Col du Tourmalet (; elevation ) is one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

, in the department of

Hautes-Pyrénées Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/ Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs es, Altos Pirineos; ca, Alts Pirineus alts piɾiˈneʊs English: Upper Pyrenees) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. ...

. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station

La Mongie The village of La Mongie is at altitude. There are also residences at 1850 and the Tourmalet building at 1900. It lies below the Col du Tourmalet . It is in the canton of Campan in the Midi-Pyrénées region (department 65) of France and around ...

two-thirds of the way up. The village of Barèges lies on the western side, above the town of Luz-Saint-Sauveur.

Higher roads in the Pyrenees

The Col du Tourmalet is the highest ''paved mountain pass'' in the ''French'' Pyrenees second only to the

Col de Portet The Col de Portet is a mountain pass in the French Pyrenees in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées and the Occitanie region. The eastern side of the pass is located in the heart of the skiing area above Saint-Lary-Soulan, and is the winter home ...

. So in contrast to frequent claims (see for example ), it is neither the highest paved road in the Pyrenees nor the highest paved mountain pass in the Pyrenees. Paved roads leading to the mountain lakes Lac de Cap-de-Long and Lac d'Aumar in the same French Department

are higher, as these lakes are at altitudes of and , respectively. However, these roads are not mountain passes. Departing directly from the Col du Tourmalet, there is a road to the mountain pass Col de Laquets with an altitude of However, this road is not paved. Finally, the highest paved mountain pass in the Pyrenees is the Port d'Envalira in

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

with its altitude of .

Meaning of "Tourmalet"

Some Frenchmen believe that ''Tourmalet'' translates into "bad trip" or "bad detour" because in French ''Tour'' translates into "trip" and ''mal'' translates into "bad"; however, the correct language to translate from is Gascon, not French, because of the mountain's location in the

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part ...

region. Then ''Tour'' becomes "distance", which is spelled "tur" but pronounced "tour" and ''mal'' is translated into "mountain". The translation from Gascon to English then becomes "Distance Mountain". Tourmalet is also a

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During productio ...

made from

sheep milk Sheep's milk (or ewes' milk) is the milk of domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured dairy products such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), ricotta (Italy), and Roquefort (France). Sheep breed ...

produced in these mountains.

Details of the climb

2015 Mountain pass cycling milestone at the Col du Tourmalet in France ascending from Sainte Marie de Campan

The western side, from Luz-Saint-Sauveur, is long, climbing at an average of 7.4% with a maximum of 10.2% near the summit. Starting from Sainte-Marie-de-Campan, the eastern climb is , gaining , at an average of 7.4% with a maximum of 12%. As with most French climbs, each kilometre mountain pass cycling milestones indicate the height of the summit, the distance to the summit, and the average gradient of the next kilometre. According to PJAMM Cycling's ranking system, the east side is the 24th hardest bike climb in France, and the west is ranked 26th. From the pass, a rough track leads to the Pic du Midi de Bigorre observatory. Up to the Col de Laquets (elevation ) this track is a dirt and gravel road. The part between the Col de Laquets and the observatory is a steep and narrow hiking track. Some terraces of the observatory can be entered for free from the end of the track. Paying an entrance fee, one can enter the actual observatory and also take the cable car down to

Tour de France

The Col du Tourmalet is one of the most famous climbs on the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

. It has been included more than any other pass, starting in

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

, when the Pyrenees were introduced. The first rider over was

Octave Lapize Octave Lapize (; 24 October 1887 – 14 July 1917) was a French professional road racing cyclist and track cyclist. Most famous for winning the 1910 Tour de France and a bronze medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics in the men's 100 kilometres, h ...

, who went on to win the general classification in Paris. In 1913, Eugène Christophe broke his

fork In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tine (structural), tines with which one ...

on the Tourmalet and repaired it himself at a forge in Sainte-Marie-de-Campan. Up to 2020, the Tour has visited the Col du Tourmalet a total of 87 times. The total includes three stage finishes at the summit and three at La Mongie. Since 1980 it has been ranked '' hors catégorie'', or exceptional. The

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...

has also crossed the pass several times. The 2010 edition of the Tour included the pass on two consecutive stages, crossing westward on the 16th stage to Pau and eastward on the 17th stage with a finish at the summit. At the col is a memorial to Jacques Goddet, director of the

from 1936 to 1987, and a large statue of

gasping for air as he struggles to make the climb. The Souvenir Jacques Goddet prize is awarded for the first rider to cross the Col du Tourmalet summit. In 2023, the climb will feature in the Tour de France Femmes for the first time, as the ''queen stage'' of the race.

Origins in the Tour

The Pyrenees were included in the Tour de France at the insistence of Alphonse Steinès, a colleague of the organiser,

Henri Desgrange Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 – 16 August 1940) was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set twelve world track cycling records, including the hour record of on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France. ...

. He told the story in a book published soon after the event.Unidentified, but the story is retold in . Steinès first agreed that the Tour would pay 2,000 francs to clear the Col d'Aubisque, then came back to investigate the Tourmalet. He started at Sainte-Marie-de-Campan with sausage, ham and cheese at the inn opposite the church and arranged to hire a driver called Dupont from Bagnères-de-Bigorre. Dupont and Steinès made it the first 16 km, after which their car came to a stop. Dupont and Steinès started to walk but Dupont turned back after 600m, shouting: "The bears come over from Spain when it snows". Steinès set off. He mistook voices in the darkness for thieves. They were youngsters guarding sheep with their dog. Steinès called to one. "Son, do you know the Tourmalet well? Could you guide me? I'll give you a gold coin. When we get to the other top, I'll give you another one" The boy joined him but then turned back. Steinès rested on a rock. He considered sitting it out until dawn, then realised he'd freeze. He slipped on the icy road, then fell into a stream. He climbed back to the road and again fell in the snow. Exhausted and stumbling, he heard another voice. "Tell me who goes there or I'll shoot". "I'm a lost traveller. I've just come across the Tourmalet". "Oh, it's you, Monsieur Steinès! We were expecting you! We got a phone call at Ste-Marie-de-Campan. Everybody's at Barèges. It's coming on for three o'clock. There are search teams of guides out looking for you". The organising newspaper, '' L'Auto'', had a correspondent at Barèges, a man called Lanne-Camy. He took him for a bath and provided new clothes. Steines sent a telegram to Desgrange: "Crossed Tourmalet stop. Very good road stop. Perfectly feasible".

Tour de France stage finishes

Other appearances in Tour de France

Other events

The Col du Tourmalet features in other bicycle races, including the

when it has made excursions into France. It is also on the route of

cyclosportive A cyclosportive, or often simply sportive, is a short to long distance, organised, mass-participation cycling event, typically held annually. The Italian term '' Gran Fondo'' is commonly used for these events in the United States, Australia and so ...

competitions. Thousands of amateur riders make the climb every year and many take documents to have rubber-stamped in the shop at the summit to show they have made it.