Comment Post

Re: Porte de Pierrefite by TheCaptain on Friday, 02 September 2011

Not sure what you mean by photo number 009, I assume you mean pid=81112, but yes there is a trackway up here to this mountain pass. No doubt this trackway through the mountains has been here for thousands of years, and became a fairly major way for the shepherds herding their sheep. It is still not a major road, but access can be obtained from the neaby Port de Bales a few km to the northwest, which has now been made up into a tarmacced road, possibly for the use of the Tour de France.

Less than 100 years ago, there was no road over the World famous Col de Tourmalet, but just a shepherds track. Then somebody had the idea of using this for the route of the Tour de France, and since then the trackway became a small road, and is now a fairly major route to holiday resorts such as La Mongie and Bareges. But there was no real need for the road, it went from nowhere to nowhere through tough mountain country, hence its name, Tour Malet, approximately translating to Bad Route.

A now World Famous road over a legendary mountain pass, made for a bike race.

And yes, I have no doubt this site is ancient, although it has been "restored".

Something is not right. This message is just to keep things from messing up down the road