Croix de Fer landslide that diverted the western ascent

[Foghat]

Does anyone have any information on the landslide that took out the D526 road in the Defile de Maupas valley on the western ascent of the Col de la Croix de Fer?

It led to a few kilometres of the road having to be re-built on the other side of the valley, and introduced a 1km descent into the climb to cross the valley (which makes a somewhat unwelcome toughish climb in the middle of an otherwise nicely fast descent when heading in the other direction).

My first trip to the French Alps was in 1988, and the new road section was there then. However, the 1986 IGN map I purchased at the time for 20 francs showed the road in its original alignment, and I was slightly confounded until I worked out what had happened.

So, I've been wondering:
- in which year did the landslide occur?
- was it very large?
- did it kill anyone?
- was that section particularly prone, as current imagery of that section of valley on the north side looks very dodgy over a considerable length?
- how long was the D526 out of action?
- what was the old road like to ride there, as current photographs suggest it would have been pretty narrow and a rockfall hotspot?

Just curious for some reason - I find such things quite fascinating.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Did that route in 2013.  I tend to look for old stretches of road but I don't recall seeing any at all.  Coming down the other side there was a big stretch of rebuilt road (D926) and I took these of the old one:








Part of its replacement:


It would be interesting to see a picture of your old map.

[Foghat]

Thanks for those images from the eastern ascent. 

The old road infrastructure on that side is equally, if not more, fascinating, and looks like it made for a very narrow, tortuous route through tight tunnels and over rickety bridges.  I had noted those sections from my various traverses of the Croix de Fer from/to the Maurienne valley, but was always in climb/descend-as-fast-as-possible-without-stopping mode, so have never actually explored them.  I wonder when those old road sections were closed off and replaced? 

The helicopter shots from the Tour de France this year zoomed in on that old bridge, prompting me to recall my various trips over the Croix de Fer and the Col du Glandon....and reminding me of the landslide on the west side, that I first heard about in 1988 and have been wondering about the facts of ever since.

As for signs of the old road wiped out by the landslide, well you can see the locations it diverges from the new alignment in the form of gravelly tracks meeting the road (at/near the commencement of hairpin sections built to cross the valley), but they don't stand out much, so one probably wouldn't notice if one wasn't actively looking.  I saw on Google Streetview that there is road sign warning of risk of death at another track entrance along the 'new' bit of road!

The old maps make interesting reading, as they always do - I'll take a photo of my 1986 map later on and post it here.

[frankly frankie]

Jock Wadley's ashes are buried under that landslip on the western side.  (Jock was a cycling journalist back in the 60s/70s who wrote an inspirational account of his ride in Paris-Brest-Paris in 1971, credited with eventually leading to the formation of Audax UK. His ashes were taken to Croix de Fer by Nev Chanin.)  The landslip occurred sometime between 1988 (when I rode the Marmotte, it wasn't there then, the whole climb was a nice steady pull) and 1993 (when I rode the Marmotte again, the lumpy by-pass was by then well-established).

This picture taken in June 1988 shows a part of the road that got buried, t think you can see how it might have happened, that tunnel is pure snowdrift.


This next picture is one of the tunnel/viaducts on the east side, taken during the Marmotte in 1988, it looks a bit like the ruined section pictured by asterix.  These 'improvements' were done much later, mostly this century rather than last, there were 5 tunnels on 'the main line' (there were several routes down) back in 1993


Nothing on the scale of the recent landslip on the California coast though, that has obliterated the famous coastal highway.

[Foghat]

Very interesting......and thanks for posting those photos.

Intriguing that the landslide hadn't happened in June 1988, but that my recollection from late August 1988 is that the road re-alignment was in place.  Either it was built in double-quick time, or my memory is faulty and the Croix de Fer was first conquered on my second Alpine jaunt, in 1989.  I'm sure it was during my first pass-storming venture though, which was definitely in 1988, but will check my records.

[frankly frankie]

You got me checking my memory banks now  but yes, my first Alpine trip and first Marmotte was 1988 and the climb up the west side was just a steady pull that didn't even need a gear change after selecting a suitable low cog at the bottom.  I did think the landslip was soon after though - quite likely the following winter.  Scarey if it was any earlier than that (ie Summer '88) because the Marmotte helicopter could have set it off 
On our 3rd visit to that area (would have been mid-late '90s) one of the east side tunnels was closed and our descent had to divert over the Col du Mollard, which then takes you down the other side of the valley, while the main route is traversing the cliff opposite (not visible in this pic).

[Foghat]

You got me checking my memory banks now 

No, it's my memory that is failing.  Having consulted my notes, 1989 was indeed my first ride up the Croix de Fer.

Anyway, if anyone is wondering what I've been wittering about, here's the current 1:25,000 IGN map showing the road re-routed to avoid the landslide.  Parts of the old road are shown as a white road with a parking symbol on it, and a black dashed line on the other side of the landslide, which is obviously a few hundred metres wide.  Apologies for the small size......Photobucket seems to be arsing with my image sizes (and running like complete crap - looks like I'll need to abandon it for something else).

