I thought the last mountain pass was steep! (Tourmalet, Pic du midi)

Well, what can I say?  This one knocked the others into a cocked hat!  We left Garvanie this morning and descended to 3400ft then turned right a few miles later to drive up this one...........it reaches nearly 7000 (YES SEVEN THOUSAND FEET!) and near the top the roads are really tight hairpin bends and zig zag all the way over the top.   There are NO safety barriers so whilst Kate was enjoying the view (OK, she had her eyes shut most of the time!) I was keeping my eyes firmly on the road ahead.

When we got to the top there was a big car park (which we are are in right now and will stay at overnight) so we pulled in for lunch.  Having had a quick recce we have discovered a track that walkers take to the top of Pic du Midi de Bigorre so tomorrow morning we are walking to the top.........that will be 2877 metres or 9495 feet above sea level................a nice easy one then!

A plaque showing the heights from the car park

The French Observatoire at the top

The 'other' car park on the North side (you would not want to slip your foot of the clutch here!)

The mountain pass we drove up to get here