From the north the climb starts either in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne (568m) or below Villargondran (586m or 574m). The first road goes perfectly straight up the valley for some time before many curves up to Le Collet (1141m) and later to another minor pass, La Cochette (1355m) before it joins the road with the climb from Villargondran. The later climb starts more eastwards, where you can climb up the road Google maps suggest or the normal D80 road (I have not done this climb/descent myself).

If you are coming down from the Col de la Croix de Fer (2065m), then there is only a 406m climb from Belleville (1227m) to the pass.