[Foghat]

It would be interesting to see a picture of your old map.

Only 1:100,000 I'm afraid, although this is sufficiently large scale to identify the key bits of road.  Not a great quality photo either, and Photobucket's size/resolution reduction doesn't help, but hopefully if you zoom in with your browser you can see some of the detail.

[Foghat]

On our 3rd visit to that area (would have been mid-late '90s) one of the east side tunnels was closed and our descent had to divert over the Col du Mollard, which then takes you down the other side of the valley, while the main route is traversing the cliff opposite (not visible in this pic).

One of my principal memories of the eastern side is the existence of a few thundering vertical/mega-steep drops down the cliff, where if you got it wrong on the descent you could easily go over the wall and dive straight off into the abyss.  And some of the ruts in the left-handed bends seemed determined to knacker your line such that the risk of this happening significantly increased.......never stopped me drilling the descent, though!

[andrew_s]

Apologies for the small size......Photobucket seems to be arsing with my image sizes (and running like complete crap - looks like I'll need to abandon it for something else).[/img]

Yes, you'll have to move to Fliockr or somewhere, unless you want to pay $399 or whatever

Photobucket are packing it in as a free image hosting service, and people's images are vanishing.
See https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=103837.0

[Foghat]

This is a great view up the Defile du Maupas, from where the climb switches to a descent to cross the valley, and with the old road visible off to the left.

In the middle distance, centre-right, you can see the road climbing again in its new alignment, and to the left of that what looks like the landslide itself.

Old road W end

Here's the other end of the abandoned road section.

Old road E end

And the sign telling walkers they're going to die.

Death warning sign

[Foghat]

Yes, you'll have to move to Fliockr or somewhere, unless you want to pay $399 or whatever

Photobucket are packing it in as a free image hosting service, and people's images are vanishing.
See https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=103837.0

Thanks for that.  Photobucket has been pretty much unusable for a few years now, but this latest upload exercise has been so slow and unbearably awful that an alternative is the only option.

Can one register anonymously at Flickr?

[frankly frankie]

There has for some while been talk of by-passing the Defile du Maupas altogether, by developing the Col de Sabot (2100m) which is the road that leaves the Croix de Fer road at the lower reservoir and ascends through Vaujany, it is very developed already as far as the village and reportedly tarmacced to the top.  But then it would either have to hairpin down to the upper reservoir dam, or do a lot of contouring to stay east of the reservoir and head for the Col du Glandon.  There are a lot of 'cascades' around there and I can't visualize either of those ever actually happening.

Col de Sabot above Vaujany, taken around 2001 judging by the bike.

[Dave_C]

What a fascinating thread. I am a closet map-o-phile and loved looking at the photos and maps. I looked on google earth, and the 'satellite' view from the air shows a spectacular view of the landslide.

I have never ridden in the alps before and this is nurturing a liking for it. I may have to look at an organised tour like other friends have done previously.

Edit:

Infact if you have a good browser, you can zoom in on satellite view and then hold down the Ctrl key and click and move the mouse down, which tilts the views and shows the contours!

Crois_de_Fer_de_col_slant by David Crampton, on Flickr

[Foghat]

There has for some while been talk of by-passing the Defile du Maupas altogether, by developing the Col de Sabot (2100m) which is the road that leaves the Croix de Fer road at the lower reservoir and ascends through Vaujany, it is very developed already as far as the village and reportedly tarmacced to the top.  But then it would either have to hairpin down to the upper reservoir dam, or do a lot of contouring to stay east of the reservoir and head for the Col du Glandon.  There are a lot of 'cascades' around there and I can't visualize either of those ever actually happening.

Very interesting.  I agree it seems unlikely, although in the event a bigger landslide blocks the main valley, I expect they'll be wanting to maintain access to the Lac de Grand Maison and dam without having to trek all the way round to come over the Glandon or Croix de Fer, what with it being the upper reservoir of the major pumped storage hydroelectric scheme.  Maybe the geologists know something.....

[Foghat]

the 'satellite' view from the air shows a spectacular view of the landslide.

Indeed.  Quite a sizeable one.  Must have been an impressive sight and sound when it happened.....

[Datameister]

developing the Col de Sabot (2100m)....... reportedly tarmacced to the top. 

It is indeed, though much in the same way as most minor roads in the UK are tarmacced (generations of interlocking partially filled potholes surrounded by gravel and with grass growing up the middle). More importantly, its a lovely quiet climb to a dead end car park.

From memory a number of the hairpins would be a bit tight for heavier traffic, so I hope they leave it well alone. That said, whilst I've never yet managed to successfully climb the Glandon from Allemond, I really like the atmosphere of the Defile de Maupas so I hope that doesn't change too much either.