Val Thorens, one of the longest and biggest climbs in France

Val Thorens is a ski resort at an elevation of 2.300m (7,545ft) above the sea level, located in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.

Val Thorens

The road to the summit is breathtaking. Val Thorens is the highest ski resort in Europe. The road to the summit is called D117. It’s paved but narrow and tightly hairpinned and bumped. There are no protections or guard rails along some parts of the route.

Located within the Tarentaise Valley, in the French Alps, the resort has been featured in the Tour de France bicycle race. It’s one of the longest and biggest climbs in the country. Starting from Moutiers, historically also called Tarentaise, the ascent is 36.5 km long with 20 hairpin turns. Over this distance, the elevation gain is 1.807 meters. The average percentage is 4.95%.