ジニョーの峠・トップ19

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.

The climb winds through a majestic valley (personally my favorite), never reaching excessive gradients; it's long but pedalable, allowing you to fully enjoy the natural surroundings. Apart from the peak season, there's almost no traffic, although you might encounter a few campers, which can be annoying on the way down. If you tackle the climb during periods of the year when there aren't too many tourists, you might, like me, have pleasant encounters with ibex and chamois that have come down to road level.

この登りは信じられないほど素晴らしいです。勾配はきつくありませんが、長く、非常に長く、果てしなく続きます。ほとんど嫌いになりそうな地点に達します。1時間以上も自転車を漕いでいるのに、まだ頂上が見えず、エネルギーは尽きかけ、風は顔を叩き続けます。自転車を投げ捨てて「もう十分だ！ここで止まる！」と言いたくなるでしょう…しかし、それはほんの一瞬のことです。なぜなら、それに挑むことを選んだのはあなた自身であり、何をしているのかをはっきりと知っていたからです。以前よりもさらに気合を入れて、残りの力すべてで最後の数キロの道を駆け抜けます。 そしてトンネルに入ると、やり遂げたのだと実感し始めます。トンネルを抜けて、わずかに左に曲がる道を進むと、まるで夢のように湖が現れます。 頂上に着くと、何世紀にもわたってこの道を歩んできた人々のことを思います。サラッシ族、ローマ人、修道士、移民、ナポレオンの兵士たち…歴史が濃密で自然が素晴らしい場所にいることを理解し、この丘を愛さずにはいられません。

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.

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

The Tsa de Merdeux is a large mountain pasture located in the upper part of the valley of the same name, in the western part of the Gran San Bernardo area. In Aosta Valley dialect, the name means "Larch mountain pasture", although unfortunately you don't see many of them in this area. You can reach it by following the Alta Via 1 route, which in this area is very easy and not very technical for running. As you climb, the view is limited by the surrounding peaks, but this makes the place suggestive and pleasant to the eye, thanks also to the vast valley.