This Easter, after traveling through African lands, we think of a destination, without being hot for August… We saw the trip that Territori4x4 announces for the Alps, 9 days, gee, it could be interesting, so close and we didn’t know it in 4×4 format.
The day of the meeting has arrived in the city of Albertville, all the participants are arriving, those who arrive earlier, visit the city with dinner included, the rest at the hotel or en route.
The Territori 4×4 guide tells us that the first Brifing will be after dinner, Josep Carbonell gives us the first explanations of how the trip will be, there will be several groups of cars, roadbook distribution, guaypoints and electronic routes. In this first brifing, we all get to know each other, exchange of places of origin and it is verified that there are participants from all over Spain, Jerez de la Frontera, Madrid, Bilbao, and Catalonia, the general tone of the whole trip is also perceived, laughter, a lot of laughter and a pleasant companionship.
Albertville-Chamonix It is the first alpine stage, we have breakfast at the hotel and leave at 9, one after the other the cars start the route going up the mountainside until they reach the summit, spectacular views, photos, many photos, from another group, you hear on the radio that a car has killed the second battery, They solve it in a workshop nearby and continue walking. We have really got it right with the trip, the views and landscapes, spectacular. On today’s route, we pass through summits and when we start the descent towards a point in the distance that we see, there is a restaurant, many cars and motorhomes and people walking and walking, it is a typical meeting place of
Motorcyclists, 4×4, bicycles, horses, trekking, etc. Every time we find people walking (which is a lot in this place) we literally stop the vehicles, receiving the gratitude of the passers-by and listening on several occasions to “SPANISH OKEY”
For lunchtime, Territori had prepared the first surprise of the trip for us, an uphill track to a viewpoint of Mont Blanc, an hour going up in first gear, with some section in reducer so as not to force the mechanics, because this track is very little frequented, when we reached almost the top we stopped because the view was spectacular and we took the opportunity to take photos, Then we continued along very narrow tracks, the kind that only fit one car, with very significant slopes and curves that make this section very adrenaline-pumping and exciting, as well as very impressive.
We arrive at the place of the meal in a wonderful place and the subsequent descent, which is done through the same place where we have climbed, to the sorrow of those who suffer from vertigo. On more relaxed slopes, we arrive at a charming place, the Lago Verde, a place that we take advantage of to stretch our legs while enjoying the landscape and the peace that is breathed there. Before reaching our destination today, we stop on a terrace in front of the stunning Mont Blanc and drink some good and well-deserved beers.
We continue our route to Chamonix and arrive at the hotel at a good time to enjoy it, a few participants take advantage of the heated pool of the hotel, because despite being in
In August the outdoor pool has quite cold water, as you know we are in the Alps, prudence and coolness make us decide for the heated.
Dinner and brifing, where we discuss the most fun steps of the day, especially those we have done on slopes with great slopes, which offer no danger and instead reward with spectacular panoramic views of the Alpine massif.
CHAMONIX-CHAMONIX This day is free, as described in the Territori 4×4 program, so each participant decided to visit the most significant of the town and its surroundings.
We take the cable car that goes up to the gates of Mont Blanc, specifically to Mer de Glace
CHAMONIX-TIGNES L’Aiguille du Midi, 3842 m above sea level, fantastic place that we took advantage of to eat in one of its restaurants. In the afternoon we visit an ice cave in which we have a good walk to get hungry for dinner, but not before taking another dip in the pool, dinner and Brifing. Departure at 7, today we have a long day ahead, we all started the route with great enthusiasm since yesterday’s day that had an impressive spectacularity for the visits and especially for the relaxed way they were done, invites us to have a special enthusiasm to do it.
As soon as we leave the hotel we start a reduction climb, along some ski slopes that take us to the foot of the Mont Blanc refuge next to the rack railway used by climbers in summer, to approach the starting point of the climb, to make the summit of Mont Blanc, just at that moment the rack railway passes through where we are, Photos, greetings with the driver and we start the descent, always on 4×4 tracks.
The rest of the day was a non-stop of ups and downs, photos, lots of photos and breathtaking landscapes, high mountain landscapes. We reach our destination today, the Tignes Ski Resort passing over the lake dam, we arrive at the hotel, which also has a heated pool, some participants take a dip, have dinner and brifing.
