Col de Terre Nère
Col de Terre Nère is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 2.270m (7,447ft) above the sea level, located in the Pyrenees, a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain.
The pass is located in Saint-Lary-Soulan, a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. This aerial road, cut directly into the steep mountain slope, begins offering breathtaking vistas almost immediately and never lets up.
The road to climb the pass is narrow, cut directly into the steep mountain slope, with breathtaking vistas. On the summit, the views are spectacular. The road has average grades between 7 and 10%. The summit top gives you a spectacular 360-degree view of all the surrounding mountain peaks, too. The constant difficulty of this mountain pass may be enough to make you stop after this climb. When your legs give up, a pleasant descent will take you back to picturesque Saint-Lary.
The unpaved sections of the road can be impassable when wet. There are very few hairpins and several very steep stretches, making this short climb quite difficult. It’s primarily a gravel road – although it switches to paved several times. It’s a big climb heading towards bigger mountains. The road ends at 2.335m.