Psychlo Ramblings: Day two: Luz Ardiden and Hautacam

We decided to do a couple of less well known climbs.

We drove down to Argeles Gazost via Lourdes.

From there it was a 12K ride up to Luz Saint Saveur which is where the ascent of the Tourmalet begins. We made a short foray 2K up the Tormalet route and then returned to the village and onwards to Luz Ardiden.

Just like the previous day's climb up the Aubisque the start was fairly moderate. The gradient started steepening after 3K as we again ascended into thick cloud.

The total distance was 13K with 1100M of ascent. The last 3 kilometres were tough going and, with the thick mist, there was only the immediate 15 meters of road in view.

The conditions at the top were cold so we immediately turned around and headed back down.

After a lunch in Luz Saint Saveur we decided to add another climb to the day and headed back down the gorge towards Hautacam.

This is another ski destination in the valley and equal in length and height to our first climb.

After another tough climb the same inclement conditions prevailed so we did not linger at the summit.
The descent was particularly tricky as the road was quite wet and narrow.

We reached the van after a total of 95 kilometres distance and 2500 meters of climbing.

Quite a draining day in the saddle but still plenty of time to recover before Saturday.