TIGNES-SESTRIERE Italia by Lake Mont-Cenis, when we reach a point of the route, we hear on the radio station that the passage is cut off by works and cannot be passed, quickly the guide Josep Carbonell generates another itinerary bordering the aforementioned lake in another place and at the end of Departure at 8 o’clock, we head the road to the Coll de L’Iseran at 2,770 meters of altitude, mythical pass of the Tour de France, which is only open in summer and a must when we arrive there, we are in August at 12 degrees at 9 in the morning, you have to take out the fleeces for the photos, laughs group photo and we continue the route a few kilometers away we resume the original route.
We take the opportunity to pass over the lake dam, totally atypical, as it blends in with the surroundings and looks like a natural lake. We continue our route to a pass at 2,170 meters, luckily for some participants there is a bit of fog and you can’t see the height of the cliffs but you can sense them……. but we already know “eyes that do not see, heart that does not feel”… height.
We decided to eat before going to visit a post-Napoleonic Fort, since in the afternoon it is planned to make a very famous 4×4 track in Europe, but it is restricted to the passage of motorized vehicles and can only be done in a special way.
The Fort is very big, the highlight of it, for me, was knowing and seeing that it has a wall “similar” to the Chinese one, but with only 4 kilometers, which follows the entire ridge of the mountain, and 4,000 steps to go up or down it. The 4×4 route passed first at the top, and there was an attempt by some participants to lower them, luckily for them the entrance was closed and they could not perform such a feat.
After eating on the wall, between laughter and a good coffee, we headed to the track with restricted passage…. the guide commented on it but I thought it was a joke, well when we arrived at the entrance there was a guarded barrier that they raised to give us passage, with only two minutes of waiting, of course these Territori 4×4 have everything under control or almost everything because it was drizzling a little and we demanded that the guide Josep also book good weather next time, he, heh.
The slope is very long and spectacular, reaching the back of the Italian ski resort of Sestriere down the Sestriere pass to the hotel. After this route we were already beginning to be used to passing through cliffs and narrow passes but in the Brifing of the night another surprise……….
SESTRIERE-BRIAÇON
Well, as I said, in last night’s Brifing Josep told us that for today there were two objectives, first to pass the “footbridge of death” and in the afternoon to climb the highest track in Europe passable in 4×4 up to 3,050 meters.
He explained that nothing was happening, that it was a piece of road that had collapsed with the rains, and that there was a guard rail on the road that someone had put in place to be able to pass, and that we had to help each other to be able to pass the wheel of the car over the guard rail, since a piece of road was gone, that the The cliff was only 200 meters long…….. Of course, half of the participants did not want to go….. He assured us that explained like this it seemed like a thing but then on the spot with the adrenaline at full throttle we would have no major problems. After talking for a while, it was unanimously decided that all the participants would try to pass the footbridge, he comments that obviously there is an option to save this section on asphalt, but he is sure that we will all pass.
In the morning at breakfast there were still those who doubted what to do, Josep tells us to go ahead, that after the days we have been experiencing, it will be a piece of cake, well specifically, “Look and Pass”.
Well, we start the ascent to cross the footbridge, the track does not lead to a crossroads, where we can visit an abandoned fort at the top, which is off the beaten path, the climb to it is narrow with maneuvering turns, cliffs and without any protection, but the experience acquired in the previous days gives us courage and strength to make such a spectacular ascent. Most of us decided to go up and we did it with a reduction gear, and leaving distance between us. After checking that no other vehicle was going down, we began the adrenaline-pumping climb, with a “go ahead… which are few and cowardly, we go up one by one, really the climb was narrow, with some inclination and turns where it was necessary to maneuver, but without any danger if you acted with caution and attention. Up the panorama was spectacular, really this fort-bunker extended the view more than 50 kilometers on both sides of the Italian-French border, after photos and commenting on the climb, each one as we had perceived it, we started the descent to get on track with the “footbridge of death”.
To get to it there is 1 kilometer of cliff with the passage of a single car, when you reach the entrance of a small tunnel, there you could see how halfway it was non-existent, it was not there, and there was the guardrail put in it.
We helped each other to make the passage, which we do without problems and much more easily than we had all thought after the apocalyptic references cited by the guide, after a narrow section, accompanied by indescribable landscapes that only the co-pilot could enjoy in his walk. total magnitude.
What followed was another fun surprise, a tunnel without any lighting other than that of our 2-kilometer 4x4s, with turns and front walls, which seemed that there was no exit, an entertaining and highly recommended experience, photos at the exit and everyone’s face of satisfaction, what a surprise,…
These tunnels are of military origin, they were excavated during the First World War to pass tanks and war material from valley to valley, it is noticeable that this track is very little known since we did not find anyone during the entire route. Later on we found more abandoned forts, which were still with the soldiers’ bunks. The comment from all of us was the same… How handsome….. How cool…… This is very nice. For lunch we meet on the other side of the mountain, we are back in France, in a charming little village, we look for a good place and to be able to comment on all the experiences and sensations accumulated this morning.
