A steep curvy road to Barrage de Cleuson

Lac de Cleuson is a high mountain reservoir at an elevation of 2.186m (7,171ft) above the sea level, located in the district of Conthey in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.

The road to the reservoir is mostly asphalted (the last 3.5 kms of this climb are on a decent gravel surface). It’s really steep (some sections are up to 30%), narrow and features many tunnels and hairpin turns. The last part of the route is subject to a driving ban. The reservoir was built between 1946 and 1951, and is impassable from November to May due the snow. On the banks of the lake, the St-Barthélémy chapel is the highest standing chapel in the commune. 

At the lake, a minor gravel rough road climbs up to the Refuge de Saint-Laurent, a high mountain refuge at an elevation of 2.492m (8,175ft) above the sea level. It’s beautiful, remote, fantastic. It is impassable from November to May due the snow, and the road can be closed anytime when the access is not cleared of snow. The drive overlooks the Valley of Nendaz and the panoramic view extends as far as the chain of the Bernese Alps. 
Pic: arolleproduction

 

• The completely deserted road to Col de Chaude
• Alpe Galm, one of the hardest roads of the Alps