Col de la Pierre Saint-Martin
| Col de la Pierre Saint-Martin | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Col de la Pierre Saint-Martin, view of the last hairpin bends before the top of the pass |
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| Compass direction | North | south | |
| Pass height | 1760 m | ||
| region | Department Pyrenees-Atlantiques , France | Navarre Province , Spain | |
| Valley locations | Arette | Isaba | |
| expansion | D 132 | NA 137 | |
| Mountains | Pyrenees | ||
| profile | |||
| Mountain scoring | 1 | 1 | |
| Ø pitch | 5.7% (1460 m / 25.8 km) | 3.6% (1020 m / 26.5 km) | |
| Max. Incline | 15% | 7.5% | |
| map | |||
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| Coordinates | 42 ° 58 '9 " N , 0 ° 46' 3" W | ||
The Col de la Pierre Saint-Martin (Spanish: La Piedra de San Martín ) is a 1760 meter high mountain pass in the Central Pyrenees . It forms the transition between the French Barétous and the Spanish Roncal Valley . It connects the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department with the Navarre region .
Routing
From the north, several routes lead to the Col de la Pierre Saint-Martin, all of which converge on the 1540 meter high Col de Soudet . The main route is formed by the D137 and starts in Arette . Over a length of 25.8 km, it overcomes 1,460 meters of altitude. The middle section is the steepest, over a length of 8 km 750 meters in altitude are overcome. The steepest kilometer has an average gradient of 11%, with a short 15% ramp. From Col de Soudet it is another 3.5 km to the top of the pass with a good 6% gradient.
The southern ramp from Spain is much flatter. Over a length of 26.5 km, 960 meters of altitude are overcome. 6 km before the top of the pass is the 1578 meter high Portillo de Eraice .
Tourism and sightseeing
Winter sports
The La Pierre Saint-Martin ski station is located east of the top of the pass . The ski area has 20 slopes on the northern slope of the 2044 meter high Pic d'Arlas , which is 1.5 km from the top of the pass. The Larra-Belagua station, which belongs to the municipality of Isaba on the Spanish side of the pass , has 25 km of cross-country trails.
Caving
That since the end of the 19th century u. a. Karst mountains explored by Édouard Alfred Martel and Eugène Fournier contain an extensive cave system. In 1950, a 320-meter-deep shaft was discovered that provides access to the Gouffre de la Pierre Saint-Martin . In 1953 the huge Salle de Verna (260 × 250 × 180 m) was discovered. This is to be made available to the public shortly. Since 2008 the Société Hydroélectrique du Midi , a subsidiary of GDF Suez , has been operating an underground hydropower plant with a capacity of 4 MW.
La Junte de Roncal
French cows have been grazing on the mountain meadows of the Roncal Valley on the other side of the pass for over 600 years. Every year the French shepherds pay their Spanish neighbors three two-year-old cows as tribute in return, according to the La Junte de Roncal agreement, first mentioned in 1375 . This is considered Europe's oldest still valid international treaty. For the ceremonial handover, the mayors of four of the seven Spanish municipalities of the Roncal Valley meet with their six French colleagues from the Barétous every July 13th at the Col de la Pierre Saint-Martin. The ceremony follows a precisely prescribed sequence and is now part of a folk festival.
Tour de France
The Col de la Pierre Saint-Martin was crossed in its entirety for the first time by the 2007 Tour de France . In the course of the 16th stage , it was driven as a climb in the first category, coming from Spain . The first at the summit was the Colombian Mauricio Soler , who later won the Mountain Prize .
The north ramp to the Col de Soudet was first driven in 1987 and at that time - as in 2006 - was an increase in the hors category .
In the Tour de France 2015 , the goal of the 10th stage was a mountain finish on the Col de la Pierre Saint-Martin. The pass was driven up from Arette on the north side.
La Pierre Saint-Martin, view of the Pic d'Arlas from the ski station
Pass road above the ski station
View of the top section of the Spanish side
Web links
- Information about the mountain for cyclists (climbs, route profile); Arette's north ramp
- Route profile of the south ramp
- La Junte de Roncal on the website of the municipality of Aramits (French)
- 16th stage of the 2007 Tour de France - official website
Individual evidence
- ↑ Press release about the commissioning of the power plant (French) ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Stage 10 - Tarbes> La Pierre-Saint-Martin. In: letour.fr. July 14, 2015, accessed July 15, 2015 .
- ↑ Tour de France: Froome climbs to victory on the tenth stage. In: Spiegel Online . July 14, 2015, accessed July 15, 2015 .
