400 meters, making a climb of 10 kilometers averaging just under 7 percent. At the top, there is no descent just yet. Instead we follow the road next to the Lac du Mont-Cenis.
Region: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
City: Lanslevillard
Distance: 18.36 km
Elevation Gain: 740 m
Elevation Loss: 140 m
Difficulty: 561 (Moderate)
FIETS Index: 3.22 FIETS
Avg Grade: 4.7 %
Max cat climb: 1
Min elevation: 1409 m
Max elevation: 2095 m
Ride Category: Climb