Col d'Aubisque and Col du Soulor
- mikedugdale
- Feb 25
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 2
Confession time. I've never climbed the Col d'Aubisque. Not even in a car. And I'm not going to until my daughter is ready for it. Several years ago we made a pact – we would climb it together or not at all. And then the pandemic happened, after which my darling daughter had a darling grandson. Now she's expecting another child and I still haven't climbed the Aubisque, however, instead of pinching a bit of text off the internet, I thought I'd ask one of our guests, Mike Trimble of the Bad Lodgers Cycling Club for his description of the climb which you can find below this photo of Mike, en-route to the Aubisque with club mates, Jonesy and Rob in September 2024.
“Classically completed as an up and down ride from either Argelès-Gazost or Eaux-Bonnes, and despite the hospitality afforded by its welcome brasserie, the summit of the Aubisque feels more remote and wild than its more easterly neighbours. Should time be pressing, then the ascent beginning from Argelès can stick to the D918 through Arrens-Marsous (a couple of nice spots for coffee, beer or lunch here) but depending on time and day of departure this can be accompanied by fairly heavy traffic. A detour off the main road via Estaing taking in the Col de Borderes offers a beautiful, quieter but lumpier route to Arrens. The real climb starts from here with immediate switchbacks (making this a testing section of the downhill return) and an unrelenting gradient all the way to the crest of the Col de Soulor. This is a challenging climb in its own right - its café might be a place to rendezvous with companions not undertaking the push on to the Aubisque - but anyone not continuing upwards will miss one of the great stretches of road in this or any other country.....the mountainside-hugging corniche provides a top photo opportunity on the ascent and a hair-raising descent."
Col d'Aubisque from Argelès-Gazost
1709m altitude
25km from the Pyrenees Cycling Centre to the start of the climb.
29 km ascent.
Average gradient 4.7%
Maximum gradient 9%
Height climbed 1353m. (inc height regained after descent from Soulor)
Col de Soulor from Argelès-Gazost
1474m altitude
25km from the Pyrenees Cycling Centre to the start of the climb.
21 km ascent.
Average gradient 5%
Maximum gradient 9%
Height climbed 1001m.
