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Col d'Aubisque
The Col d'Aubisque reaches 1,709 metres in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It links the Ossau valley, to the west, to the Arrens valley, to the east, and its eastern side leads towards the Col du Soulor. The road that crosses it is part of the thermal road no. 3, desired by Empress Eugénie to link the spa towns; it was completed in 1864 and employed up to 500 workers.
The pass is famous in cycling history: the Tour de France crossed it for the first time in 1910, on its first foray into the high Pyrenees. The race has passed there 74 times and the climb has been classed hors catégorie since 2002. Giant bicycles in the Tour's colours mark the summit, where there are also two restaurants.
A local legend says that an old woman named Clara beat a bear there with a stick, piercing along the way the Pic du Ger, which rises to 2,613 metres. Because of snow, the pass is closed in winter, from November to about May.
