- Ascent
- 1250 hm
- Distance Ascent
- 17.5 km
- max. gradient
- 20 %
- ø gradient
- 7.1 %
Pila from Aosta is an HC climb of 17.5 km with 1,250 m of elevation gain at an average of 7.1 %, peaking at 20 %. The road climbs out of the city up to the ski resort at 1,814 m and drops on the other side towards Gressan. No Western Alps climb in our list has a higher peak gradient.
Pila climbs straight out of Aosta up to a ski resort high above the city. It is 17.5 kilometres and 1,250 metres of climbing up to 1,814 metres. The 20 % peak in the fact box is the highest of all Western Alps climbs in our list. Over most of the distance, though, the climb is steady rather than extreme.
Pila at a glance
The key figures from Aosta: category HC, 17.5 km, 1,250 m of climbing, 7.1 % on average and 20 % at its steepest. The road leaves Aosta and climbs up to the ski resort at 1,814 m. On the other side a road runs down towards Gressan. In our list Pila belongs to the Western Alps region.
The climb from Aosta
Our kilometre profile only covers the last 15 kilometres or so, and these are remarkably even. Most kilometres sit between 7 and 9 %, one at the start of this section goes a little higher. There are no flat stretches here. It is a climb for one steady pace.
About six to seven kilometres below the top comes the only clearly easier kilometre, at around 4 %. After it the gradient settles at 6 to 8.5 % again until the end. The last kilometres average around 7 %. Where exactly the 20 % from the fact box sits cannot be read from our profile.
How it compares to our 100 climbs
No Western Alps climb in our list has a higher peak than Pila’s 20 %, and across all 100 climbs only five do. With 1,250 m of climbing and 7.1 % on average it sits in the middle of the field, 41 climbs have more elevation gain and 44 are steeper. The Kühtaisattel is almost a twin: also 17.5 km at 7.1 %, with 1,240 m of climbing.
Practical tips
For the 20 % spot a compact gearing with a large sprocket helps, even if it is only short. Otherwise the climb calls for a steady rhythm over a long time. At 1,814 m it is noticeably cooler than in Aosta, so bring a jacket for the descent. The way back to Aosta is the same road.
