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Angus_Beef



Member Since: 30 Apr 2015
Location: Oslo
Posts: 434

Norway 2015 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 SW Corris Grey
West Alps short trip
Today was Col du Parpaillon. About 42km overall. 10km climb from ca 1000m up to 2800m. Extremely dry, loose stone and dust.

A lovely time had by all. Tomorrow is Sommelier and Jafferau, weather permitting.

EDIT: and now with photos, and fixed some things


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Only a few days, but great terrain. Roaming around 🇳🇴🇨🇭
Post #962993 26th Aug 2022 5:13pm
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Caterham



Member Since: 06 Nov 2008
Location: Birmingham
Posts: 6264

England 2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 XS CSW Stornoway Grey
nice. really nice.
good for you. hope you continue to have a great time, great weather, great tracks and great views.

look forward to your next set of photos.
Thumbs Up
Post #963000 26th Aug 2022 6:31pm
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bear100



Member Since: 22 Mar 2010
Location: South Wales
Posts: 1867

Wales 2010 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 USW Santorini Black
Sommelier is a great day out, we were lucky and had another 5 defenders turn up from all over at the same time, we didn’t know them but the defender vibe was good Thumbs Up

Jaffearu was my favourite, such an awesome view everywhere! Be ready to reverse a fair way if you’re unlucky,


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Col de Asseeiets is also wort a trip

Enjoy Very Happy 2016 Range Rover Autobiography 4.4 TDV8
2010 110 XS Utility 2.4TDCI
2010 Range Rover Sport TDV8 (gone)
2007 Discovery HSE TDV6 (gone)
1993 110 csw 200 tdi (gone)
1994 90 HT 300 tdi (gone)
1994 discovery 300tdi (gone)
90 hybrid 3.5 v8 (gone)
Range rover bobtail 3.5 v8 (gone)
Post #963001 26th Aug 2022 6:38pm
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Angus_Beef



Member Since: 30 Apr 2015
Location: Oslo
Posts: 434

Norway 2015 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 SW Corris Grey
Jafferau was next on our list. We had a bit of a drive to get to Bardonecchia due to camping near the base of Parpaillon the night before, meaning we arrived around eleven. Not really my preferred way to do it - I would much rather start very early in the morning and enjoy the cool peaceful air - but we were trying to fit all we could into a weekend...

From Bardonecchia, we drove up the ski slope to Fort Jafferau. This route has only been open since 2013 and is very steep. Low range 2nd gear, sit back in the seat and climb, steep. It was fun. 255 KM3s and my month-old Ashcroft ATB meant a tire didn't slip even once. It was comically easy. I had always wondered if it would be possible to drive a defender up a ski slope. Turns out it is.

At the new little "parking area" on the hill, there were a lot of trucks. Too crowded for my liking, but the views were just at spectacular as they say. We headed down to the barracks and ate lunch.

From there we took the Pramand road to Salbertrand, via the Galleria Monte Seguret under Mount Seguret. This tunnel was scary Laughing In the direction we were travelling, it is downhill, steep and muddy, pitch black, on a constant arc so you cant see far ahead, narrow, and if you dont make the left turn at the exit, opens to a sheer cliff that was crated by a landslide in the 1930s. It was awesome Rolling with laughter



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 Roaming around 🇳🇴🇨🇭
Post #963384 30th Aug 2022 5:06pm
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LandymanStefan



Member Since: 30 Aug 2017
Location: Surrey
Posts: 860

England 2001 Defender 90 Td5 SW Epsom Green
Looks like you’re having a great time!
I did the parpaillon a few years back and did jafferau a couple of months ago.

I went the opposite way to you so had the delight of going down the ski slope side. Was very fun going down bouncing over the huge water washout’s. There’s a great campsite there if you want to stop off and refresh if you’ve been wild camping called camping gran bosco. Loads of cool like minded overland rigs parked up there too.

Also lago orfu is very close by and it’s and amazing lake. You have to pay 5€ for a yearly membership Laughing but it’s a lovely place to relax and the bar is cheap.

Its worth doing col du sommeiller if you’re in that area too. It’s a bit more hardcore than jafferau but up the top it’s like the moon, never seen terrain quite like it.



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Post #963401 30th Aug 2022 7:15pm
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Mo Murphy



Member Since: 01 Jun 2008
Location: Letchworth Garden City, Herts
Posts: 2077

United Kingdom 1984 Defender 90 200 Tdi HT Pennine Grey
The drive up to Sommelier is one of the best I've done. They seem to close the route at random times but it is a must do if you can.
Mo The Land Rover 90 - Many are called, few are chosen.
Post #963457 31st Aug 2022 7:11am
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Grenadier



Member Since: 23 Jul 2014
Location: The foot of Mont Blanc...
Posts: 5765

France 2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Corris Grey
This looks fab. So wild and empty. Much harder to go off road around here, Mont Blanc, lots of controls.

Mo, with regard to closures, note that much of the Savoie and Haute Savoie have regulations specific to summer months (usually July and August) in which they prioritise non-motorised alpine fun, i.e. Walking, trail running, MTB etc. It changes commune to commune, and occasionally there are specific rules if you are in one of the region’s recognised and protected parks, but it is often the case that vehicles are banned on ALL routes during the hours of 0800-1800. Further you often come across spot closures (perhaps your random experiences) when they need to do emergency repairs because of land slide, heavy rain etc.

Before and after those hours you have access as per normal. Again, depending on the exact commune you find yourself in, the checks and controls (and fines) can vary between non-existent and severe. Where we are, foot of Mont Blanc, we’re definitely at severe, with regular patrols on trail bikes by the Five-0. But our mayor is very much on a push to limit damage (of all kinds) to MB, we have lots of tourist w**kers making a mess of the region, so I’m absolutely on his side. Monsieur Le Grenadier

I've not been everywhere, but it's on my list.....

2011 Puma 110DC - Corris Grey
Post #963462 31st Aug 2022 7:40am
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