This is a classic and hard alternative climb to the very popular and beautiful (Col du) Cormet de Roselend (1969m). This climb starts in the south in Aime (662m) or Aime (upper) (678m). The hardest road is the middle of the three alternative roads up here. Even though three roads up here I managed to climb from yet another approach on the south side starting up in Bourg St-Maurice and taking the high road over Vulmix and Valezan, but it is not really the normal way up so leave it out here, but a nice one if coming down from there.

This climb is long a and hard. Moreover this is famous for being a somewhat rough gravel road over the pass with gravel for a few kilometres on both sides. Good road at the pass, but otherwise a bit hard with a road bike, but possible. The road is apparently paved in some fashion a bit longer and maybe all the way to Plan Pichu (as the IGN maps also suggests) (1946m) on the south side now. (For certain there is now asphalt to 1766m.)

The climb from the north is only a little easier, but is nicer higher up with more open views. The road is asphalted from Beaufort (739m) through Arêches and the turn-off (1149m) for the nice and steep Col du Pré (1703m) and beyond the Lac de St-Guérin to 1825m.