Even as the legs burn, the road allows you to admire the rocky peaks and the shimmering streams
he 24.1km thread of road that weaves up the southern flanks of the Col du Glandon presents an ever-shifting photo reel of Alpine peaks, forested slopes, crashing waterfalls and glittering reservoirs, culminating in a euphoric summit-top panorama that stretches all the way to the giant ice-white Mont Blanc. Situated between the Belledonne, Grandes Rousses and Arvan-Villards mountains, the 1,924m Glandon is twinned with the 2,067m Col de la Croix de Fer, which can be accessed along the same southern roads, before you simply divert east for the final 3km stretch to the neighbouring summit. The two fabled cols are together known as the Orthrus of the Alps, after the
