Located on the heights of Mont Clergeon to the north of Lac du Bourget, the Col du Clergeon – 979 m – has the particularity of belonging to a non-Alpine massif, in this case that of Jura but also to the department of Savoie which is naturally affiliated with the Alps.
WEST SIDE
This slope starting at Ruffieux, located just opposite the Grand Colombier, has an air copied from that of its illustrious neighbor: certainly shorter with 8.8 km but at 8.5% on average! Around fifteen bends will help you climb the 728 m of positive altitude difference. Still count on a big passage of 1840 m at 10.5% to reach the Col du Clergeon at 979 m above sea level which marks the border with Haute-Savoie.
EASTERN SIDE
This slope starts at Rumilly in… Haute-Savoie. It offers a positive altitude difference equivalent to the western slope with 772 m but being longer with 15 km, the difficulty is a little less with an average slope of 6.5%. However, the ascent is tricky because it has 2 descents that will have to be climbed back up and a long passage of 3.4 km on a slope of between 8.5 and 9.5%. Small sweetness: the finale won't be too difficult.
Sources: Alpes4ever