- Ascent
- 1053 hm
- Distance Ascent
- 11.5 km
- max. gradient
- 18 %
- ø gradient
- 9.2 %
The Col du Granon from Saint-Chaffrey is an HC climb of 11.5 km with 1,053 m of elevation gain at an average of 9.2 %, peaking at 18 %. The road climbs from the Serre Chevalier valley to 2,413 m, and the way back is the same road. After the first kilometre no section drops below 8 %.
Climb Goals: Pure Data Edition DIN A1 poster
Bucket-List Print: Col du Granon
The Col du Granon is one of the steepest climbs in our list and ends high above the Serre Chevalier valley. From Saint-Chaffrey it is 11.5 kilometres and 1,053 metres of climbing up to 2,413 metres. That is 9.2 % on average, and after the first kilometre the road hardly lets up at all. There is no descent on the far side: up and back down the same way.
The Col du Granon at a glance
The key figures from Saint-Chaffrey: category HC, 11.5 km, 1,053 m of climbing, 9.2 % on average and 18 % at its steepest. The road leaves Saint-Chaffrey in the Serre Chevalier valley and climbs up to 2,413 m. Start and finish are both in Saint-Chaffrey, so the way back is the same road. In our list the Granon belongs to the Western Alps region.
The climb from Saint-Chaffrey
Only the first kilometre is moderate, at just under 5 %. From the second kilometre onwards the gradient does not drop below 8 % again, and several kilometres go above 10 %. From there to the top it averages around 9.5 %. There are no flat pieces to recover on this climb.
The steepest kilometres are spread over the whole climb, one early on and several in the upper half. The last kilometre is a little calmer at just under 9 %, but still anything but easy. The 18 % in the fact box does not show up at kilometre level, so it is a short spot. What makes the Granon hard is not a single wall, but eleven kilometres of constant pressure.
How it compares to our 100 climbs
At 9.2 % the Granon is among the steepest climbs in the list: only eight are steeper on average, and in the Western Alps only the Colle San Carlo. At 2,413 m it also finishes high, only 15 climbs end higher. On length and elevation gain it sits further back, 80 climbs are longer. The Mangrt is very similar with 10.9 km and 996 m of climbing at 9.1 %, it too goes up and back down the same road.
Practical tips
For the Granon a compact gearing with a large sprocket is strongly advisable, the gradient stays high for too long without one. Start calmly, the first kilometre is the only easy one. At 2,413 m it is cold even in summer, so warm layers for the descent are essential. The way back to Saint-Chaffrey is the same road, and the descent is steep too.