After lunch, we began the ascent to the 3,050-meter lake, the second great challenge of the day, reaching with our 4×4 the highest point of the highest track in Europe.
The town where we start the ascent is about 900 meters away and we will climb to 3,050 meters by some tracks that take us almost 2 hours to climb, the landscapes change depending on the altitude, beautiful and green meadows, valleys, waterfalls, shelters, eagles, many marmots, cows, we finally arrive at the lake after passing through lunar landscapes, every year the last section of the track must be redone, because the avalanches destroy the pass, there was still snow in August we were at + 04°, really cool, more phototic for everyone and we started the descent, with the pride of having made the highest track in Europe in 4×4.
Now the landscape, being downhill, is totally different, and possibly, even more spectacular, we see many marmots again, they had never whistled at me so much, he, heh.
We go straight to Briançon, as it is a city of great tourist interest and has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
We arrived at the hotel at a good time to be able to make the cultural visit, really impressive.
After dinner at the Hotel, brifing where all the comments agree on the entertaining and interesting day we had spent.
BRIANÇON-AURON
Early departure, on tracks we start the route to cross another tunnel whose construction began in 1892 and was finished in 1900, it is almost 1 kilometer long, on the ascent, we found cows, many cows, which had us 20 minutes of clock walking behind them, they looked like a rugby team, you tried to pass on the right, all to the right, you made a feint to the left, all to the left, you put two cars in parallel, they would have fanned out, impressive, nothing like this had ever happened to me, in the end when they reached their destination they moved away, I think I saw some malicious smiles, while they looked at us as they passed.
Finally we arrived at the tunnel that is only open in summer, individual photos, group photos, some intrepid participants put the cars on top of the mouth of the tunnel.
More marmots, they are always whistling to warn of our presence, after lunch, we go to the highest road in Europe and crown it at 2,802 meters, it is said that Hannibal passed through those environments with the elephants. The road we make was initially ordered to be built by Napoleon III in 1860 and later rebuilt in 1960 or at least that is what it said on a plaque, some participants climbed to the summit, not without blowing and puffing, but the effort was rewarded by the splendid landscape, it was worth it!
We go down pitas in a National Park, surrounded by extraordinary and very beautiful landscapes of many whistling marmots. The cameras are bursting at the seams. We arrive at the hotel with more than enough light, which allows us to take a walk around the town and have dinner in a typical Savoyard restaurant, Josep brifing us in the same restaurant, very enthusiastic and full of strength and spirit.
AURON-CUNEO
Very early start, today is a long day, but it dawns closed, destination Italy, the first section is the mythical stage of the MONTE CARLO RALLY, with arrival at the legendary Col de Turini at 1607 meters of altitude, as it was the last day, and when we see ourselves through those curves, we all feel like Carlos Sainz, and we give free rein to all the horses that we carry under our hoods quickly arriving at the mythical crossroads where we There is a hotel with thousands of photographs of participants and famous people, where, as it could not be otherwise, we take photos with all of them.
Then we go to a set of forts where there is an American tank, souvenir photos and we continue, the day is cloudy and rain threatens, the group stretches a lot because there are some participants, who wants to continue emulating Carlos Sainz, when we get back to the road it seems that the sky is overshadowed and announces that it is going to rain, that allows us to look for and find a restaurant to be able to eat in addition to sheltering.
After eating a part of the group decides to end the stage and visit Cuneo, another part follows the planned route, when they reach a fort where a very long route begins with many cliffs, it begins to rain in seas with fog included, a couple of kilometers are made, where it is decided that it is not prudent to continue, since the fog would prevent us from enjoying the landscapes and the risk due to the poor condition of the track was evident. Wise decision!
Said and done, we turn around, making an alternative route, and head towards Italy to the hotel, we arrive in Cuneo, the whole trip raining a lot, when we arrive at the hotel we meet the other participants, and after walking through the streets of this beautiful Italian city, we meet to go to dinner all together at a restaurant that has reserved for us Territori 4×4 of the Michelin guide. The dinner was exquisite.
Josep proudly and very satisfied delivers in a very endearing evening a memory of the trip, where it is shown that the trip has surprised us with the number of moments with adrenaline and wonderful landscapes, and that it is absolutely recommended.
CUNEO (ITALY) -SPAIN
The next day, depending on the final destination of each participant, each one leaves at the time they want for their home, ending this magnificent trip.
