TDF - when was the last time an Alpine or Pyrenean stage had snow ?

[pcolbeck]

Looking at some old pictures of TDF mountain stages they were sometime riding or pushing bikes between 7 foot banks of snow. When was the last time anything like that happened ? These days there seems to be no snow anywhere near any of the roads.

[Exit Stage Left]

1996, Col de l'Iseran, The stage was shortened and Bjarne Riis won a 40km stage up to Sestriere. Most of the Snow pictures are from the Giro, Andy Hampsten on the Passo di Gavia in 1988 to be precise. Van de Velde won the stage.

    YouTube
        - ‪Passo di Gavia 1988‬‏
 

[Exit Stage Left]

Regarding banks of snow, it depends very much on the weather. Sunshine doesn't melt snow very quickly at high altitudes, but rain melts it very quickly. During the 1980s there were droughts in the spring, so the snow didn't melt. It's been wetter in more recent years, so the snowbanks were washed away. It also favoured Armstrong, who thrived in wet weather.

[citoyen]

1996, Col de l'Iseran, The stage was shortened and Bjarne Riis won a 40km stage up to Sestriere.

I wouldn't have been able to put a date on it but I remember it well. (edit: What I remember mainly is Riis riding through the snow and leaving Ullrich far behind, but I couldn't have told tou any more detail than that.)

Was there not snow on the ground (at the side of the road) at the high points of the Pyrenees on last year's Tour, or am I imagining that? Maybe I'm thinking of the Giro.

d.

[Exit Stage Left]

1996, Col de l'Iseran, The stage was shortened and Bjarne Riis won a 40km stage up to Sestriere.

I wouldn't have been able to put a date on it but I remember it well.

Was there not snow on the ground (at the side of the road) at the high points of the Pyrenees on last year's Tour, or am I imagining that? Maybe I'm thinking of the Giro.

d.

Snow on the roadsides in the Pyrenees would have been consistent with the persistent North Westerly airstream which dominated 2010 until late June, it was what caused the problems with volcano ash. Remember how yellow the grass got here. It was cool and dry for a very long time.

[pcolbeck]

Milan San Remo is famous for snow as it's early in the year.

[Exit Stage Left]

Another thing to bear in mind is that snow as it melts leaves all the muck from pollution, desert sand and volcanic ash on the surface, so the banks just look like grey rock.