アレインの峠・トップ15

The highest road pass in the Aosta Valley and a place that has always fascinated the writer for its thousand-year history, the austere Mauritian hospice and the profound beauty of the landscape.

This climb is incredible: it doesn't have any difficult gradients, but it's long, incredibly long, endless. You reach a point where you almost hate it: you've been pedaling for well over an hour and the summit is still out of sight, you're running out of energy and the wind keeps whipping you in the face, you want to throw your bike away and say, "Enough! I'll stop here!"... but it's only a moment, because you're the one who chose to tackle it and you knew exactly what you were getting into; you set off again with more determination than before and attack those last few kilometers of road with all your remaining strength. And then you enter the tunnel, there you begin to realize you've made it, you exit, follow the road that bends slightly to the left, and, as if in a dream, the lake appears. You reach the top and think about how many people have traveled this road over the centuries: Salassi, Romans, monks, migrants, Napoleonic soldiers... you realize you're in a place steeped in history and stunning nature, and there you can't help but love this hill.

Very panoramic hill, reachable only with bike on your shoulder

A wonderful sight after a long climb - in early summer, when the lake is just waking up from hibernation, you can sometimes see very beautiful pictures of melting ice, snow marbled with Sahara dust and blue water.

Here you are not at the top (2734m) yet, but at 2080m. But a beautiful view.

The austere buildings of the hospice of the Great Saint Bernard are located in a rocky pass through which an icy wind almost always blows, on the edge of a lake that is frozen on average 265 days a year and where winter lasts almost eight months. For nine centuries, canons regular of the order of St. Augustine, who settled here through the help of St. Bernard of Menthon, have maintained a tradition of helpfulness and hospitality. Travelers who want to relax for a while in that peaceful place are welcome all year round.

Drive past and enjoy, definitely too cold for swimming

A mountain pass overlooking the Great Saint Bernard Monastery. The summit of this pass is rocky and wild, worn and battered by the brutal winters for which the Alps are known. This pass, however, offers an excellent and captivating climb, while being involved in some superb and intuitive routes in the region. You can expect brilliant panoramic views of the region's many lakes and valleys, as well as a vast expanse of mountains stretching into both Italy and Switzerland.