Galibier and Alpe d'Huez in September / October

[pfm401]

I was due to stay in Le Bourg d'Oisans in late June, travelling with a friend. We were planning to do Galibier, Alpe d'Huez etc. Obviously this was at risk anyway because of the Coronavirus situation, but now it's definitely off because he's gone and broken a few bones in a spill (I know, how selfish of him!), and the doctor has banned cycling for 3 months (I know, how mean!)

So we're considering rebooking for September / October. Does anyone know what the weather is like on the climbs at those times - I can see forecasts for Le Bourg d'Oisans and it looks pleasant, but it's hard to get decent information on conditions at the top of the climbs and neither of us have any experience of this type of mountain cycling.

Thanks, Paul.

 

[pfm401]

Sorry should be "cycling in the mountains" - just to be clear we're road biking not mountain biking

 

[Jimidh]

I’ve been in mid September before and the weather was pretty good. Colder at the higher reaches but a gilet in the back pocket was all that was required for the descents.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Typical opening times here

https://uk.bike-oisans.com/cycling/opening-of-the-mountain-passes/

Whether normal tourism is possible by then is another matter, of course.

 

[matticus]

On the higher passes (like galibier) it is possible to get appaling weather year-round (see hailstorms/landslides in 2019 TdeF!). Of course August is likely to be warmer than April.
So I'd recommend going to these places any time the passes are actually OPEN, but do be prepared to take a lot of clothes up. (More so in October).

(I was in the Pyrenees in October - some descents were bare arms, some were done in all the clothes I had with me for a 7-day bivvying trip!)

 

[Globalti]

Typical Alpine summer weather is fine bright mornings clouding over as the day warms up to give afternoon thunderstorms. The storms become more frequent as summer moves into Autumn.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

I only visited Col du Galibier once in September (2016), and it was about 0 degrees and very misty at the top, but otherwise the weather wasn't too bad. A big contrast to July last year when I last visited that col: it was in the middle of le canicule (a French nickname for the European heatwave last year), and it was 25 degrees at the col, pretty impressive given how high it is, and a scorching 35-40 in the valleys. One other time I visited that col was in late June 2017, when it was about 10 degrees up there. So it's pretty variable, not unexpected in the Alps.

 

[slowfen]

I have cycled Mt Ventoux in September. It was a nice 24c at the bottom, but there were chunks of ice being blown of the station at the top.

If you do go, do not try and cycle on the weekend. We were talking with some Dutch who had cycled up on a Saturday, they found it terrifying due to the number of cyclists and cars doing silly speeds down.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

In the Alps, summer can end with a bang. Often there is a nice stable spell of autumnal weather with chillier nights but warm enough during the day. I did the whole Route des Alpes one September (from south to north) in beautiful weather but the night after crossing the Col d'Isere it rained on the tent down at Bourg St Maurice and next day we had to push through the snow on the Cormet de Roselend.